2-195 - New Directions in the Study of Children’s Concepts of Leadership

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Adults not only identify leaders but also have rich ideas and biases about leadership. We have ideas about who is fit to be a leader, how leaders emerge, what types of leadership exist, and whether leaders fulfill their responsibilities along with the benefits of their privileged position. Here we build on these themes and explore them from a developmental perspective, with children ages 3 to 11.

The first two presentations focus on children’s perceptions of who is likely to be a leader, and how leaders should be selected. The first presentation shows children have biases regarding gender and leadership: only boys expect leaders to be boys, and children associate gender with different leader-like features. The second presentation shows that children prioritize public endorsement over wealth and influence as criteria for leader selection, and believe voting is the legitimate method to select leaders. The last two presentations focus on the nature of leaders’ behavior toward non-leaders. The third presentation shows that children expect an elected leader to contribute more resources to a collaborative goal than a non-leader, suggesting that they associate leaders with increased responsibility. In a similar vein, the fourth presentation shows that children associate protective actions with leaders: they expect leaders to refrain from harming their group and to protect it from outgroup aggressors.

Together, this symposium advances our understanding of how leadership is construed during childhood, and offers new directions for research on this important dimension of our social lives.

Sub Unit

• Social Cognition

Chair

• Maayan Stavans, Bar-Ilan University

Individual Presentations

• Children’s Perceptions of Social Power Differences Between Boys and Girls - Presenting Author: Selin Gülgöz, University of Washington; Non-Presenting Author: Kristina Olson, University of Washington; Non-Presenting Author: Susan Gelman, University of Michigan

• Rules for Rulers: Children’s Beliefs About who Should Lead and how - Presenting Author: Emily Gerdin, Yale University; Non-Presenting Author: Hannah Hok, University of Chicago; Non-Presenting Author: Alex Shaw, University of Chicago

• Children Hold Elected Leaders Responsible, not Entitled - Presenting Author: Maayan Stavans, Bar-Ilan University; Non-Presenting Author: Gil Diesendruck, Bar-Ilan University

• Children Expect Leaders to Protect but not to Bully - Presenting Author: Ashley J Thomas, Harvard University; Non-Presenting Author: Barbara Sarnecka, University of California, Irvine