Influence and leadership in small groups: Impact of group prototypicality, social status, and task competence

Leaders are rated more favorably if, according to the social identity theory of leadership, they are prototypical of a group that members identify with; and if, according to expectation states theory, they possess characteristics that benefit the group because (a) such characteristics help the group perform its specific task (specific status characteristics) and/or (b) such characteristics are generally associated with societally valued social categories (diffuse status characteristics). These theories were compared in the context of small interactive groups where students (N = 534) rated a hypothetical leader. Leader characteristics (group prototypicality, diffuse status, specific status) were manipulated in a 2 × 2 × 2 between-subjects design, and group identification was measured. As predicted, leaders higher in status characteristics and prototypicality were rated better, and stronger identification predicted better ratings of highly prototypical leaders, but did not impact how status characteristics affected ratings. Higher diffuse characteristics also predicted better ratings of highly prototypical leaders. These findings suggest status characteristics and leader prototypicality affect perceptions of leader effectiveness, but as people identify more with the group, prototypicality becomes more important.