Neuroscience
The late Margaret Thatcher - Britain's first and, so far, only female Prime Minister - is criticised for failing to do more to help other women get ahead in politics. Supporters argue, however, that the example she set will, on its own, have been of profound benefit to women with leadership ambitions. A new study puts this principle to the test, examining the effect on women of reminders about the contemporary female political high-flyers Angela Merkel and Hillary Clinton.
Ioana Latu and her colleagues recruited 149 Swiss student participants (81 women) to make a persuasive public speech against the rise in student fees. The speeches were made in a virtual reality room in front of a virtual audience of 12 men and women. Crucially, some of the participants performed their speech in a room with a poster of Hillary Clinton on the back wall; others with Merkel on the wall; a third group with Bill Clinton's poster on the back wall; and for a final group, there was no poster.
The key result is that the female students spoke for significantly longer - a sign of dominance - when Merkel or Hillary Clinton was on the back wall (as opposed to Bill or no poster) - an increase of 49 per cent and 24 per cent, respectively, making their speeches just as long as the men's. These female students' speeches were also rated as better quality by two coders blind to the experimental condition, and they also evaluated their own performance more positively. The presence of the different posters made no difference to the performance of the male students.
"We believe these findings are important because although a wealth of research has studied the effects of role models on academic and math performance, there is no research that investigates the effect of female political role models on successful leadership behaviour," the researchers concluded. "Yet, exactly such behaviour is crucial because not only is an increase in female politicians the goal of equality, it can also be (as our results show) the engine that drives it."
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Latu, I., Mast, M., Lammers, J., and Bombari, D. (2013). Successful female leaders empower women's behavior in leadership tasks. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 49 (3), 444-448 DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2013.01.003
--Further reading--
The Hillary Clinton effect - how role models work for some people but not others
Post written by Christian Jarrett (@psych_writer) for the BPS Research Digest.
- The Hillary Clinton Effect - How Role Models Work For Some People But Not Others
The benefits, or not, of reading about Ms Clinton Fear of prejudice can adversely affect people's performance. For example, female participants reminded of the stereotype that women are innately inferior at maths compared to men, subsequently...
- Why Are Women Chosen To Lead Organisations In A Crisis?
The majority of major corporations and countries are headed by men. When women are appointed to leadership positions, it tends to be when an organisation is in crisis - a phenomenon known as the glass cliff. Recent examples include: the appointment of...
- The Role Of Self-esteem In Obama's Electoral Success
Voters are more willing to vote for male political candidates whom they perceive to have high self-esteem - a finding which could help explain President Elect Barack Obama's electoral success. In Autumn 2007, Virgil Zeigler-Hill and Erin Myers asked...
- Women Need Female Role Models
The promotion of young female MPs like 26-year-old Jo Swinson, the Lib Dems’ newly-appointed Scotland spokesperson (pictured left; Baroness Greenfield pictured right), could be just what’s needed to inspire more women into politics and other male-dominated...
- When Women Prefer Taller Men
Women who are in the fertile phase of their menstrual cycle, or who are looking for a short-term relationship, tend to prefer taller men. That’s according to Polish researchers Boguslaw Pawlowski and Grazyna Jasienska who asked 110 women to look at...
Neuroscience
Female political role models have an empowering effect on women
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| Psychologically empowering to women? |
Ioana Latu and her colleagues recruited 149 Swiss student participants (81 women) to make a persuasive public speech against the rise in student fees. The speeches were made in a virtual reality room in front of a virtual audience of 12 men and women. Crucially, some of the participants performed their speech in a room with a poster of Hillary Clinton on the back wall; others with Merkel on the wall; a third group with Bill Clinton's poster on the back wall; and for a final group, there was no poster.
The key result is that the female students spoke for significantly longer - a sign of dominance - when Merkel or Hillary Clinton was on the back wall (as opposed to Bill or no poster) - an increase of 49 per cent and 24 per cent, respectively, making their speeches just as long as the men's. These female students' speeches were also rated as better quality by two coders blind to the experimental condition, and they also evaluated their own performance more positively. The presence of the different posters made no difference to the performance of the male students.
"We believe these findings are important because although a wealth of research has studied the effects of role models on academic and math performance, there is no research that investigates the effect of female political role models on successful leadership behaviour," the researchers concluded. "Yet, exactly such behaviour is crucial because not only is an increase in female politicians the goal of equality, it can also be (as our results show) the engine that drives it."
_________________________________
Latu, I., Mast, M., Lammers, J., and Bombari, D. (2013). Successful female leaders empower women's behavior in leadership tasks. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 49 (3), 444-448 DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2013.01.003
--Further reading--
The Hillary Clinton effect - how role models work for some people but not others
Post written by Christian Jarrett (@psych_writer) for the BPS Research Digest.
- The Hillary Clinton Effect - How Role Models Work For Some People But Not Others
The benefits, or not, of reading about Ms Clinton Fear of prejudice can adversely affect people's performance. For example, female participants reminded of the stereotype that women are innately inferior at maths compared to men, subsequently...
- Why Are Women Chosen To Lead Organisations In A Crisis?
The majority of major corporations and countries are headed by men. When women are appointed to leadership positions, it tends to be when an organisation is in crisis - a phenomenon known as the glass cliff. Recent examples include: the appointment of...
- The Role Of Self-esteem In Obama's Electoral Success
Voters are more willing to vote for male political candidates whom they perceive to have high self-esteem - a finding which could help explain President Elect Barack Obama's electoral success. In Autumn 2007, Virgil Zeigler-Hill and Erin Myers asked...
- Women Need Female Role Models
The promotion of young female MPs like 26-year-old Jo Swinson, the Lib Dems’ newly-appointed Scotland spokesperson (pictured left; Baroness Greenfield pictured right), could be just what’s needed to inspire more women into politics and other male-dominated...
- When Women Prefer Taller Men
Women who are in the fertile phase of their menstrual cycle, or who are looking for a short-term relationship, tend to prefer taller men. That’s according to Polish researchers Boguslaw Pawlowski and Grazyna Jasienska who asked 110 women to look at...