Deference

Several terms redirect here. For other uses, see Submission (disambiguation) and Reverence (emotion).
For the legal doctrine, see Judicial deference.
Not to be confused with Difference or Differential.

Deference (also called submission or passivity) is the condition of submitting to the espoused, legitimate influence of one's superior or superiors.[1] Deference implies a yielding or submitting to the judgment of a recognized superior, out of respect or reverence. Deference has been studied extensively by political scientists, sociologists, and psychologists.

  1. ^ John B. Kirbya, "Early American Politics—The Search for Ideology: An Historiographical Analysis and Critique of the Concept of 'Deference,'" The Journal of Politics, Volume 32, Issue 04, November 1970 pp 808–838