Authority Bias
People give more weight to a claim when it comes from someone who looks qualified.
What it is
Titles, credentials, uniforms, press logos and confident presentation all raise the credibility of a message independent of its content. Borrowed authority works too: a quote from a recognised expert or a badge from a known body transfers trust to the page it sits on.
The research
Most participants continued administering what they believed were painful shocks to another person when instructed to by an experimenter in a lab coat.
Milgram, 1963
How to use it
Show the credentials near the claim
Certifications, years in the trade and the founder's background belong beside the promise, not on an about page.
Borrow logos carefully
"As seen in" works if the appearance was real. Reviewers check.
Write with certainty
Hedged copy reads as inexpert. Say what you know and say it plainly.
Related
Sources that shaped this entry: growth.design, Kolenda.io.