Children Expect Leaders to Protect but not to Bully

• In Event: 2-195 - New Directions in the Study of Children’s Concepts of Leadership

Integrative Statement

Hierarchy is a universal feature of human social life, but there is more than one way to attain social rank (Henrich & Gil-White, 2001). In some cases, people are high-ranking because others are afraid of them. This type of hierarchy is similar to the hierarchies of other primate species where dominant individuals commit random acts of aggression toward subordinates to maintain their social rank (Silk, 2002). In other cases, people are high-ranking because they provide benefits such as knowledge, protection and guidance (Fiske & Haslam, 2005). In this study we were interested in whether children expect high-ranking individuals to act like bullies or trusted authorities. In Study 1, children ages 3 to 8 (N=182) were read four stories about novel social groups (e.g. ‘The Wugs’ ‘The Rookas’, ‘The Flurps’ and ‘The Zazzos’) that consisted of one leader and three followers. In Story A, one Wug pushed another Wug down, and the children guessed which Wug did the pushing. Only 39/182 children guessed that the leader pushed someone as opposed to the other two characters; p<.001; BF=80.54 in favor of the hypothesis that children chose the leader more or less than 1/3 of the time. In Story B, a Flurp stole a cookie from another Flurp, and children again guessed who did it. In this case, the evidence was inconclusive: 50 out of 182 children guessed that the leader stole the cookie, p=.09; BF=1.877, which is not compelling evidence for either hypothesis. In Stories C and D, children were told that a Zazzo kicked a non-Zazzo out of the Zazzo’s territory. In Story C it was because the outsider pushed someone down; in Story D it was because the outsider stole someone’s cookie. In both of these cases, children were far more likely to identify the leader as the one who expelled the outsider (Story C: 124/182 chose the leader; p<.001 BF=1.6 x 1023; Story D: 120/182 chose the leader. p<.001; BF=6.55 x1018). Thus, children, ages 3-8 years old, seem to have a generally positive view of high-ranking individuals: Specifically, they expect leaders to refrain from random acts of aggression against in-group members, and to enforce social norms—at least against outsiders. In Study 2, which is ongoing, we are testing whether children expect leaders to be actively prosocial. In Story 2A one ‘Wug’ helps another Wug up who has fallen, and children guessed who it was. So far, only 14 out of the 82 children we have tested have picked the leader (BF=24.7 in favor of the alternative hypothesis that children are choosing the leader more or less than 1/3 of the time). In Story 2B a ‘Rooka’ shares a cookie and 23/80 children have chosen the leader, suggesting children choose the leader as often as the other characters (BF=2.44 in favor of the null). Thus, children do seem to think that leaders provide benefits, but have a nuanced view about what types of benefits they provide.

Authors

• Ashley J Thomas, Harvard University
  Presenting Author

• Barbara Sarnecka, University of California, Irvine
  Non-Presenting Author