Communication and emergent group leadership: Does content count?

Past research has been clear that talk time during discussion is directly associated with emergent group leadership, but has been inconsistent concerning whether communication content has an effect. The present study directly examines whether content has any impact on perceptions of leadership above the impact of quantity of talk. It utilizes a re‐analysis of data previously described in Pavitt, Whitchurch, McClurg, & Petersen (1995), consisting of a content analysis of discussion by zero‐history groups performing an ad‐hoc task and standing groups performing a task with real consequences to the members. Results suggest that content may count for the standing groups but not for the zero‐history. The implication, that content counts when groups perform “real”; tasks but not ad‐hoc exercises, may disambiguate the earlier ambiguous findings.