Assessing Leadership Style: Trait Analysis

The Psychological Assessment of Political Leaders

emphasize. In describing the method, I have already discussed cer-
tain personality traits, such as impulsivity, decisiveness, and so forth.
What traits should be added in order to have a broader base upon
which to construct a personality profile? The following list of traits
appears to mirror verbal mannerisms that are important in describ-
ing human behavior. After listing each personality trait, I indicate
which verbal categories appear to be associated with it and, where
appropriate, offer examples of how the presence of the trait in ques-
tion can be detected in samples of free speech.

Some Personality Traits Reflected by Grammatical Choices

1. Decisiveness. This trait was previously discussed. Preparation for
   decision can be measured by the frequency of occurrence of qualifiers.
   Once the method of data collection has been controlled for, numer-
   ous qualifiers suggest indecisiveness. Of the post—World War II
   presidents, Gerald Ford scored highest in this category.


2. Reconsideration. The ability to reconsider a decision after it has
   been made has also been discussed previously. Reconsideration is
   best reflected by the moderate use of retractors.


3. Impulsivity. This trait has been extensively investigated in a
   psychiatric patient group (Weintraub and Aronson 1964). A fre-
   quent use of retractors and negatives is associated with impulsivity
   in many cases. During the Watergate crisis, Richard Nixon occa-

TABLE 6.1. MEAN SCORES FOR THE FIRST

SEVEN POST-WORLD WAR II PRESIDENTS

Category

/

We

Me

Negatives

Qualifiers

Retractors

Direct references

Explainers

Expressions of feeling

Adverbial intensifiers

Nonpersonal references

Creative expressions

Score

35.0

20.0

1.5

12.0

11.0

6.5

2.5

5.5

3.5

15.0

775.0

2.5