AUTHORITY BIAS:
The tendency to attribute greater accuracy to, or be less critical of, the opinion of an authority figure; irrespective of whether that authority figure’s opinion is accurate, truthful, and/or valid1,2.
Authority Bias is a type of Cognitive Bias, and is ubiquitous in medicine, in science, and in the general population as a whole; at the organizational and individual level. Authority Bias becomes a problem, when an authority figure providing an opinion is biased due to their conflicts of interest, and/or is inexperienced, poorly skilled, poorly educated, or poorly trained in the context where they are providing their opinion; which may result in illness, suffering, and death of those who are influenced by the opinion.
For example, the general community tends to view doctors as authority figures, and thus often follow their direction with regard to their treatment and disease-prevention advice. Given their status as authority figures in the community, a university, hospital, or government department may recommend a physician interpret a newly published study on a new treatment, or disease-prevention strategy, conducted by someone else, for the media. However, this physician may in fact have very little first-hand experience conducting scientific studies, and/or be influenced by their relationship with commercial entities, and thus provide an inaccurate interpretation. Due to Authority Bias, this inaccurate interpretation may lead to greater suffering, or consequences to the community as a whole, through the media message, when they follow the physician’s advice.
Arguably, mitigating Authority Bias may be challenging, and not feasible in most contexts. The scientific community can, however, ensure that those who are classified as authorities in a given context, have proven skills and experience to indicate they represent the truthful definition of an authority figure, and have completely disclosed their conflicts of interest. Also see: Cognitive Bias, Prestige Bias, Famous Person or Institution Bias, Halo Bias, Prominent Author Bias, and Bias Due to Conflicts of Interest.
References:
1. Burke RE, Leonard C, Lee M, Ayele R, Cumbler E, Allyn R, et al. Cognitive Biases Influence Decision-Making Regarding Postacute Care in a Skilled Nursing Facility J Hosp Med. 2020 Jan 1;15(1):22-27. (Link to Reference)
2. Seshia SS, Makhinson M, Young GB. ‘Cognitive biases plus’: covert subverters of healthcare evidence. Evid Based Med. 2016 Apr;21(2):41-5. (Link to Reference)