Persuasive Communication - How Audiences Decide. 2nd Edition

266 Understanding Intuitive Decision Making

Decision criteria in leader schemata are composed of the personality traits and emo-

tional characteristics that audiences believe leaders should possess. A study of undergraduates’

schemata for effective leaders fi nds fi ve traits to be most important: dedication, intelligence,

sensitivity, charisma, and strength.^59 Another study of leader schemata identifi es a somewhat

different set of traits: intelligence, understanding, friendliness, energy, honesty, and helpfulness.^60

A meta-analysis of research on leader schemata fi nds that three traits—intelligence, assertive-

ness, and dominance—are signifi cantly related to audience perceptions of leadership.^61 The

three traits that actually predict effective leadership appear to be intelligence, extroversion and

conscientiousness.^62

Audiences also have well-developed role schemata for leaders that are specifi c to different

occupations and professions.^63 Priming different leader schemata with the appropriate labels, for

instance business leader versus political leader , signifi cantly affects how the audience will perceive the

target individual.^64 In the political world, voters possess schemata with decision criteria comprised

of traits appropriate for political leaders.^65 Traits in U.S. voters’ schemata for the ideal president

include honesty, courage, charisma, and warmth.^66

In the business world, employees possess schemata with decision criteria consisting of traits

appropriate for business leaders.^67 Employees view traits such as strict, conservative, manipulative,

and unemotional, as inappropriate and atypical of effective business leaders.^68 Some authors use

the phrase implicit leadership theories (ILTs) to describe employees’ schemata for business leaders.

They fi nd that employees’ ILTs consist of employees’ assumptions about the skills, abilities, and

traits of an ideal business leader. Employees’ ILTs are relatively constant across individuals and

types of businesses. Stored in memory, they are activated when employees interact with their upper

management.^69

Managers also possess schemata comprised of traits appropriate for business leaders.

A cross-cultural study of 15,022 middle managers from 60 different countries asked managers to

rate the degree to which 112 different leadership traits either impede or facilitate effective leader-

ship. Middle managers from almost every country rated fi ve traits as characteristic of outstanding

business leaders—charismatic, team oriented, participative, humane, and autonomous. Middle man-

agers from all 60 countries agreed that one trait, being self-protective, inhibits leaders.^70

Audiences use physical appearance as a visual cue to identify leaders and other dominant indi-

viduals. Research demonstrates that an individual’s physical attractiveness is positively related to the

audience’s perception of their dominance.^71 Audiences also associate a mature physical appearance

with leadership and dominance. Both men and women with mature facial features impress oth-

ers as competent, dominant, and shrewd. Whereas people with less mature features impress others

as submissive, shy, and naïve.^72 Large eyes, for example, signal low dominance to many audience

members.^73

Audience responses to physical appearance can have a real impact on aspiring leaders and the

organizations they serve. Perceptions of physical attractiveness predict a man’s leadership posi-

tion in groups.^74 Physical height—a feature closely associated with social dominance^75 —is highly

correlated with greater income and occupational success.^76 Audience assessments of West Point

cadets’ dominance-related traits, based solely on the cadets’ photos, reliably predict the cadets’ future

rank in the military.^77 Audience inferences about CEOs’ power-related traits, based solely on the

CEOs’ photos, reliably predict company profi ts.^78 In one study of the effects of physical appear-

ance on leadership judgments, participants viewed photos of pairs of political candidates who ran

against each other in previous elections for the U.S. House and Senate. Participants only saw faces