RSA Selected: Why Some Lead, Others Follow and Why It Matters

Interesting video from RSA.

Selected: Why some lead, others follow and why it matters

02 Sep 2010

Psychologist Mark van Vugt fuses evolutionary history and science to show how the evolution of leadership affects us all.

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Here is a little information on Dr. van Vugt from his academic site, including links to papers:

Professor Mark Van Vugt's research concentrates on the study of group and organzational processes from an evolutionary and social psychological perspective.

He is interested in themes such as the evolution and psychology of leadership, status, power, altruism, cooperation, and intergroup relations. He is also interested in applying insights from social and evolutionary psychology to understand and help to solve real world problems related to leadership and management, environmental conservation and other pro-soclal behaviors such as volunteering, charity work, and blood donation, and antisocial behavior.

A prolific author and a regular contributor to national television and radio news, Professor Van Vugt’s has worked with a number of government, profit and non-profit organisations, including the Charity Commision, The US Office for Naval Research, Southampton Football Club, the Department of Transport, English Nature, National Health Service, Rank Xerox, Southern Water, and various city councils in the Netherlands and the UK.

Professor Van Vugt is member of the team that won the prestigious £1.2 million British Academy grant "From Lucy to Language: The Archaeology of the Social Brain." He is also co-autor of a text on Applying Social Psychology and is a consulting editor of various journals in social psychology.

Professor Van Vugt is member of the European Association for Experimental Social Psychology(EAESP), the Society of Experimental Social Psychology (SESP), the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP), and the Human Behavior and Evolution Society (HBES).

Books:

• Buunk, A. P., & Van Vugt, M. (2007). Applying social psychology: From problems to solutions. London: Sage Publications.
• Van Vugt, M., & Ahuja, A. (2010). Selected: What evolutionary psychology tells us about leadership. London: Profile Books.
• Van Vugt, M., Snyder, M., Tyler, T., & Biel, A. (Eds.). (2000). Cooperation in modern society: Promoting the welfare of communities, states, and organizations. London: Routledge.

Journal Articles:

• Brosnan, S. F., Newton-Fisher, N. E., & Van Vugt, M. (2009). A melding of minds: When primatology meets social psychology. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 13, 129-147.
• Hardy, C. L., & Van Vugt, M. (2006). Nice guys finish first: The competitive altruism hypothesis. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32, 1402-1413.
• Van Vugt, M. (2006). Evolutionary origins of leadership and followership. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 10, 354-372.
• Van Vugt, M. (2001). Community identification moderating the impact of financial incentives in a natural social dilemma: Water conservation. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 1440-1449.
• Van Vugt, M., & De Cremer, D. (1999). Leadership in social dilemmas: The effects of group identification on collective actions to provide public goods. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 587-599.
• Van Vugt, M., De Cremer, D., & Janssen, D. (2007). Gender differences in cooperation and competition: The male-warrior hypothesis. Psychological Science, 18, 19-23.
• Van Vugt, M., & Hart, C. M. (2004). Social identity as social glue: The origins of group loyalty. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86, 585-598.
• Van Vugt, M., Hogan, R., & Kaiser, R. (2008). Leadership, followership, and evolution: Some lessons from the past. American Psychologist, 63, 182-196.
• 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.
• Van Vugt, M., & Samuelson, C. D. (1999). The impact of personal metering in the management of a natural resource crisis: A social dilemma analysis. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 25, 731-745.
• Van Vugt, M., & Snyder, M. (2002). Cooperation in society: Fostering community action and civic participation. American Behavioral Scientist, 45, 761-918 (Special issue).

Other Publications:

• Van Vugt, M., & Van Lange, P. (2006). The altruism puzzle: Psychological adaptations for prosocial behavior. In M. Schaller, D. Kenrick, & J. Simpson (Eds.), Evolution and Social Psychology (pp. 237-261). Psychology Press.

Tags: Psychology, sociology, leadership, cultural evolution, RSA, Mark van Vugt, evolutionary history, science, evolution of leadership, social psychology, group process, organizational process