Page 177 - Essencials of Sociology

150 CHAPTER 5 Social Groups and Formal Organizations

The authoritarian leaders assigned tasks to the boys and told them what to do. They
also praised or condemned the boys’ work arbitrarily, giving no explanation for why
they judged it good or bad. The democratic leaders discussed the project with the boys,
outlining the steps that would help them reach their goals. When they evaluated the
boys’ work, they gave “facts” as the bases for their decisions. The laissez-faire leaders,
who gave the boys almost total freedom to do as they wished, offered help when asked,
but made few suggestions. They did not evaluate the boys’ projects, either positively or
negatively.
The results? The boys under authoritarian leadership grew dependent on their leader.
They also became either apathetic or aggressive, with the aggressive boys growing hos-
tile toward their leader. In contrast, the boys in the democratic clubs were friendlier and
looked to one another for approval. When the leader left the room, they continued to
work at a steady pace. The boys with laissez-faire management goofed off a lot and were
notable for their lack of achievement. The researchers concluded that the democratic
style of leadership works best. This conclusion, however, may be biased, as the research-
ers favored a democratic style of leadership in the first place (Olmsted and Hare 1978).
Apparently, this same bias in studies of leadership continues (Cassel 1999).
You may have noticed that only boys and men were involved in this experiment. It is
interesting to speculate how the results might differ if we were to repeat the experiment
Adolf Hitler, shown here in Nuremberg with all-girl groups and with mixed groups of girls and boys—and if we used both men
in 1938, was one of the most and women as leaders. Perhaps you will become the sociologist who studies such varia-
influential—and evil—persons of the tions of this classic experiment.
twentieth century. Why did so many
people follow Hitler? This question
stimulated the research by Stanley
Milgram (discussed on pages 152–153).