Effects of prototypicality on leader election: a self-categoriztion perspective

Abstract

Objectives: This study assessed the relationships between prototypicality and leader election (i.e., prototype-based leadership).

Methods: Three groups of university students (N=191) in Hong Kong participated in this study. Three variables (i.e., level of prototypicality of leader, desirability of prototype, and participants’ identity) were operationalized for prototypicality to assess their effects on leader election under Beijing and Singapore context. Six potential leader profiles, with different combinations of prototypicality level and desirability level of prototype were constructed for the election.

Results: The results of mixed ANOVA supported the researcher’s hypotheses that leader election was positively affected by the level of prototypicality and the level of desirability of prototype. Candidates with moderate level of prototypicality was the most likely to be perceived as an effective leader and also, the most likely to become a leader. However, the influences on leader election due to context were not salient. The relationships between participants’ identity and leader election could not be tested in the present study.

Discussion: The results demonstrate that the relationships between prototypicality and leader election also apply to Asian samples. This suggests that previous related findings with Western samples may be generalizable to Asian samples as well.