Follow the leader - Social Psychology

30-Second Psychology: The 50 Most Thought-provoking Psychology Theories, Each Explained in Half a Minute - Christian Jarrett 2011

Follow the leader
Social Psychology

One of history’s greatest criminals, Adolf Hitler, was actually voted into power. How? A key theory has its basis in social psychologist Henri Tajfel’s experiences as a prisoner of war in the Second World War. Himself a Jew, Tajfel wanted to explain how an horrific event such as the Holocaust could occur — most of his Polish relatives and friends were murdered, and Tajfel only escaped by concealing his identity. A series of experiments carried out in the 1970s helped Tajfel to recognize that people will show remarkable allegiance to arbitrary groups for seemingly unimportant reasons — shared hair colour, place of birth or even after being randomly assigned to a group by an experimenter. This is social identity theory. These groups need leaders, and US psychologist Michael Hogg in the 1990s found that group members will choose not the ’best-and-brightest’, but the most average individuals with whom most members could easily identify. Once they’re in power, by necessity leaders become different from their constituents, so they must go to increasing lengths to prove they are like their group. This may be why nationalistic slogans — and even outright racism — are often effective political strategies. By defining their group in exclusive terms, leaders can reinforce their social identity and build power.

3-SECOND PSYCHE

The best leaders are bold and charismatic, right? No, social identity theory says people tend to follow the most prototypical members of their group.

3-MINUTE ANALYSIS

What makes a person identify with one group over another? You’re reading this book; does that make you a ’reader’, an ’English-speaker’, or a ’psychology fan’? How groups are chosen is a puzzle social psychologists continue to ponder. Social identity theory says that you may identify with any one of them, but you could be motivated by many factors, including self-esteem, reducing uncertainty or even simply because these groups are suggested to you here.

RELATED THEORIES

ZIMBARDO’S PRISON

MILGRAM’S OBEDIENCE STUDY

STEREOTYPE THREAT

3-SECOND BIOGRAPHIES

MICHAEL HOGG

1950—

HENRI TAJFEL

1919—1982

30-SECOND TEXT

Dave Munger

Image

Looking and dressing like your followers can help to make you a more popular leader, fostering the sense that you are one of them.