.png)
UvA research: people who bend the rules are seen as good leaders
University of Amsterdam research shows that people who skirt the rules are more likely to be seen as attractive leaders. What does that say about society? Five questions to professor of social psychology Gerben van Kleef.
.png)
There is a paradox, says UvA professor of social psychology Gerben van Kleef. On the one hand, science shows that people appreciate others if they follow the rules, because ‘if everyone keeps their own rules on them, it will become a mess after a while'. On the other hand, there is scientific evidence that people who break the rules give off a certain vibe, impressing others.
Yet it is not the people who obey the rules, nor those who break them, who command the most respect. New research by UvA professor Astrid Homan in collaboration with three UvA scientists including Van Kleef, shows that people consider a third group to be the most attractive leaders. Namely those who know how to circumvent the rules, the so-called rule-benders.
Think, for example, of tax evaders. ‘You can bluntly commit fraud or you can hire a team of shrewd tax advisers and set up all kinds of private limited companies,’ Van Kleef illustrates. In either case, you pay less tax, but the former is illegal and the latter is not. That makes tax evaders more attractive as leaders than tax cheats.
What does it say about people that we see rule-benders as attractive leaders?
‘It shows that we are largely led by self-interest and group interests. The two often go together. People look for ways to advance their own group. If someone then manages to circumvent the rules - which are often perceived as frustrating or difficult - that is seen as pleasant. Because it helps to achieve goals.’
Both rule-breakers and rule-benders are seen as dominant, but the latter group is also accorded a certain prestige, your research shows. So what makes them so prestigious? Is it because we consider them smart and shrewd for finding loopholes?
‘Yes, I think something like that is behind it. We have also looked at perceptions of creativity and we do find evidence that such people are seen as more creative. Creativity can be seen as part of cleverness. Prestige is even broader, which is about the extent to which someone is seen as valuable to the group. In many groups, being creative and smart helps with that.’
What are the implications of this knowledge, the fact that rule-benders are seen as attractive leaders in society?
‘I cannot rule out that some people feel supported by this and are tempted to bend the rules. That they think: maybe it will still yield something in the form of prestige, power or influence. Still, it is important to note that while bending rules is better than breaking them, both undermine the normative structures that help society function. Tax evasion, of course, undermines government revenue just as much as tax fraud.’
Which environment in particular would benefit from that additional explanation?
‘I think the financial world has traditionally been one of those competitive environments where circumventing rules is hugely prevalent. Note that other research also shows that within the financial world it is seen as a sign of intelligence if people are able to circumvent the rules. Within that world, this is also welcomed: the valuation structure drives this kind of behaviour.’
Does this appreciation of rule-benders only apply within the financial world, or do we also see such a valuation structure within politics, for example?'
‘Yes, there seems to be a shift within politics as well recently. The discourse is becoming harsher, things that were previously chiselled in granite, such as the Constitution, are suddenly being questioned. You could say that politicians are now trying to find a form in which they do not break these fundamental rules, but circumvent them. Take the plan to house migrants in Rwanda. Then, while - strictly speaking - you do not violate the letter of the law, you do violate its spirit.’
