When the appeal of a dominant leader is greater than a prestige leader

Kakkar, Hemant; Sivanathan, Niro

doi:10.1073/pnas.1617711114

Cited by 254Evolutionary Psychology and Human BehaviorSocial and Intergroup PsychologySocial Power and Status Dynamics

When the appeal of a dominant leader is greater than a prestige leader

Open access

Kakkar, Hemant, Sivanathan, Niro·2017·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI 10.1073/pnas.1617711114PMC PMC5495227

Open this paper in CoChat — free account Open PDF

Abstract

Across the globe we witness the rise of populist authoritarian leaders who are overbearing in their narrative, aggressive in behavior, and often exhibit questionable moral character. Drawing on evolutionary theory of leadership emergence, in which dominance and prestige are seen as dual routes to leadership, we provide a situational and psychological account for when and why dominant leaders are preferred over other respected and admired candidates. We test our hypothesis using three studies, encompassing more than 140,000 participants, across 69 countries and spanning the past two decades. We find robust support for our hypothesis that under a situational threat of economic uncertainty (as exemplified by the poverty rate, the housing vacancy rate, and the unemployment rate) people escalate their support for dominant leaders. Further, we find that this phenomenon is mediated by participants' psychological sense of a lack of personal control. Together, these results provide large-scale, globally representative evidence for the structural and psychological antecedents that increase the preference for dominant leaders over their prestigious counterparts.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1073/pnas.1617711114

Cites

43 of 43 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

We couldn’t retrieve this paper’s full text, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

In times of economic or personal uncertainty, groups elect more dominant and narcissistic leaders.
“Indeed, especially in times of economic or personal uncertainty, groups have been shown to elect more dominant (Kakkar & Sivanathan, 2017) and narcissistic (Nevicka, De Hoogh, Van Vianen, & Ten Velden, 2013) leaders.”
From The "Why" and "How" of Narcissism: A Process Model of Narcissistic Status Pursuit (2020) · cites this paper as Kakkar & Sivanathan, 2017

Advances In Experimental Social Psychology
(2022) · Advances in experimental social psychology · doi:10.1016/s0065-2601(22)x0002-6 · Cited by 22,559 · see citing works
Motivation reconsidered: The concept of competence.
White, R. W. (1959) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/h0040934 · Cited by 5,681 · see citing works
Political conservatism as motivated social cognition.
Jost, J. T., Glaser, J., Kruglanski, A. W., & Sulloway, F. J. (2003) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.129.3.339 · Cited by 4,904 · cited 1× · see citing works
“We draw upon relevant literature in social psychology (6, 7), political psychology (8), and evolutionary psychology (9, 10) to develop our theoretical arguments.”
Background
Motivation reconsidered: The concept of competence.
White, R. W. (1963) · Scott, Foresman eBooks · doi:10.1037/14156-005 · Cited by 4,835 · see citing works
The evolution of prestige: freely conferred deference as a mechanism for enhancing the benefits of cultural transmission
Henrich, J., & Gil-White, F. J. (2001) · Evolution and Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/s1090-5138(00)00071-4 · Cited by 2,500 · cited 1× · see citing works
“The prestige path to attaining an influential position in the group hierarchy is unique to humans; individuals help in disseminating important cultural knowledge that helps others overcome evolutionary selection pressures and increase their adaptation capabilities (20).”
Background
Establishing a causal chain: Why experiments are often more effective than mediational analyses in examining psychological processes
Spencer, S. J., Zanna, M. P., & Fong, G. T. (2005) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.89.6.845 · Cited by 2,452 · see citing works
Bargaining Structure, Corporatism and Macroeconomic Performance
Calmfors, L., John Driffill, A., Honkapohja, S., & Giavazzi, F. (1988) · Economic Policy · doi:10.2307/1344503 · Cited by 2,364 · see citing works
Personal control over aversive stimuli and its relationship to stress.
Averill, J. R. (1973) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/h0034845 · Cited by 1,570 · see citing works
Social Identity: Context, Commitment, Content
Ellemers, E. (1999) · Cited by 1,455 · see citing works
Untitled work
(1982) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 1,329 · see citing works
Lacking control increases illusory pattern perception
Whitson, J. A., & Galinsky, A. D. (2008) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1159845 · Cited by 1,119 · see citing works
Two ways to the top: Evidence that dominance and prestige are distinct yet viable avenues to social rank and influence.
Cheng, J. T., Tracy, J. L., Foulsham, T., Kingstone, A. F., & Henrich, J. (2012) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0030398 · Cited by 1,036 · see citing works
Uncertainty–identity theory
Hogg, M. A. (2007) · Advances in experimental social psychology · doi:10.1016/s0065-2601(06)39002-8 · Cited by 990 · see citing works
Subjective, physiological, and behavioral effects of threat and challenge appraisal.
Tomaka, J., Blascovich, J., Kelsey, R. M., & Leitten, C. L. (1993) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.65.2.248 · Cited by 922 · see citing works
God and the government: Testing a compensatory control mechanism for the support of external systems
Kay, A. C., Gaucher, D., Napier, J. L., Callan, M. J., & Laurin, K. (2008) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.95.1.18 · Cited by 809 · see citing works
Relation of agency and communion to well-being: Evidence and potential explanations.
Helgeson, V. S. (1994) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.116.3.412 · Cited by 792 · see citing works
Pride, personality, and the evolutionary foundations of human social status
Cheng, J. T., Tracy, J. L., & Henrich, J. (2010) · Evolution and Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2010.02.004 · Cited by 783 · see citing works
Peacemaking among Primates
de Waal, F. (2009) · Harvard University Press eBooks · doi:10.2307/j.ctvjz820k · Cited by 649 · see citing works
Identifying Organizational Identification
Mael, F. A., & Tetrick, L. E. (1992) · Educational and Psychological Measurement · doi:10.1177/0013164492052004002 · Cited by 600 · see citing works
Compensatory Control: Achieving Order Through the Mind, Our Institutions, and the Heavens
Kay, A. C., Whitson, J. A., Gaucher, D., & Galinsky, A. D. (2009) · Current Directions in Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/j.1467-8721.2009.01649.x · Cited by 598 · see citing works
Social identity: Context, commitment and content
Ellemers, N., Spears, R., & Doosje, B. (1999) · UvA-DARE (University of Amsterdam) · Cited by 571 · see citing works
Peacemaking among Primates
de Waal, F. Β. Μ., & de Waal, F. Β. Μ. (1989) · Harvard University Press eBooks · doi:10.4159/9780674033085 · Cited by 571 · see citing works
Uncertainty, entitativity, and group identification
Hogg, M. A., Sherman, D. K., Dierselhuis, J., Maitner, A. T., & Moffitt, G. (2006) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2005.12.008 · Cited by 506 · see citing works
Compensatory control and the appeal of a structured world.
Landau, M. J., Kay, A. C., & Whitson, J. A. (2015) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/a0038703 · Cited by 479 · see citing works
Facial appearance affects voting decisions.
Little, A., Burriss, R., Jones, B., & Roberts, S. C. (2007) · Evolution and Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2006.09.002 · Cited by 420 · see citing works
Chimpanzee politics: power and sex among apes
(1998) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.36-1584 · Cited by 363 · see citing works
Uncertainty–Identity Theory: Extreme Groups, Radical Behavior, and Authoritarian Leadership
Hogg, M. A., & Adelman, J. R. (2013) · Journal of Social Issues · doi:10.1111/josi.12023 · Cited by 350 · see citing works
Boosting beauty in an economic decline: Mating, spending, and the lipstick effect.
Hill, S. E., Rodeheffer, C. D., Griskevicius, V., Durante, K. M., & White, A. E. (2012) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0028657 · Cited by 321 · see citing works
The solace of radicalism: Self-uncertainty and group identification in the face of threat
Hogg, M. A., Meehan, C., & Farquharson, J. (2010) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2010.05.005 · Cited by 263 · see citing works
The power of we: Evidence for group-based control
Fritsche, I., Jonas, E., Ablasser, C., Beyer, M., Kuban, J., Manger, A.-M., & Schultz, M. (2012) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2012.07.014 · Cited by 249 · see citing works
For God (or) country: The hydraulic relation between government instability and belief in religious sources of control.
Kay, A. C., Shepherd, S., Blatz, C. W., Chua, S. N., & Galinsky, A. D. (2010) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0021140 · Cited by 209 · see citing works
Collective Reactions to Threat: Implications for Intergroup Conflict and for Solving Societal Crises
Fritsche, I., Jonas, E., & Kessler, T. (2011) · Social Issues and Policy Review · doi:10.1111/j.1751-2409.2011.01027.x · Cited by 203 · see citing works
On the belief in God: Towards an understanding of the emotional substrates of compensatory control
Laurin, K., Kay, A. C., & Moscovitch, D. A. (2008) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2008.07.007 · Cited by 188 · see citing works
Toward a Unified Science of Hierarchy: Dominance and Prestige are Two Fundamental Pathways to Human Social Rank
Cheng, J. T., & Tracy, J. L. (2014) · The Psychology of Social Status · doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-0867-7_1 · Cited by 187 · see citing works
Status conferral in intergroup social dilemmas: Behavioral antecedents and consequences of prestige and dominance.
Halevy, N., Chou, E. Y., Cohen, T. R., & Livingston, R. W. (2012) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0025515 · Cited by 178 · see citing works
Randomness, Attributions of Arousal, and Belief in God
Kay, A. C., Moscovitch, D. A., & Laurin, K. (2010) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/0956797609357750 · Cited by 170 · see citing works
Dominance and Prestige: Dual Strategies for Navigating Social Hierarchies
Maner, J. K., & Case, C. R. (2016) · Advances in experimental social psychology · doi:10.1016/bs.aesp.2016.02.001 · Cited by 164 · see citing works
Does a competent leader make a good friend? Conflict, ideology and the psychologies of friendship and followership
Laustsen, L., & Petersen, M. B. (2015) · Evolution and Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2015.01.001 · Cited by 136 · see citing works
Leadership under uncertainty: When leaders who are non-prototypical group members can gain support
Rast, D. E., Gaffney, A. M., Hogg, M. A., & Crisp, R. J. (2011) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2011.12.013 · Cited by 115 · see citing works
Economic Downturns Undermine Workplace Helping by Promoting a Zero-Sum Construal of Success
Širola, N., & Pitesa, M. (2016) · Academy of Management Journal · doi:10.5465/amj.2015.0804 · Cited by 115 · see citing works
The Bright Side of Bad Times
Bianchi, E. C. (2013) · Administrative Science Quarterly · doi:10.1177/0001839213509590 · Cited by 82 · see citing works
Judgment Extremity and Accuracy Under Epistemic vs. Aleatory Uncertainty
Tannenbaum, D., Fox, C. R., & Ülkümen, G. (2016) · Management Science · doi:10.1287/mnsc.2015.2344 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Leadership in Organizations: An Evolutionary Perspective
Spisak, B. R., Nicholson, N., & van Vugt, M. (2011) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-540-92784-6_7 · Cited by 42 · see citing works

Flagged first, then by citations

Sorted by citations

The "Why" and "How" of Narcissism: A Process Model of Narcissistic Status Pursuit
Grapsas, S., Brummelman, E., Back, M. D., & Denissen, J. J. A. (2020) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/1745691619873350 · Cited by 312 · see citing works
“Indeed, especially in times of economic or personal uncertainty, groups have been shown to elect more dominant (Kakkar & Sivanathan, 2017) and narcissistic (Nevicka, De Hoogh, Van Vianen, & Ten Velden, 2013) leaders.”
Background
Autocratic leaders and authoritarian followers revisited: A review and agenda for the future
Harms, P. D., Wood, D., Landay, K., Lester, P. B., & Lester, G. V. (2017) · The Leadership Quarterly · doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2017.12.007 · Cited by 197 · see citing works
Fall from Grace: The Role of Dominance and Prestige in the Punishment of High-Status Actors
Kakkar, H., Sivanathan, N., & Gobel, M. S. (2020) · Academy of Management Journal · doi:10.5465/amj.2017.0729 · Cited by 120 · see citing works
Self-citation
Two signals of social rank: Prestige and dominance are associated with distinct nonverbal displays.
Witkower, Z., Tracy, J., Cheng, J. T., & Henrich, J. (2020) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/pspi0000181 · Cited by 106 · see citing works
A Dual Model of Leadership and Hierarchy: Evolutionary Synthesis.
van Vugt, M., & Smith, J. E. (2019) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2019.09.004 · Cited by 82 · see citing works
Same Candidates, Different Faces: Uncovering Media Bias in Visual Portrayals of Presidential Candidates with Computer Vision
Peng, Y. (2018) · Journal of Communication · doi:10.1093/joc/jqy041 · Cited by 92 · see citing works
Self-uncertainty and group identification: Consequences for social identity, group behavior, intergroup relations, and society
Hogg, M. A. (2021) · Advances in experimental social psychology · doi:10.1016/bs.aesp.2021.04.004 · Cited by 86 · see citing works
The Popularity of Authoritarian Leaders
Guriev, S. M., & Treisman, D. S. (2020) · World Politics · doi:10.1017/s0043887120000167 · Cited by 106 · see citing works
The Dominance, Prestige, and Leadership Account of Social Power Motives
Suessenbach, F., Loughnan, S., Schönbrodt, F. D., & Moore, A. (2018) · European Journal of Personality · doi:10.1002/per.2184 · Cited by 78 · see citing works
Dominant leaders and the political psychology of followership.
Petersen, M., & Laustsen, L. (2020) · Current Opinion in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2019.07.005 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
From genes to minds to cultures: Evolutionary approaches to leadership
van Vugt, M., & von Rueden, C. V. (2020) · The Leadership Quarterly · doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2020.101404 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
Two Ways to Stay at the Top: Prestige and Dominance Are Both Viable Strategies for Gaining and Maintaining Social Rank Over Time
McClanahan, K. J., Maner, J. K., & Cheng, J. T. (2021) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/01461672211042319 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
The impact of leader dominance on employees’ zero-sum mindset and helping behavior.
Kakkar, H., & Sivanathan, N. (2021) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/apl0000980 · Cited by 64 · see citing works
Self-citation
Innovative work behavior through high-quality leadership
Miller, L. J., & Miller, A. F. (2020) · International Journal of Innovation Science · doi:10.1108/ijis-04-2019-0042 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
The Role of Economic Uncertainty in Rising Populism in the EU
Gözgör, G. (2020) · Public Choice · doi:10.1007/s11127-021-00933-7 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
The Challenges of Military Veterans in Their Transition to the Workplace: A Call for Integrating Basic and Applied Psychological Science
Shepherd, S., Sherman, D. K., MacLean, A., & Kay, A. C. (2020) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/1745691620953096 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
No guts, no glory? How risk-taking shapes dominance, prestige, and leadership endorsement.
Kleef, G. A. V., Heerdink, M. W., Cheshin, A., Stamkou, E., Wanders, F., Koning, L. F., Fang, X., & Georgeac, O. (2021) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/apl0000868 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Inequality rules: Resource distribution and the evolution of dominance- and prestige-based leadership
Ronay, R., Maddux, W. W., & von Hippel, W. (2018) · The Leadership Quarterly · doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2018.04.004 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
Choice freedom
Botti, S., Iyengar, S. S., & McGill, A. L. (2022) · Journal of Consumer Psychology · doi:10.1002/jcpy.1325 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Eye gaze and visual attention as a window into leadership and followership: A review of empirical insights and future directions
Cheng, J. T., Gerpott, F. H., Benson, A. J., Bucker, B., Foulsham, T., Lansu, T. A. M., Schülke, O., & Tsuchiya, K. (2022) · The Leadership Quarterly · doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2022.101654 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Personality predictors of social status attainment
Grosz, M. P., Leckelt, M., & Back, M. D. (2019) · Current Opinion in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2019.07.023 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Viva la evolution: Using dual-strategies theory to explain leadership in modern organizations
McClanahan, K. J. (2019) · The Leadership Quarterly · doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2019.101315 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Authoritarian leaders share conspiracy theories to attack opponents, galvanize followers, shift blame, and undermine democratic institutions
Ren, Z., Carton, A. M., Dimant, E., & Schweitzer, M. E. (2022) · Current Opinion in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101388 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
When size does matter: Dominance versus prestige based status signaling
Panchal, S., & Gill, T. (2020) · Journal of business research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.03.047 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Shifts in Support for Authoritarianism and Democracy in the Western Balkans
Lavrič, M., & Bieber, F. (2020) · Problems of Post-Communism · doi:10.1080/10758216.2020.1757468 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Walls between groups: Self‐uncertainty, social identity, and intergroup leadership
Hogg, M. A. (2023) · Journal of Social Issues · doi:10.1111/josi.12584 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
My way or the highway: High narcissism and low self‐esteem predict decreased support for democracy
Marchlewska, M., Castellanos, K. A., Lewczuk, K., Kofta, M., & Cichocka, A. K. (2018) · British Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjso.12290 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Nasty Politics
Zeitzoff, T. (2023) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780197679487.001.0001 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Brokering orientations and social capital: Influencing others’ relationships shapes status and trust.
Halevy, N., Halali, E., & Cohen, T. R. (2019) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/pspi0000213 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Ecology, culture and leadership: Theoretical integration and review
Lonati, S., & van Vugt, M. (2023) · The Leadership Quarterly · doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2023.101749 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Harsh but Expedient: Dominant Leaders Increase Group Cooperation via Threat of Punishment
Chen, F.-X., Zhang, X., Laustsen, L., & Cheng, J. T. (2021) · Psychology Science · doi:10.1177/09567976211031208 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Assessment of Citizens’ Populist Orientations: Development and Validation of the POPulist ORientation (POPOR) Scale
Roccato, M., Corbetta, P., Cavazza, N., & Colloca, P. (2019) · Social Science Quarterly · doi:10.1111/ssqu.12704 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
What’s Race Got to Do with It? The Interactive Effect of Race and Gender on Negotiation Offers and Outcomes
Leigh, A., & Desai, S. D. (2022) · Organization Science · doi:10.1287/orsc.2022.1629 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Observing leadership as behavior in teams and herds – An ethological approach to shared leadership research
Cook, A. S., Zill, A., & Meyer, B. M. (2019) · The Leadership Quarterly · doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2019.05.003 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Divergence between employer and employee understandings of passion: Theory and implications for future research
Jachimowicz, J., & Weisman, H. (2022) · Research in Organizational Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.riob.2022.100167 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Compromise or choose: shared movement decisions in wild vulturine guineafowl
Papageorgiou, D., Nyaguthii, B., & Farine, D. R. (2024) · Communications Biology · doi:10.1038/s42003-024-05782-w · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Being a tough person in a tight world: Cultural tightness leads to a desire for muscularity
Chen, H., Wang, X., Zang, H., & Guinote, A. (2021) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2021.104183 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Value computation in humans
Sznycer, D. (2022) · Evolution and Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2022.06.002 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
The triad model of follower needs: theory and review.
de Waal-Andrews, W., & van Vugt, M. (2020) · Current Opinion in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2019.07.006 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
The Status of Status Research: A Review of the Types, Functions, Levels, and Audiences
Prato, M., Ertug, G., Castellucci, F., & Zou, T.-J. (2024) · Journal of Management · doi:10.1177/01492063241226918 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
How the Linguistic Styles of Donald Trump and Joe Biden Reflect Different Forms of Power
Körner, R., Overbeck, J. R., Körner, E., & Schütz, A. (2022) · Journal of Language and Social Psychology · doi:10.1177/0261927x221085309 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Sustainable Development and Populism
Kroll, C., & Zipperer, V. (2020) · Ecological Economics · doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2020.106723 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Political ideology and compensatory control mechanisms
de Leon, R. P., & Kay, A. C. (2020) · Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2020.02.013 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
To Lead, or to Follow? How Self-Uncertainty and the Dark Triad of Personality Influence Leadership Motivation
Guillén, L., Jacquart, P., & Hogg, M. A. (2022) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/01461672221086771 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
When and how norm violators gain influence: Dominance, prestige, and the social dynamics of (counter)normative behavior
Kleef, G. A. V. (2023) · Social and Personality Psychology Compass · doi:10.1111/spc3.12745 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
How the economy shapes the way we think about ourselves and others.
Bianchi, E. C. (2020) · Current Opinion in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2019.07.007 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
‘If Men Were Angels, No Government Would Be Necessary’: The Intuitive Theory of Social Motivation and Preference for Authoritarian Leaders
Nettle, D., & Saxe, R. R. (2021) · Collabra Psychology · doi:10.1525/collabra.28105 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
We Need Tough Brothers and Sisters in a Tight World: Cultural Tightness Leads to a Preference for Dominant and Muscular Leaders
Chen, H., Wang, X., Zang, H., & Guinote, A. (2023) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/01461672231169107 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Stereotypes versus preferences: Revisiting the role of alpha males in leadership
Wiezel, A., Barlev, M., Martos, C. R., & Kenrick, D. T. (2024) · Evolution and Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2024.01.001 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Intergroup Conflict 2020
Halevy, N., & Cohen, T. R. (2019) · Negotiation and Conflict Management Research · doi:10.1111/ncmr.12148 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Third-party punishers do not compete to be chosen as partners in an experimental game
Batistoni, T., Barclay, P., & Raihani, N. (2022) · Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rspb.2021.1773 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
The Popularity of Authoritarian Leaders: A Cross-National InvestigationPreprint
Guriev, S. M., & Treisman, D. S. (2016) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.2882915 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Warlike and Peaceful Societies
Fog, A. (2017) · Open Book Publishers · doi:10.11647/obp.0128 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
To Go Forward, We Must Look Back: The Importance of Evolutionary Psychology for Understanding Modern Politics
McDermott, R., & Hatemi, P. (2018) · Evolutionary Psychology · doi:10.1177/1474704918764506 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Actual Threat, Perceived Threat, and Authoritarianism: An Experimental Study
Russo, S., Roccato, M., & Merlone, U. (2020) · The Spanish Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1017/sjp.2020.7 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Power motives, personality correlates, and leadership outcomes: A person‐centered approach
Li, Z., Lynch, J., Sun, T., Rizkyana, Q., Cheng, J. T., & Benson, A. J. (2023) · Journal of Personality · doi:10.1111/jopy.12882 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Eupsychian Versus Authoritarian Leadership: Existential–Humanistic Underpinnings and Empirical Support
Bland, A. M., & Swords, B. A. (2021) · Journal of Humanistic Psychology · doi:10.1177/00221678211010650 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Support for leaders who use conspiratorial rhetoric: The role of personal control and political identity
Dow, B. J., Wang, C. S., & Whitson, J. (2022) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2022.104403 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Economic Anxieties Undermine Support for Female (but Not Male) Political Candidates
Lei, R. F., & Bodenhausen, G. V. (2018) · Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy · doi:10.1111/asap.12150 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Contextual, interpersonal, and personal predictors of young adults' affective-identity motivation to lead
Barling, J. I., Weatherhead, J. G., Pupco, S., Turner, N., & Montgomery, A. W. (2022) · Leadership & Organization Development Journal · doi:10.1108/lodj-05-2021-0219 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Rebels with a cause? How norm violations shape dominance, prestige, and influence granting
Kleef, G. A. V., Wanders, F., Vianen, A. E. M. V., Dunham, R. L., Du, X., & Homan, A. C. (2023) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0294019 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Coordination of Public Health Response: The Role of Leadership in Responding to Public Health Emergencies
Fos, P. J., Honoré, P. A., & Honoré, R. L. (2021) · IntechOpen eBooks · doi:10.5772/intechopen.96304 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Cheating at the Top: Trait Dominance Explains Dishonesty More Consistently Than Social Power
Kim, K., & Guinote, A. (2021) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/01461672211051481 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Economic assumptions and economic context: Implications for the study of leadership
Hiller, N. J., Piccolo, R. F., & Zaccaro, S. J. (2019) · The Leadership Quarterly · doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2019.101352 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Forged at Workforce Entry? CEO Imprinting, Information Uncertainty and Merger Wave Timing
Fralich, R., & Ahmadsimab, A. (2023) · Journal of Management Studies · doi:10.1111/joms.13014 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Bound to the group and blinded by the leader: ideological leader–follower dynamics in a trust economic game
Gjoneska, B., Liuzza, M. T., Porciello, G., Caprara, G. V., & Aglioti, S. M. (2019) · Royal Society Open Science · doi:10.1098/rsos.182023 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Individuals’ Responses to Economic Cycles: Organizational Relevance and a Multilevel Theoretical Integration
Širola, N. (2020) · Academy of Management Annals · doi:10.5465/annals.2018.0124 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
When do people prefer dominant over prestigious political leaders?
Jiménez, Á. V., Flitton, A., & Mesoudi, A. (2021) · Evolutionary Human Sciences · doi:10.1017/ehs.2021.12 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
The fluctuation of pig prices and the identification of major drivers in China
Hua, J., Ding, J., Chen, Y., Kang, L., Zhang, H., & Zhang, J. (2024) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0313982 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Cross-cultural evidence that intergroup conflict heightens preferences for dominant leaders: A 25-country study
Laustsen, L., Sheng, X., Ahmad, M. G., Al-Shawaf, L., Banai, B., Banai, I. P., Barlev, M., Bastardoz, N., Bor, A., Cheng, J. T., et al. (2025) · Evolution and Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2025.106674 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
The effects of prestige on collective performance and information flow in a strictly hierarchical institution
Offord, M., Gill, R. C., & Kendal, J. R. (2019) · Humanities and Social Sciences Communications · doi:10.1057/s41599-018-0211-8 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Management and Leadership
Pery, S., Doytch, G., & Kluger, A. N. (2020) · doi:10.1002/9781119554189.ch10 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Cynical people desire power but rarely acquire it: Exploring the role of cynicism in leadership attainment
Stavrova, O., Ehlebracht, D., & Ren, D. (2023) · British Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjop.12685 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Job insecurity, economic resources, and democratic backsliding: evidence from South Korea
Eom, J. H., & Kwon, H. Y. (2023) · Democratization · doi:10.1080/13510347.2023.2287086 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Managing hierarchy’s functions and dysfunctions: a relational perspective on leadership and followership
Reit, E. S., & Halevy, N. (2019) · Current Opinion in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2019.07.017 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
How Does Social Class Affect Need for Structure during the COVID-19 Pandemic? A Moderated Mediating Model Analysis
Rao, T., Yang, S., & Zhu, X. (2022) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph19020932 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Achieving social influence across gender and time: Are dominance and prestige equally viable for men and women?
Kakkar, H. (2024) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/pspa0000380 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Self-citation
Life-history calibration of social hierarchies: Childhood adversity predicts leadership preference through relational social investment
Zhu, N., Chen, B., Lu, H. J., & Chang, L. (2021) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2021.111482 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Becoming authoritarian for the greater good? Authoritarian attitudes in context of the societal crises of COVID-19 and climate change
Hirsch, M. (2022) · Frontiers in Political Science · doi:10.3389/fpos.2022.929991 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
More Than Meets the Eye: The Unintended Consequence of Leader Dominance Orientation on Subordinate Ethicality
Brady, G. L., & Sivanathan, N. (2023) · Organization Science · doi:10.1287/orsc.2021.15640 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Self-citation
Too young to lead? Role incongruity explains age bias against young leaders
Daldrop, C., Homan, A. C., & Buengeler, C. (2025) · The Leadership Quarterly · doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2025.101878 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Explaining Putin’s impunity: public sector corruption and political trust in Russia
Zaloznaya, M., Glanville, J. L., & Reisinger, W. M. (2022) · Post-Soviet Affairs · doi:10.1080/1060586x.2022.2063633 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Perilous and unaccountable: The positive relationship between dominance and moral hazard behaviors.
Brady, G. L., Kakkar, H., & Sivanathan, N. (2024) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/pspi0000448 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Self-citation
Zero-sum beliefs and the avoidance of political conversations
Boland, F. K., & Davidai, S. (2024) · Communications Psychology · doi:10.1038/s44271-024-00095-4 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
When Toughness Begets Respect: Dominant Individuals Gain Prestige and Leadership By Facilitating Intragroup Conflict Resolution
Cheng, J. T., Dhaliwal, N. A., & Too, M. A. (2022) · Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology · doi:10.1007/s40750-022-00196-6 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Prestige and dominance in egalitarian and hierarchical societies: Children in Finland favor prestige more than children in Colombia or the USA
Sequeira, M., Afshordi, N., & Kajanus, A. (2024) · Evolution and Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2024.05.005 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Low competitive status elicits aggression in healthy young men: behavioural and neural evidence
Buades‐Rotger, M., Göttlich, M., Weiblen, R., Petereit, P., Scheidt, T., Keevil, B. G., & Krämer, U. M. (2021) · Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience · doi:10.1093/scan/nsab061 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Leader-turn-follower: an opportunity for cooperation or sabotage?
Tanko, S., & Kwarteng, A. H. (2025) · Strategy and Leadership · doi:10.1108/sl-09-2025-0283 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Let the people’s will prevail: Self-uncertainty and authoritarianism predict support for populism
Gøtzsche‐Astrup, O., & Hogg, M. A. (2023) · Group Processes & Intergroup Relations · doi:10.1177/13684302231211291 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Ideology and the Microfoundations of Conflict
Müller, V., & Gries, T. (2024) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780197670187.001.0001 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Economic cycles as a source of social influence on individuals
Širola, N. (2019) · Social and Personality Psychology Compass · doi:10.1111/spc3.12452 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
The Multi-Capital Leadership Theory
Garfield, Z. H., Rueden, C. R. V., & Hagen, E. H. (2025) · Human Nature · doi:10.1007/s12110-025-09503-y · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Banding together to avoid exploitation: Dominant (but not prestige-based) leaders motivate collective moral opposition from followers
Ronay, R., Oostrom, J. K., She, M. H. C., & Maner, J. K. (2023) · Group Processes & Intergroup Relations · doi:10.1177/13684302231151942 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
When Maya Children do not see Power as More Masculine: Evidence From Self-Perception and Gender-Power Association Tasks
Charafeddine, R., Castelain, T., & der Henst, J. V. (2023) · Cross-Cultural Research · doi:10.1177/10693971231202885 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Exploring neural correlates of social dominance: Insights from behavioral, resting- state EEG, and ERP indices
Mohamadpour, H., Navi, F. F. T., Asl, F. A., Heysieattalab, S., Shakeri, E., & Isheqlou, L. K. (2024) · Brain and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.bandc.2024.106177 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
A More Competent, Warm, Feminine, and Human Leader: Perceptions and Effectiveness of Democratic Versus Authoritarian Political Leaders
Sainz, M., Moreno‐Bella, E., & Torres‐Vega, L. C. (2021) · International Review of Social Psychology · doi:10.5334/irsp.452 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Can Policy Responses to Pandemics Reduce Mass Fear?
Bechtel, M. M., O’Brochta, W., & Tavits, M. (2020) · Journal of Experimental Political Science · doi:10.1017/xps.2022.7 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Considering the role of second-order respect in individuals' deference to dominant actors
Reit, E. S., & Gruenfeld, D. H. (2022) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2022.104326 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
That's my autocrat: Self‐uncertainty elevates support for autocratic leadership during Canada's Freedom Convoy
Kincaid, K. M., Angela, C., Rast, D. E., & Hogg, M. A. (2024) · Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy · doi:10.1111/asap.12414 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Our Brains at War
Fitzduff, M. (2021) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780197512654.001.0001 · Cited by 6 · see citing works

When do people prefer dominant over prestigious political leaders?
Jiménez, Á. V., Flitton, A., & Mesoudi, A. (2021) · Evolutionary Human Sciences · doi:10.1017/ehs.2021.12 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Explaining the Global Rise of “Dominance” Leadership
Sivanathan, N., & Kakkar, H. (2017) · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Self-citation
No strong evidence that authoritarian attitudes are driven by a lack of control
Safra, L., Baumard, N., & Chevallier, C. (2018) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1721565115 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Dominant leaders and the political psychology of followership.
Petersen, M., & Laustsen, L. (2020) · Current Opinion in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2019.07.005 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Perceived Conflict and Leader Dominance: Individual and Contextual Factors Behind Preferences for Dominant Leaders
Laustsen, L., & Petersen, M. B. (2017) · Political Psychology · doi:10.1111/pops.12403 · Cited by 162 · see citing works

Authors: Kakkar, H., & Sivanathan, N.
Affiliations: London Business School (GB)
ORCID: Kakkar, Hemant
Sivanathan, Niro
Venue: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Publisher: National Academy of Sciences
Published: 2017-06-12
Volume: 114
Issue: 26
Pages: 6734-6739
ISSN: 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
1091-6490
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1617711114
PMC: PMC5495227
OpenAlex: W2626998810
Cited by: 254
References: 43
Citations by year: 2026: 17 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 50 · 2023: 38 · 2022: 31 · 2021: 35 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 23 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 2
FWCI: 21.37
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: bronze
doi.org
Locations: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
London Business School Research Online (London Business School) (submittedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social Power and Status Dynamics
Keywords: leadership emergence, dominance, prestige, economic uncertainty, poverty, vacant housing, unemployment, perceived personal control, political support
MeSH terms: Adult, Female, Humans, Leadership, Male, Middle Aged, Models, Psychological, Social Behavior

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review

When the appeal of a dominant leader is greater than a prestige leader

Abstract

Integrity signals

Claims the paper makes

Claims other papers make about this one

Cites

Cited by

Related

Record

About these checks