Leadership and status

Van Vugt, M., Hogan, R., & Kaiser, R. (2008). Leadership, followership, and evolution: Some lessons from the past. American Psychologist, 63, 182-196. Download  Abstract: This article analyzes the topic of leadership from an evolutionary perspective and proposes three conclusions that are not part of mainstream theory. First, leading and following are strategies that evolved for solving...

Van Vugt, M., Johnson, D., Kaiser, R., & O'Gorman, R. (2008). Evolution and the social psychology of leadership: The mismatch hypothesis. In Hoyt, C., Goethals, G., & Forsyth, D. Leadership at the Crossroads, Volume 1 (Psychology of leadership): Chapter 16: 267-282.  Download Abstract: This chapter advances an evolutionary perspective on leadership, arguing that leadership consists...

Van Vugt, M., & Kurzban, R. K. (2007). Cognitive and social adaptations for leadership and followership: Evolutionary game theory and group dynamics. In J. Forgas, W. von Hippel, & M. Haselton, Sydney symposium of Social Psychology, Vol. 9: The evolution of the social mind: Evolutionary psychology and social cognition (pp. 229-244). London: Psychology Press. Download Abstract: We suggest...

Van Vugt, M. (2006). The evolutionary origins of leadership and followership. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 10, 354-372. Download Abstract: Drawing upon evolutionary logic, leadership is reconceptualized in terms of the outcome of strategic interactions among individuals who are following different, yet complementary decision rules to solve recurrent coordination problems. This article...

Van Vugt, M., Chang, K., & Hart, C. (2005). The impact of leadership style on group stability. Chinese Journal of Psychology, 47, 353-364. 

Van Vugt, M. (2004).  When Do We Sacrifice for Our Leaders? The Psychologist, 17, 274-277. Download

Van Vugt, M., Jepson, S., Hart, C., & De Cremer, D. (2004)  Autocratic leadership in social dilemmas:  A threat to group stability. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 40, 1-13. Download Abstract: This paper investigated the impact of leadership style on the stability of small social dilemma groups. In two experiments, group members were more likely to exit their group and...

Van Vugt, M., & De Cremer, D. (2002). Leadership in social dilemmas:  Comparing the instrumental and relational perspectives.  In: M. Hewstone & W. Stroebe (Eds.), European Review of Social Psychology, Vol. 13 (pp. 155-184). Philadelphia:  Psychology Press Download Abstract: This chapter examines the role of leadership in overcoming social dilemmas within groups.  First,...