title: Reduction of interindividual-intergroup discontinuity: the role of leader accountability and proneness to guilt.
abstract: Two experiments contrasted interactions between group leaders with interactions between individuals in a mixed-motive setting. Consistent with the idea that being accountable to the in-group implies normative pressure to benefit the in-group, Experiment 1 found that accountable leaders were more competitive than individuals. Consistent with the idea that being unaccountable to the in-group implies normative pressure to be cooperative and that high guilt proneness provides motivation to be moral, Experiment 2 found that when guilt proneness was high, unaccountable leaders were less competitive than accountable leaders and did not differ significantly from individuals. In other words, the robust interindividual-intergroup discontinuity effect was eliminated when groups had unaccountable leaders who were high in guilt proneness.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, Altoona, PA 16601, USA. tbp1@psu.edu
authors.forename: Brad
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pinter
authors.forename: Chester A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Insko
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wildschut
authors.forename: Jeffrey L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Kirchner
authors.forename: R Matthew
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Montoya
authors.forename: Scott T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Wolf
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D005260:Female; D006167:Guilt; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007857:Leadership; D008297:Male; D012941:Social Responsibility