Methods of Assessing Leader Personalitiesstructure of a leader's personality and how they reflect the impact of
psychobiographical experiences on the development of the leader's
personality (Smith 1968). The next three chapters by Weintraub,
Winter, and Hermann, respectively, probe more deeply into parts of
the leader's personality by focusing on motivational and affective
traits that operate as mechanisms mediating the relationship
between self and others. The final two chapters by Walker, Schafer,
and Young and by Suedfeld, Guttieri, and Tetlock are cognitive
analyses of the process of object appraisal, which reveal how beliefs
orient the leader toward action in the political universe and how
aspects of the leader's cognitive style influence the leader's thinking
and decision making.
While it is possible to postulate a simple linear model of causation
in which the deep structure of the personality shapes and constrains
the operation of motivational, affective, and cognitive mechanisms,
the authors of these chapters do not all make this assumption in their
analyses. The comprehensive analyses by Post and Renshon attempt
to identify pattern and shaping influences, but the authors are always
mindful of the complex interaction with the environment. Nor do
the analyses by the other contributors postulate a simple linear
model of causation. Rather they tend to be agnostic about this possi-
bility in varying degrees, depending on how comprehensive and
explicit their models of personality are regarding linkages among
beliefs, motivations, and character. We shall return to a discussion of
the possibilities for integrating these analyses in the conclusion.