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Who (and what) makes a great leader?

Who (and what) makes a great leader?. The “holy grail” of social psychology! Two general views 1. The “great person” theory Leadership and personality Fascinating study by Dean Simonton on U.S. presidents General picture—no such thing as “leadership personality”

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Who (and what) makes a great leader?

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  1. Who (and what) makes a great leader? • The “holy grail” of social psychology! • Two general views • 1. The “great person” theory • Leadership and personality • Fascinating study by Dean Simonton on U.S. presidents • General picture—no such thing as “leadership personality” • 2. “Right person in right situation” view • Contingency theory of leadership • Received good support • Gender and leadership

  2. Conflict and cooperation

  3. Social dilemmas What’s best for the individual is not always best for the group, and vice-versa.

  4. Examples of social dilemmas • Common goods dilemma • Tragedy of the Commons” (Hardin, 1968) • Contribution to public television/radio • Stephen King’s on-line novel--The Plant • The Matzo ball soup dilemma • Many, many others

  5. Why social dilemmas are common • Dilemmas could be avoided if people put their total trust in others and if they weren’t so selfish • Yeah, right…. • Not to say that social dilemmas are inevitable • But they are hard to resist

  6. Famous paradigm for studying dilemmas--Prisoner’s Dilemma

  7. Larger implications • Obvious implications for arms race/stockpiling of nuclear weapons • Is cooperation ever possible? How? • Factors that make cooperation more likely • Tit for tat strategies

  8. A somewhat different perspective on individuals vs. groups by John Nash • Older, classic perspective of capitalism • Individual competition good • Selfishness not evil • “In competition, individual ambition serves the common good.“—Adam Smith • Contrary position by Nash: • The best result comes from everyone doing what's best for themselves AND for the group. • Why relevant to social dilemmas • Contrary to research on s.d., it may not always be the case that selfish desires conflict with the group.

  9. Using threats to resolve conflict • Classic “Acme vs. Bolt” trucking game • Deutsch and Krauss (1960, 1962) • Effects of communication

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