A mixed blessing? Dual mediating mechanisms in the relationship between dopamine transporter gene DAT1 and leadership role occupancy

Wen-Dong LI, Nan WANG, Richard D. ARVEY, Richie SOONG, Seang Mei SAW, Zhaoli SONG

Research output: Journal PublicationsJournal Article (refereed)peer-review

30 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Trait theories of leadership have documented the role of individual characteristics in affecting leadership. Twin studies have further revealed significant genetic effects on leadership role occupancy. In the era of genomics, the current research examines how a dopamine transporter gene, DAT1, is involved in genetic influences on leadership role occupancy. Study 1 found DAT1 10-repeat allele to negatively relate to proactive personality, which in turn was positively associated with leadership role occupancy. The negative indirect effect was significant, but the overall relationship between this gene and leadership was not. In addition to replicating Study 1's findings using a nationally representative sample, Study 2 revealed another countervailing mechanism: DAT1 was positively related to (moderate) rule breaking, which was positively associated with leadership role occupancy. Consistent findings across the two studies suggest that the pathways linking specific genes to leadership are complex and a middle-ground approach is needed in such multidisciplinary investigations.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)671-686
Number of pages16
JournalLeadership Quarterly
Volume26
Issue number5
Early online date23 Jan 2015
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2015
Externally publishedYes

Funding

This study was partially funded by two AcRF Grants from the Singapore Ministry of Education (R-317-000-080-112 and R-317-000-099-112) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 71172178).

Keywords

  • Leadership role occupancy
  • Dopamine gene
  • Proactive personality
  • Rule breaking
  • Dual mechanisms

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'A mixed blessing? Dual mediating mechanisms in the relationship between dopamine transporter gene DAT1 and leadership role occupancy'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this