NEED FOR APPROVAL AND THE COMPONENTS OF THE ASo SCORE

Abstract

Summary.--On the basis of different implications of the concept, for for the ratings which make up the assumed-similarity-berween-opposites score, two hypotheses were developed. The first posited that the high needfor-approval person would inhibit derogatory ratings of his least-preferred coworker and predicted that these ratlngs and ratings of the most-preferred coworker would converge with increasing for approval. The second that high need-for-approval subjects would be atmned to the demands of the tesc situation and try to discriminate more widely between most- and least-preferred co-workers; it predicted diverging ratings with increases in for approval. Regression analysis provided tentative support for the second hypothesis. Although the literature abounds with references to the relationship between leadership effectiveness and assumed similarity between opposites (ASo) scores, relatively few reports have a causal orientation.t the inception of this study, it appeared profitable to use a longitudinal approach in a context where different leadership criteria were salient issues, in order to assess the predictive value of the ASo score or, more accurately, of its main component, the least preferred co-worker (LPC) rating. The data presented here are from a cwtailed examination of leadership in a military context. Related findings have been reported elsewhere (Strickland & Lewicki, 1966). Between their junior and senior years, U. S. Army ROTC cadets, who meet appropriate academic and physical standards, attend summer camp to develop their leadership skills. At the end of the session, two independent leadership scores are given each cadet. One, based on his task performance as a leader of a group of subordinates, is given by Regular Army instructors. The second approaches an end-of-training popularity rating; sociometric measures are taken within the cadets' units, in which one's desirability as a prospective leader is rated by his peers. The initial hypotheses were generated when implications of the need for social approval, as defined by Crowne and Marlowe (1964), were considered. Those aurhors show that high need-for-approval Ss are (a) less prone to express instigated aggression than lows and (b) particiilarly attuned to the opinions of