The Psychological Assessment of Political Leadersance will provide such data. Most statistical packages for personal
computers have a one-way analysis of variance procedure that can
easily be applied to exploring this question. If the one-way analyses
of variance "F-tests"are significant (have a probability value of .05 or
less), then the leader's scores differ on that trait for that context fac-
tor (time, topic, audience); in effect, the leader is being adaptive in
that type of situation. By noting where a leader's scores change, the
analyst can put the leadership profile into context. One can note if
the leader puts on a different face when dealing with foreign diplo-
mats than when interacting inside his or her own country; if the
leader has different strategies for dealing with different types of
problems; if he or she adapts to being a political leader in a different
way with experience and a longer tenure in the position. This con-
textual analysis adds depth and nuance to the more general profile
constructed
Problems Often Faced in Constructing a Profile
What if leaders' scores change dramatically across topics, audiences, and
time? Dramatic changes or differences in scores across contextual cat-
egories usually suggest that a leader is highly sensitive to the situa-
tion. Such leaders tend to judge what their options are based on what
is happening at the moment by assessing who is supporting what
and the nature of the problem. Action is only taken after such lead-
ers have a chance to survey the scene and to define what important
others are likely to do. For these leaders, analysts are going to need to
know a lot more about the situations the leaders are facing in order
to know what they will do. Examining just where the changes
occurred can provide information about what part of the context is
important for that leader. If the changes are found for audience,
chances are that these leaders are influenced by the people, groups,
and organizations with whom they are interacting. If, however, the
changes occur by topic, then the leaders are probably attending to
solving the problem at hand and tailoring their behavior to deal with
what is happening.
What if leaders' scores are very different when they are talking to a domes-
tic audience rather than to an international one? This question is an
important one because leaders of third world countries often show
such differences. They are much less directive, more charming, and