rule-following
Compliance with guidelines
Rule-following is adherence to established guidelines, instructions, or norms.
The term appears often in philosophy and cognitive science, where debates center on whether rule-following is a matter of explicit mental representation or implicit social practice.
In everyday use, it describes someone who does what they're told: She's not creative, but she's great at rule-following.
The hyphenated form functions as both noun and adjective: rule-following behavior.
Compliance with authority
- conformityAdherence to norms
- adherenceFaithful following of something
- deferenceYielding to another's judgment
- submissionYielding to another's will
dutiful · compliant · docile · acquiescent · law-abiding · protocol · procedure · guideline
Agreed standard of behavior
- customHabitual group practice
- normAccepted behavioral standard
- etiquetteRules of polite conduct
- proprietyCorrectness of conduct
decorum · manners · tradition · conformist · orthodox · proper · respectable · well-behaved
Excessively procedural
- proceduralFollowing set steps
- systematicFollowing ordered procedures
- methodicalOrganized and deliberate
- regimentedStrictly controlled and organized
regulated · formalized · standardized · hierarchical · official · administrative · organizational · corporate
Concerning right conduct
- principledHaving strong moral beliefs
- conscientiousScrupulously careful and thorough
- scrupulousThorough and principled
- uprightVertical or morally sound
integrity · rectitude · virtue · duty-bound · honorable · righteous · ethical · disciplined
Careful attention to duty
- rigidityState of being unbending
- inflexibilityQuality of being unbending
- obsessiveConsumed by fixation
- compulsiveUnable to stop oneself
perfectionism · authoritarianism · conformism · groupthink · obedient · conditioned · socialized · internalized
obedience
Compliance with authority
- conformityAdherence to norms
- adherenceFaithful following of something
- deferenceYielding to another's judgment
submission · dutiful · compliant · docile · acquiescent · law-abiding · protocol · procedure · guideline · policy
convention
Agreed standard of behavior
propriety · decorum · manners · tradition · conformist · orthodox · proper · respectable · well-behaved · orderly
bureaucratic
Excessively procedural
- proceduralFollowing set steps
- systematicFollowing ordered procedures
- methodicalOrganized and deliberate
regimented · regulated · formalized · standardized · hierarchical · official · administrative · organizational · corporate · governmental
moral
Concerning right conduct
- principledHaving strong moral beliefs
- conscientiousScrupulously careful and thorough
- scrupulousThorough and principled
upright · integrity · rectitude · virtue · duty-bound · honorable · righteous · ethical · disciplined · code
conscientiousness
Careful attention to duty
- rigidityState of being unbending
- inflexibilityQuality of being unbending
- obsessiveConsumed by fixation
compulsive · perfectionism · authoritarianism · conformism · groupthink · obedient · conditioned · socialized · internalized · habitual
- obedienceobedience, compliance, subordination, deference, docility
- conformityconformity, conforming, conform, conformist, conformism
- fair playfair chance, fair shake, respect, fair treatment, honesty
- Wittgensteinfamily resemblance, duck-rabbit, private language, showing, saying
- moralsmorality, moral code, ethics lessons, moral codes, moral compass
- refinedrefined, polite, proper, gracious, elegant
rule-followingrule-breaking
Disregarding established standards
rebellious · defiant · disobedient · insubordinate · noncompliant
rule-followinganarchic
Without governing structure
chaotic · disorderly · lawless · unregulated · undisciplined
rule-followingnonconformist
Rejects prevailing social standards
maverick · freethinking · iconoclastic · unconventional · unorthodox