Enhancement of Leader Power After Election or Appointment to Undesirable Leader Roles

Summary

Sixteen groups of male and female university students (N = 129) were tested in a 2 by 2 design which varied mode of leader selection (election vs. appointment) and desirability of leader role (desirable vs. undesirable). Desirable leader roles were created by offering $5.00 and extra experimental credit for extra work to be completed on the leader's own time. Leaders in undesirable roles had to complete the extra work without pay or experimental credit. After a warm-up task, a confederate was either elected or appointed leader. On two subsequent tasks the leader made three influence attempts on (a) the task structure, (b) the task content, and (c) the members' willingness to volunteer to help the leader with the extra work. Results indicated that on all influence measures individuals elected to the undesirable leader role had significantly greater social power than individuals elected to the desirable role. Desirability of the leader role did not significantly affect the social power of appointed leaders.