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Persuasion and Influence Part 6: Authority Principle
Rick Henkin
We learn to obey authority figures from a very early age and usually without question. We learn to obey our parents and teachers. If a doctor tells us we require a certain medication, most of us will accept that at face value. If a policeman tells you to step out of your vehicle, you'll do it first and ask why later. Our training also teaches us that disobedience to proper authorities is wrong. This is also instilled in us from an early age and continues throughout our life in the forms of our legal, military, political and even religious systems. If we don't obey these forms of authority, anarchy would be the result. Authority principle definedWe are more influenced by those we perceive as "authorities." Authority status can be conferred by the type of clothing one wears- a suit, a uniform or a badge. It can also be conferred by a title which might indicate a certain level of education or ranking- a doctor, a lawyer or a captain. It can also be "assumed" by one's trappings- a luxury car, a beautiful home, an expensive watch or clothing. Even the size of a person can confer authority. Consider the example of a group of people where one person is taller and larger than the rest. We will make the assumption, correctly or not, that he or she is the leader. Part of the reason that we rely on those with superior knowledge or that we perceive to have superior knowledge is that it makes our lives easier. Since we may not be sure how to respond in a given situation, we can look to them for guidance and we no longer have to think. It's a shortcut for ourselves. Example of authority principle in actionIn Robert Cialdini's best selling book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (Collins Business Essentials) 
, he writes about a famous psychological and behavioral experiment
conducted in 1961 by Stanley Milgram, Ph.D, at Yale University.
In the experiment, ordinary people ("participants"), were
told that they were helping in a study of how punishment affects
learning and memory.They were asked to administer electric shocks to people when they answered word pair questions incorrectly. The participants were also told that that the shocks increased by 15 volts with each wrong answer, up to 450 volts. Those in charge wore white laboratory coats and were perceived to be in authority. The "victims" were actors who didn't receive any electric shocks at all. With each wrong answer, those wearing the white lab coats gave the participants instructions to increase the voltage. As the voltage level got higher, the "victims" asked at first to be let out, that it hurt. When this request was met by more questions, the victims refused to answer, which was interpreted by those in the lab coats as an incorrect answer requiring a higher voltage level. The participants looked to those in charge to end the experiment but were met with more questions being asked of the victim. Finally, the victims began screaming in pain, begging for the shocks to stop. While some of the participants began to quit once they passed the 300 volt mark, 65% continued all the way to the 450 volt maximum before they were told to stop by those in charge. The fact that the victims were pleading for mercy, appearing disoriented, screaming in pain, and in one case claiming they had a heart condition, did not stop any of the participants from continuing to increase the voltage when asked by those in the lab coats. The participants were ordinary people who had answered a newspaper ad. They represented a cross section of age, occupation and education levels that you find in everyday society. They were even given a battery of personalty tests later that confirmed they were quite normal. So why did they do this? Milgram believed that it had to do with our sense of duty to authority. Cialdini writes, "According to Milgram, the real culprit in the experiments was his subject's inability to defy the wishes of the boss of the study- the lab-coated researcher who urged and, if need be, directed the subjects to perform their duties, despite the emotional and physical mayhem they were causing." In another study, Cialdini writes, "They put a man on a street corner and had him cross the street against the light, against the traffic, against the law. Half of the time he was dressed in jeans, an open-neck shirt and running shoes and the other half of the time he was dressed in a business suit, pressed shirt, tie and shiny shoes. Then they counted how many people followed along behind him. An amazing 350 percent more people followed him when he was wearing a suit." Applying this principle to your businessSince we now know that authority figures exert incredible influence on us, whether or not their authority is real or just perceived, one way to use this principle is to get authentic testimonials from recognized experts in your field. Granted, that's easier said than done, but you could certainly offer an authority figure a sample of your product or your service in exchange for their review. If the review is positive, great, if it's negative, that's okay too. At least you know where you need to improve your product or service. To me, one of the great things about the Internet, is the ease with which you can communicate with people that you might never have had the chance to before. Since most business people have set up Google Alerts for any mention of their name or business on the web, you can easily reference one of these experts in a blog post or an article. You can also be proactive and send them an email letting them know you've referenced them, rather than waiting for them to contact you. Another way to make contact is through use of Social Media. Websites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn all let you search for and make contact with other people. Become an authority figure yourself. Being an expert oftentimes means just knowing more than the average guy. Remember, when people aren't sure what to do, they'll follow the leader. Dress the part, act the part. Be confident and credible. Join important organizations and associations in your field and place their "badges" on your website. Utilize seals of approval and scientific evidence if appropriate. Back up your facts with links to other website. Do all of these things, but do them honestly, ethically and with integrity. Don't make up any testimonials/reviews. Don't conjure up your own expert. All of these things will eventually be found out. Treat people the way you want to be treated. ARTICLE DATE: 2009-03-26 REVISED DATE: Share this Article as a Tweet on Twitter
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