Nation seeks charisma, says lecturer
Alexander Welles '11
Issue date: 10/8/08 Section: News
In times of political crisis and fear, Americans are three and a half times more likely to vote for a charismatic leader than one they view as competent, according to visiting psychology lecturer Sheldon Solomon.
Soloman, a professor from Skidmore College, addressed the students, faculty, and staff that gathered in the Lyon's Den on Thursday, September 25 with a presentation of his psychological research called "Fatal Attraction: Fear of Death and Political Preference."
Describing history as, "one long ethnic conflict," Solomon hypothesized that the fear and disdain that has occurred when different cultures and peoples meet and react against each other stems from the dread uncertainty that it places on one's "reality" or beliefs. This undermines the mental bulwarks culture has built against the reality of death.
In his research he found that even the subconscious mention of death, for example, flashing "death" across a screen for only 28 milliseconds, has an effect.
Culture, according to Sheldon, represents man's attempt to deal with, or obscure, the fact of his own eventual demise. Those reminded of death are more likely to "sit closer to people who share their culture" and experience heightened internal prejudice against those who look, act, or think differently.
In a study performed at Rutgers University in 2004, Sheldon and his colleagues asked registered voters whom they would vote for in that year's presidential election. The test subjects were divided into two experimental groups, blind to political opinion.
The control group was asked to think about pain, such as a root canal, before answering and Sheldon found that only 8 out of 43 voters said they would vote for George W. Bush.
A second group was asked to consider death before responding. In this group, approval for Bush soared to 32 out of 46 voters. Results were similar in a third group which was asked to remember the tragedy of September 11, 2001.
That "a subtle alteration of psychological circumstances might have such an egregious effect" worried Solomon, who noted that it wasn't coincidence that the Osama Bin Laden taped message was "leaked" only days before November 2004's election.
Solomon attributed this alteration in results to the attraction of charisma and self-assurance in times of chaos. According to Solomon, Bush's campaign in 2004 was largely based around his belief that "God had chosen him" to lead the nation after 9/11.
However, "Reminders of mortality will not particularly matter, anxieties will reinforce the candidate already chosen," said Solomon of November's election, as "in this election there are three different charismatic entities McCain, Obama, and Palin."
Soloman, a professor from Skidmore College, addressed the students, faculty, and staff that gathered in the Lyon's Den on Thursday, September 25 with a presentation of his psychological research called "Fatal Attraction: Fear of Death and Political Preference."
Describing history as, "one long ethnic conflict," Solomon hypothesized that the fear and disdain that has occurred when different cultures and peoples meet and react against each other stems from the dread uncertainty that it places on one's "reality" or beliefs. This undermines the mental bulwarks culture has built against the reality of death.
In his research he found that even the subconscious mention of death, for example, flashing "death" across a screen for only 28 milliseconds, has an effect.
Culture, according to Sheldon, represents man's attempt to deal with, or obscure, the fact of his own eventual demise. Those reminded of death are more likely to "sit closer to people who share their culture" and experience heightened internal prejudice against those who look, act, or think differently.
In a study performed at Rutgers University in 2004, Sheldon and his colleagues asked registered voters whom they would vote for in that year's presidential election. The test subjects were divided into two experimental groups, blind to political opinion.
The control group was asked to think about pain, such as a root canal, before answering and Sheldon found that only 8 out of 43 voters said they would vote for George W. Bush.
A second group was asked to consider death before responding. In this group, approval for Bush soared to 32 out of 46 voters. Results were similar in a third group which was asked to remember the tragedy of September 11, 2001.
That "a subtle alteration of psychological circumstances might have such an egregious effect" worried Solomon, who noted that it wasn't coincidence that the Osama Bin Laden taped message was "leaked" only days before November 2004's election.
Solomon attributed this alteration in results to the attraction of charisma and self-assurance in times of chaos. According to Solomon, Bush's campaign in 2004 was largely based around his belief that "God had chosen him" to lead the nation after 9/11.
However, "Reminders of mortality will not particularly matter, anxieties will reinforce the candidate already chosen," said Solomon of November's election, as "in this election there are three different charismatic entities McCain, Obama, and Palin."
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Edward Brown
posted 10/08/08 @ 2:24 PM EST
Research suggests that during tumultuous times a charismatic leader is better for a crisis over a more traditional form of leadership. After the crisis has been abated, a more traditional style of leadership is advised. (Continued…)
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