Why is it called authority effect?

If a person has high status, prestige and respect, his words and deeds can easily attract the attention of others and convince them of their correctness.

Appealt0Authority, also known as the authority implication effect, means that if a person has high status, prestige and respect, his words and deeds can easily attract the attention of others and convince them of its correctness, that is, "people talk lightly, but people talk heavily."

American psychologists once did an experiment: when giving lectures to students in the psychology department of a university, they introduced a German teacher invited from another school to the students, saying that the German teacher was a famous chemist from Germany. In the experiment, the "chemist" took out a bottle filled with distilled water and said it was a newly discovered chemical substance with some odor. Please raise your hand when you smell the smell. As a result, most students raised their hands. For distilled water, which has no smell, most students think it smells because of the language hint of this "authoritative" psychologist.

People have a "safety psychology", that is, people always think that the thoughts, behaviors and languages of authoritative figures are often correct, and obeying them will make them feel safe and increase the "safety factor" of not making mistakes. At the same time, people also have a kind of "identity psychology", that is, people always think that the requirements of authoritative figures are often consistent with the requirements of society, and doing according to the requirements of authoritative figures will be recognized by all parties. Therefore, these two kinds of psychology gave birth to the authority effect.

In fact, the so-called "authority" superstition has existed since ancient times. During the Spring and Autumn Period, Qi Jinggong was seriously ill and stayed in bed for more than ten days. One night, he suddenly dreamed that he was fighting with two suns and was defeated. After waking up, he was scared out in a cold sweat. The next day, Minister Yan Zi came to visit Qi Jinggong. Qi Jinggong asked Stefanie anxiously, "I dreamed last night that I was fighting with two suns, and I was defeated. Is this a sign that I am going to die? " Yan Zi wanted to think, but didn't answer. Knowing that Qi Jinggong believed in divination very much, Yan Zi suggested that Qi Jinggong call China's most "effective" fortune teller into the palace, listen to how fortune tellers interpret dreams first, and then make sense. So Qi Jinggong entrusted Yan Zi to do it.

Immediately after Yan Zi left the palace, he sent for the most famous fortune teller in Qi State. The fortune teller asked, "What do you want me to do?" Yan Zi told the fortune teller about Qi Jinggong's dream and invited him to the palace to explain it.

The fortune teller said to Yan Zi, "Do you think I can explain to the king unexpectedly?"

This quickly shook his head and said, "that's not necessary. Because the king's illness belongs to yin, and the two days in his dream belong to yang. One yin cannot beat two yang, so this dream just shows that the king's illness will be cured. When you enter the palace, just say so. "

After the fortune teller entered the palace, Qi Jinggong asked, "I dreamed that I was fighting with two suns, but I couldn't win. Does this indicate that I am going to die? " According to Yan Zi's instructions, the soothsayer said to Qi Jinggong in an authoritative tone: "Your Majesty, your illness belongs to Yin, but two days belong to Yang. Of course, one yin is hard to defeat two yang. This dream shows that your illness will get better soon. " Upon hearing this, Qi Jinggong was overjoyed. A few days later, he was really ill.

Qi Jinggong decided to reward the soothsayers. But the fortune teller said to Qi Jinggong, "This is not my credit, but Yan Zi taught me to say so." Qi Jinggong decided to reward Yan Zi again. Yan Zi said: "My words will only be effective if they are told by the fortune teller; If I say it directly, the king won't believe it. Therefore, this matter should be attributed to the fortune teller, not to my name. "

For the same dream, Qi Jinggong's understanding is negative, while Yan Zi's understanding is positive. The reason why Yan Zi wanted to convey his opinions to Qi Jinggong through the mouth of the fortuneteller, rather than directly, was because he understood that Qi Jinggong believed the fortuneteller's words more, because the fortuneteller was known as the "authority on dream interpretation".

In real life, there are many examples of using the "authority effect": inviting famous people to praise a product when advertising, citing authoritative figures as arguments when arguing, and so on. In interpersonal communication, the use of "authority effect" can also achieve the purpose of guiding or changing the attitude and behavior of the other party.

In enterprises, leaders can also use the "authority effect" to guide and change the working attitude and behavior of subordinates, which is often better than giving orders. Therefore, an excellent leader must be the authority of the enterprise, or cultivate an authority for the enterprise, and then use the implicit effect of authority to lead. Of course, to establish authority, we must first have a comprehensive and profound understanding of authority, so as to correctly establish authority and maintain it for a longer time.