THE ROLE OF IMPLICIT LEADERSHIP THEORY IN BUILDING THE IMAGE OF A POLITICAL LEADER

Abstract

An important role in building an effective, competitive image of a political leader is played by his perception by the population, especially during the election campaign. From today on, most Ukrainians have a tendency to personify political parties and factions with their political leader. When building the image of a political leader, it is important for image makers to take into account the implicit perception of images. After all, the image of a political leader, correctly formed by image makers, is a guarantee of victory and the achievement of certain goals set by a political leader. In this work, the author focused his attention on the psychological foundations of the implicit theory of leadership, in order to build an adequate image of a political leader. Since the implicit theory, regardless of its degree of truth, allows for the categorization of the phenomena of reality and affects the behavior and actions of a person. The purpose of the study is to analyze the existing implicit theories of leadership and determine their role in shaping the image of a political leader. Research methods: bibliographic: analysis, systematization, theoretical data and literary sources, historical: study of the emergence, formation and development of implicit theories of leadership and the concept of the image of a political leader. The author analyzes scientific concepts and stages of the formation of implicit theories and theories of personality attitudes. The diversity of existing approaches to the implicit theory is emphasized both from the standpoint of psychological, social and political concepts. The influence of attitudes on the perception and construction of images of political leaders among the population is explained. The structural components of the image of a political leader are highlighted: socio-demographic characteristics of a politician; ideological component; expectations of the target audience. Their relationship with the implicit representations of the personality is considered. It was emphasized that the image of a political leader should be built taking into account all three components, and meet the needs and images of society that are relevant during the period of the leader’s nomination. All of the above allows us to consider the «implicit theory» of personality as a cognitive mechanism for the promotion of a political leader, and complements the action of a behavioral mechanism similar in function — psychological exchange and attitudes formation.