Leertouwer, Boudewijn (2025) Leadership in a Polarized World: The Role of Political Beliefs in Supervisor Evaluations. Master thesis, Psychology.
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Abstract
This study explores how political beliefs shape observers’ perceptions of abusive supervision. Building on social identity theory and moral foundations theory, I hypothesized that third-party observers would adjust their evaluations of supervisory abusive behaviour and punishment intention based on political alignment. Using a between-subjects experiment, participants evaluated identical instances of supervisor abusiveness under conditions where the supervisor’s orientation (left-leaning or right-leaning) was experimentally manipulated. After participants evaluated the supervisors, they provided their own political beliefs. Findings revealed that observers were increasingly lenient when they were politically aligned with the supervisor and increasingly critical when they were misaligned. Independently, left-leaning observers rated abusive behavior more harshly overall, reflecting stronger priorities for individual fairness and care, while right-leaning supervisors drew stricter condemnation regardless of observers’ politics. These results highlight the powerful influence of political polarization on workplace assessments, emphasizing that shared or divergent beliefs can substantially alter judgments of transgressive supervision.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Master) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Graso, M. |
| Degree programme: | Psychology |
| Differentiation route: | Work, Organizational and Personnel Psychology (WOP) [Master Psychology] |
| Date Deposited: | 04 Jul 2025 13:44 |
| Last Modified: | 04 Jul 2025 13:44 |
| URI: | http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/5275 |
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