Abstract
The present research replicates and extends previous literature on the evolutionary contingency hypothesis of leadership emergence. Using artificially masculinized versus feminized versions of the faces of the candidates for the 2016 U.S. presidential elections, we demonstrated that different contextual cues produced systematic variation in both preferences for and personality impressions of leadership. We describe results of an online study (N = 298), demonstrating that followers who perceived a match between the contextual prime (intergroup conflict or cooperation) and a leader candidate’s relevant physical cues (masculinized or feminized versions of their faces) both (a) preferred them as leaders and (b) rated them more positively on personality attributes commonly associated with effective leadership such as trustworthiness, warmth, competence, and charisma.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1-9 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Evolutionary Psychology |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Apr 2018 |
Bibliographical note
First published online: June 18, 2018Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The research was funded through a PhD scholarship awarded to the William James Graduate School by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO-022-003-10).
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research | |
| Stichting voor de Technische Wetenschappen | NWO-022-003-10 |
Keywords
- evolutionary contingency hypothesis
- evolutionary psychology
- facial appearance
- leadership preferences
- personality attribution
