Divide and Conquer: Effects of Highlighting Sub-Group Divisions on Leader Support from the Majority

• Author / Creator

  Ma, Angela

• All groups have prototypes, “fuzzy sets” of attributes that define the group’s identity. These
  prototypes are dynamic, creating opportunities for leaders to promote versions of the group
  prototype that fit their vision for this group’s future. Previous studies have suggested leaders can
  use rhetoric to manipulate the boundaries of their groups, expanding the group to include more
  people, or attempting to create new categorizations altogether. However, these studies have been
  qualitative in nature, drawing their conclusions through analyzing historical documents and
  transcripts from large observational studies. The current study empirically tested the effects of
  exclusionary and inclusionary leader rhetoric on perceptions of the leader as well as perceptions
  of the group. Participants were 110 Albertan university students. They read arguments by a
  student leader suggesting that non-Albertan students either did or did not share the values of
  Albertan students. The student leader’s rhetoric (exclusionary or inclusionary) and their
  prototypicality (high or low) was manipulated. Results show that using exclusionary rhetoric led
  to decreased support for both prototypical and non-prototypical leaders. Participants who
  strongly identified with being Albertan showed greater support for excluding non-Albertans
  when they were exposed to a prototypical leader who used exclusionary rhetoric. From these
  findings we conclude that while the use of exclusionary rhetoric may not always be an effective
  tool for leaders seeking to gain more support from majority subgroup members, exposure to this
  rhetoric may still cause highly-identified majority subgroup members to become more amenable
  to policies that exclude minority subgroup members from positions of authority within the group.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • social identity
  • leadership
  • prototypes
  • rhetoric
  • identification

• Graduation date

  Spring 2021

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Arts

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/r3-b811-fq52

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.