Alpha Dominance Desire: Development and Exploration
Advisor Information
Lisa Scherer
Location
UNO Criss Library, Room 231
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Start Date
7-3-2014 9:00 AM
End Date
7-3-2014 9:15 AM
Abstract
Alpha dominance desire (ADD) or the degree that a person wants to be perceived as an alpha dominant leader by others, may be used to better understand reluctance to lead for certain groups of people, such as women. Sociocultural factors may affect likelihood to pursue leadership roles, beyond simply having leadership traits and skills. For example, cultural stereotypes about dominance and gendered social roles can result in prejudice against female leaders. Knowledge of these stereotypes and the potential backlash that women could experience when taking on a leadership role may influence their desire to be seen in a dominant leadership role. We developed a scale to measure ADD and established construct validity and scale reliability by examining relationships between ADD and common predictors of leadership such as social dominance at the trait level, narcissism, and need for power. This measure should be a more accurate predictor of leadership because it takes into account those who might monitor their behavior to be in line with sociocultural expectations. ADD also enables researchers to examine potential relationships between leadership skills and reluctance to lead for certain groups of people. Analyses suggest ADD is a better predictor of motivation to lead than other predictors of leadership such as personality dominance, narcissism, and need for power.
Alpha Dominance Desire: Development and Exploration
UNO Criss Library, Room 231
Alpha dominance desire (ADD) or the degree that a person wants to be perceived as an alpha dominant leader by others, may be used to better understand reluctance to lead for certain groups of people, such as women. Sociocultural factors may affect likelihood to pursue leadership roles, beyond simply having leadership traits and skills. For example, cultural stereotypes about dominance and gendered social roles can result in prejudice against female leaders. Knowledge of these stereotypes and the potential backlash that women could experience when taking on a leadership role may influence their desire to be seen in a dominant leadership role. We developed a scale to measure ADD and established construct validity and scale reliability by examining relationships between ADD and common predictors of leadership such as social dominance at the trait level, narcissism, and need for power. This measure should be a more accurate predictor of leadership because it takes into account those who might monitor their behavior to be in line with sociocultural expectations. ADD also enables researchers to examine potential relationships between leadership skills and reluctance to lead for certain groups of people. Analyses suggest ADD is a better predictor of motivation to lead than other predictors of leadership such as personality dominance, narcissism, and need for power.