Charisma as Directed Attentional Allocation: A Consilient Theory

• In Event: Open Refereed Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table 22: Sociological and Social Theory

Abstract

The study of charisma, variously referred to as “leadership,” “charm,” or “dominance,” is now pursued by a variety of subfields. Although such work has provided new insights into how charismatic people present themselves, this proliferation of terminology and data has produced few, if any, advancements in our understand of what charisma is. In pursuit of a consilient, and substantive, advancement in our theoretical understanding of the nature of charisma, this paper accomplishes four objectives. First, we review and synthesize empirical and theoretical work over the last several decades as it relates to charisma and related concepts. Next, we introduce a novel reframing of charisma which can parsimoniously account for existing findings—charismatic figures are disproportionately attending to, and directing others’ attention toward, peoples’ ideal selves. We then leverage this interpretation to suggest a novel insight—situations, and not just individuals, can be charismatic. Finally, we conclude with a description of ten testable hypotheses which can plausibly deepen our theoretical understanding of charisma.

Author

• Kevin John McCaffree, University of North Texas