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Research highlights sex differences in leadership emergence and effectiveness

New research at the University of Kent has confirmed that a male leader is preferred at times of conflict between groups, whereas a female leader is preferred during conflicts within groups.

For the first part of what was a two-part study, Mark Van Vugt, Professor of Social Psychology, and postgraduate researcher Brian Spisak, asked 45 participants to imagine that they were citizens of a hypothetical country during presidential elections. The 'election results' indicated that people prefer female leaders when there is internal conflict but switch to a male leader when their country is at war.

In the second part, 50 participants playing a group investment game in five-person groups were more likely to select male team leaders during intergroup competition and female leaders during intragroup competition; subsequently, these leaders were also more effective in raising their group's contributions.

According to Professor Van Vugt, the origin of these sex biases in 'war' and 'peace' leadership may lie in evolved preferences.

He said: 'In ancestral times, having a leader would have been instrumental in tackling conflicts within and between groups. Due to a relatively lower parental investment, it would have been more attractive for men to take the lead in intergroup conflicts, because raiding another group could enhance their reproductive opportunities.

'Conversely, for ancestral females, maintaining peaceful relations with other group members might have been more important to provide social support. Hence, evolution might have selected for 'war' traits in men and 'peace' traits in women and for sex-specific leadership prototypes associated with warfare and peace-keeping. Modern culture can obviously reinforce and modify these innate tendencies.'

'Sex Differences in Leadership Emergence During Conflicts Within and Between Groups' by Mark Van Vugt and Brian Spisak is published in Psychological Science, Vol 19, Issue 9.

Contact: mediaoffice@kent.ac.uk

Story published at 12:06pm 20 October 2008