Self-uncertainty and Support for Autocratic Leadership

Rast, David E.; Hogg, Michael A.; Giessner, Steffen R.

doi:10.1080/15298868.2012.718864

Cited by 113 publications

(92 citation statements)

References 40 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…First, our results are limited to the corporate world and it is possible that in other organizational contexts, such as the military, leadership is related to high basal testosterone levels. Research shows that uncertainty increases support for and trust in authoritarian leadership (Rast et al, 2013), suggesting that authoritarian leaders with high basal testosterone levels are better at dealing with uncertain situations. Indeed, in war time scenarios voters prefer leaders with more masculine-looking faces (Spisak et al, 2012), a proxy of high basal testosterone levels (PentonVoak and Chen, 2004), but the opposite is found during peacetime.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Basal testosterone, leadership and dominance: A field study and meta-analysis

Meij

Schaveling

Vugt

2016

Psychoneuroendocrinology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article examines the role of basal testosterone as a potential biological marker of leadership and hierarchy in the workplace. First, we report the result of a study with a sample of male employees from different corporate organizations in the Netherlands (n=125). Results showed that employees with higher basal testosterone levels reported a more authoritarian leadership style, but this relationship was absent among those who currently held a real management position (i.e., they had at least one subordinate). Furthermore, basal testosterone levels were not different between managers and non-managers, and testosterone was not associated with various indicators of status and hierarchy such as number of subordinates, income, and position in the organizational hierarchy. In our meta-analysis (second study), we showed that basal testosterone levels were not associated with leadership in men nor in women (9 studies, n=1103). Taken together, our findings show that basal testosterone is not associated with having a leadership position in the corporate world or related to leadership styles in leaders. We suggest that basal testosterone could play a role in acquiring leadership positions through dominant and authoritarian behavior.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Basal testosterone, leadership and dominance: A field study and meta-analysis

Meij

Schaveling

Vugt

2016

Psychoneuroendocrinology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…When people experience uncertainty, a singular and narrow view of group identity is appealing. Rast, Hogg, and Giessner () found that as self‐uncertainty increased, support for autocratic leadership increased. Whereas supporting and following such leaders may be productive for groups in chaos, these actions also promote extremism and support for brutal dictatorships.…”

Section: Uncertaintymentioning

confidence: 99%

Uncertainty and Influence: The Advantages (and Disadvantages) of Being Atypical

Gaffney

Rast

Hogg

2018

Journal of Social Issues

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Research suggests that individuals who best embody the attributes that define their group's identity tend to have the most influence within their groups and often occupy leadership roles. This idea lies at the heart of social identity approaches to leadership, which have robustly found that groups tend to more strongly support prototypical leaders and, as a result, prototypical leaders can be more effective than less prototypical leaders. In this article, we overview this prototypicality advantage and also explore the conditions under which it may be weakened or reversed. More specifically, we detail some of the conditions under which nonprototypical members can overcome the leadership obstacle of being “atypical” group members. One such condition is when members experience identity uncertainty. Under these conditions, group members seek clear and distinct group identities. When non‐prototypical group members can provide such clear group defining norms, they may be promoted to leadership positions and celebrated as agents of social change.

show abstract

“…Accordingly, Hogg, Meehan, et al (2010) found that uncertainty increased identification with a radical student organization that was protesting an unpopular tuition reform measure relative to a similar, but moderate, organization. Similarly, research finds that employees who are more uncertain about themselves support leaders who are more autocratic (i.e., those who make decisions without input from others; Rast, Hogg, & Giessner, 2013). Further, experimentally induced uncertainty can lead political conservatives in the United States to more favorably evaluate messages from a leader of the Tea Party (a far-right organization; Gaffney, Rast, Hackett, & Hogg, 2014).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Marginalized Individuals and Extremism: The Role of Ostracism in Openness to Extreme Groups

Hales

Williams

2018

Journal of Social Issues

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Does the experience of being socially ostracized increase interest in extreme groups? Drawing from the temporal need‐threat model of ostracism, and uncertainty‐identity theory, we conducted two experiments testing the hypothesis that compared to included individuals, ostracized individuals will show greater interest in extreme groups. In Study 1, following a recruitment attempt, ostracized participants expressed greater willingness to attend a meeting of an activist campus organization advocating reducing tuition. In Study 2, ostracized participants expressed greater openness towards gang membership. These findings emphasize the importance of leaders creating environments that minimize feelings of social exclusion, and suggest that approaches to international policy that exclude/marginalize (i.e., refusing to meet for negotiations) may produce greater extremity.

show abstract

Self-uncertainty and Support for Autocratic Leadership

Cited by 113 publications

References 40 publications

Basal testosterone, leadership and dominance: A field study and meta-analysis

Basal testosterone, leadership and dominance: A field study and meta-analysis

Uncertainty and Influence: The Advantages (and Disadvantages) of Being Atypical

Marginalized Individuals and Extremism: The Role of Ostracism in Openness to Extreme Groups

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About