The leader's method and the follower's outcome: predictors of future interaction
Abstract
In attempting to explain the degree of cooperation in the leader - follower dyad, leadership style and situational outcome, in a mixed-motive game, were controlled. 120 business employees, both male and female, were paired with a leader who was projected as a Prisoner's Dilemma game expert. The subject, with the help of the leader who was either democratic or autocratic, then played a round of the game against a confederate subject. The win/lose outcome of the first game was controlled. The subject was then given the opportunity to play a second game against the leader, and the number of competitive choices made by the subject was recorded. After the second game, the subject completed an attribution questionnaire. The results indicated that neither leadership style nor first game outcome effected the amount of cooperation in the second game, however, women were significantly more cooperative than men. Analysis of the attribution scale showed that women rated the leader as more pleasant than did the men, and the experimental groups rated the leader as more pleasant than did the control subjects. The short interaction utilized in this study was viewed as a major factor which may have had a strong influence on the results.