Presidential Leadership
DOI
10.1146/annurev.psych.55.090902.141918
Abstract
This chapter reviews psychological theories of leadership and selected literature on the American presidency to highlight key psychological principles of presidential leadership. Psychological theories, framed by the principles of leadership outlined by Freud (1921), include those of Burns (1978, 2003) on transformational leadership, Bass (1997) and House & Shamir (1993) on charismatic and transformational leadership, Gardner (1995) on stories of identity, Hogg (2001, 2003) on social identity, and Tyler & Lind (1992) on procedural justice. The discussion of presidential scholarship considers work by Barber (1992) on presidential character, Simonton (1986, 1987) on presidential personality and success, Skowronek (1997) on reconstructive politics, and Winter (1987) on presidential motive profiles. These studies suggest that followers have high expectations for presidents and that successful presidential leadership depends on opportunity, high levels of activity, intelligence, optimistic resilience, and flexibility.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-2005
Publisher Statement
Copyright © 2005 Annual Reviews, Inc. This article first appeared in The Annual Review of Psychology 56 (2005), 545-570.
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Recommended Citation
Goethals, George R. "Presidential Leadership." Annual Review of Psychology, 56 (February 2005): 545 - 570.
