Using Clothes to Symbolize Authority

Bank examiners can fool people into thinking they are in control of their accounts. The appearance and presentation of the bank examiner is so impressive that many don't think to check it's validity with a simple phone call. Finely styled and expensive clothes carry an aura of status and position, as do trappings such as jewelry and cars. People were unable to predict correctly how they or others would react to authority influence. This property of authority status may account for much of its success as a compliance device. Not only does it work forcefully on us, but it als does so unexpectedly. One protective tactic we can use against authority status is to remove its element of surprise.