College 4

Group dynamics

power

your potential to influence others more than that they can influence you

gender inequality

• Leadership roles have traditionally been dominated by men due to gender stereotypes and societal norms that associate leadership with masculine traits (e.g., decisiveness, assertiveness).

• Women leaders often face double standards—they are expected to be assertive like their male counterparts but are judged more harshly for exhibiting the same behaviors.

• gender bias can affect group decision-making and power distribution. For instance, women may be less likely to be chosen as leaders, or their contributions may be undervalued within group settings.

six bases of power

• Reward power: someone has the power to reward you if you obey their demands, decrease liking

• Coercive power: the power to punish someone, not very strong kind of power, decreases liking

• Legitimate power: we all agree these people have power, like a police or a teacher

• Referent power: a person who is in power because we want them to have power, very powerful because you want to be influenced by this person (influencers)

• Expert power: based on expertise, you follow people because they know a lot about something or they are good at something

• Informational power: we know something about someone and we threaten to tell that to others (gossiping), can also be big tech companies who have a lot of information about us (accepting cookies)

interactive process of acquiring/maintaining power

• person X needs to afford person Y power

• person Y needs to take/use their power

Power negatiations in everyday interactions

• Interrupting and the babble effect

• Speech style

• Gaze patterns: people tend to look at the leader while speaking

• Posture and touch: people who touch others more are more likely to have power

babble effect

people who speak more are more likely to have power

power posing

the posture you take on while being in a powerful position

postural feedback

taking on a high-power pose affects emotional and effective states

• students were asked to pose in either very open (powerful) poses or very closed (not powerful) poses. They were more confident and felt more powerful after having done the open poses. After this they had a mock interview, and the people who did the high-power poses did better on the interviews.

How to recognise who is in power?

• sitting at the head of the table

• everyone is looking at one person

• older age

competence perception

• Participants evaluated candidates for the U.S. Senate and House on competence.

• Participants were presented with pairs of black-and-white head-shot photographs of the winners and the runners-up from the election races.

• People were likely to correctly predict who won (3/4 of the cases was correct)(chance level of 50%)

expectation states theory

• Specifc status charactistics = task-related (e.g. experience)

• Diffuse status characteristics = not task-related, but may still be relevant (e.g. age, you think an older person is more experienced, but this doesn’t have to be correct)

• Expectations about specific status characteristics is derived from diffuse characteristic

• Possibility of ‘self-fulfilling prophecies’

• Whether a characteristic is diffuse or specific depends on the situation (being tall in leadership or in basketball)

• Irrelevant characteristics are diffuse and relate to stereotype (e.g. young, female)

• Relevant characteristics are specific (e.g. experience)

what makes a good leader?

• It appeared difficult to find traits that predicted who became a leader, and who was effective as a leader

• Meta-analyses: leaders slightly more extraverted, open to experience, conscientious, and less agreeable than non-leaders

• People who are less agreeable are more likely to become leaders, but less likely to become effective leaders

leadership styles

• autocratic, democratic and laissez-faire (leider meer naar achtergrond)

• determines effectiveness:

  • democratic & laissez-faire are liked more than autocratic

  • people work at least as hard under autocratic leadership but only in the presence of the leader

  • people work harder under democratic leadership (compared to laissez-faire), independent of presence of leader

Leadership oriëntaties

task- or socio-emotionally oriented

• socio-emotionally: supporting people and listening to their problems, forming a relationship

social identity theory of leadership

suggests that leaders are successful when they are seen as representing the group’s identity. Leaders are most effective when they embody the values and goals of the group, making them appear as "one of us" rather than an external authority.

• This view highlights the relational nature of leadership, where the relationship between leaders and followers is key to effective leadership

leadership style: least preferred coworker (LPC)

• high LPC: socio-emotional, relation-directed

• low LPC: task-oriented

transactional leadership

focuses on exchanges between leaders and followers. Leaders provide rewards or punishments based on followers’ performance. This type of leadership is effective in maintaining the status quo but may not inspire innovation or change.

transformational leadership

involves inspiring followers to go beyond their self-interest for the good of the group. Transformational leaders motivate through vision, inspiration, and by creating a sense of shared purpose, which is crucial for fostering innovation and social change within groups.

situational control

• relation between leader and group members

• clarity of the task

• power of the leader

When is it better to have a task-oriented leader?

If the situation is ‘bad’ (task is unclear etc.) it is better to have a low LPC (task-oriented leader), because care for relations is unnecessary and will only distract.

In the very favored situation you also want a task-related leader, because relations will form anyway.

social identity approach

there is not one leader that fits all groups. Effective leaders are those that best represent the group identity (prototypicality)

• understanding of values and opinions

• not only fit in with the group, but also shape the group’s identity

• thus: there is no ideal set of personality traits that every leader should have

being an entrepeneur of identity

shaping what it’s like to be part of the group

• ingroup

• outgroup

• positioning of self

embedders of identity

• making the vision a vivid, concrete reality

• rituals, spectacles, monuments

gender issues in leadership

• explanations suggest women voluntary opt-out

  • not willing to sacrifice family life

  • less concerned about job status

  • unable to cope with life at the top

• leadership behavior (agency) is not acceptable from women (they are perceived as ‘bitchy’)

• relationships in which a woman has a higher status than the man are perceived as less happy and less lasting

• stereotypes suggest women can’t be good leaders

lack of fit with leaders

Perceived lack of fit with prototypical leader causes occupational disidentification and an increased desire to opt out

• lower expectations of success

• lower organisational and professional identification

• reduced ambition

• reduced motivation

• solution: affirmitive action programs

affirmative action

when equally qualified → select minority

• positive because:

  • signal change, symbolic value

  • reduces gap between minority and majority

• negative because:

  • can be stigmatizing to minority groups

  • potentially negative perceptions of the beneficiary (you’re only here because of the AA program)

glass cliff

women are more like to be assigned to precarious leadership positions (greater risk of failure and criticism)

• stereotypical image of women as good crisis managers

  • good social skills

  • offer support

  • mediate in conflicts