The Secret Neuroscience of Cult-Like Leadership; The Martin Luther King Jr. - Donald Trump Connection.
Dov Baron... The Science of Emotion
Transformational Catalyst Serving Elite Individuals Wanting What's Missing. Bestselling Author |Speaker | Consultant Guiding Organizations and Leaders to Create Purpose-Driven Cultures Using The Emotional Source Code!
Tapping The Secret of Charismatic Leadership: The Trump Connection.
You may love or hate him, but it's no secret that former President Donald Trump had a powerful hold on a significant portion of the American people.
Many have struggled with the question: What psychological force created that grip?
The answer lies in three key concepts you may not yet be familiar with limbic resonance, mirror neurons, and charismatic leadership, but stay with me; all will be revealed.?
Limbic resonance, or the emotional connection between individuals, is crucial in understanding charismatic leadership.
Charismatic leaders connect with their followers on a profoundly emotional level. That connection may seem irrational, and that's because it is!
That bond has nothing to do with logic or rationality; it's the ability to emotionally move their often otherwise intelligent followers into action that usually doesn't make sense.
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In the case of Donald Trump, his ability to evoke strong emotions in his supporters creates a deep and lasting limbic resonance with them through transferred meaning.
The Person Who Controls The Meaning for The Tribe Will Control The Movement of That Tribe!
Through "meaning manipulation," charismatic leaders can profoundly impact those they lead by emotionally moving them toward what they convey as a shared goal. This impact is primarily due to their ability to connect emotionally with them, which promotes trust, loyalty, and motivation.
Neuroscientific studies have shown that when individuals experience limbic resonance with a charismatic leader, their brains show similar activity patterns.
That means the follower feels understood and empathizes with the leader's emotions, even if those feelings are irrational. This sense of sympatico happens because our brains activate a particular kind of neuron called a "mirror neuron."
Mirror neurons fire when we act and observe someone else performing that same action. Mirror neurons have been shown to play a role in empathy, allowing us to understand and respond to the emotions and actions of others.
The interplay of limbic resonance, mirror neurons, and charismatic leadership is complex and dynamic.
Charismatic leaders who resonate with their followers emotionally create a positive (feel-good) feedback loop. This means the leader's emotions and actions are mirrored and amplified by their followers' brains.
This emotional connection creates a stronger bond between the leader and the followers. That limbic resonance bond promotes cooperation and teamwork toward a common goal, even if that common goal is destructive.
President Trump's charismatic leadership style was contagious for all the above reasons. His supporters mirrored his actions and emotions, strengthening their bond with him.
Charismatic leaders usually possess specific personality traits, such as extroversion and emotional expressiveness, contributing to their ability to resonate with their followers.
These leaders are often viewed as confident, inspiring, and empathetic, which helps to create a positive emotional connection with their followers. It's not unusual to hear something like, "It's as if s/he is saying out loud what I've been feeling."?
It's important to note that a charismatic leader has the power to catalyze important and meaningful change.
Consider Martin Luther King Jr.'s example: His charismatic ability moved a nation to create the civil rights movement. However, those same traits can quickly turn dark when utilized by sociopathic or narcissistic cult leaders like American preacher Jim Jones and the members of his inner circle who orchestrated a mass murder-suicide.?
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After studying limbic resonance, mirror neurons, charismatic leadership, and cult psychology, it's evident that things can go horribly wrong very quickly.
These elements are interrelated and are crucial in shaping our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. In other words, our level of intelligence will not protect us from a bad actor who knows how to use these traits to their advantage.?
In conclusion: Whether we like it or not, the facts are clear; President Donald Trump's speeches, tweets, and media appearances were highly effective at emotionally connecting with his supporters, and his ability to resonate with them was a crucial factor in his political success. The style may have differed massively from MLK's, but the effectiveness is the same!
Academic reference:
2. Psychology paper reference: House, R. J. (1977). A 1976 theory of charismatic leadership. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 10, 193-219.
Dov Baron?is the leading authority on?Emotional Source Code? and the?Anatomy of Meaning?. He has been named 5x to the world's Top 30 Global Leadership Gurus and twice by Inc. Magazine's Top 100 Leadership Speakers.
He guides leaders, Icons, businesses, and teams to harness their Emotional Source Code to create tribes of belonging that generate innovation, authentic communication, and fierce loyalty.
Dov Baron, Actualizer: Meaning Authority, Advisor to Leaders and Icons:
“Control The Meaning, and You Control The Movement!”
* Top30 Global Leadership Guru
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Find Dov here on LinkedIn and?DovBaron.com
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1 年An early mentor of mine taught me that humans are not logical, they are psycho-logical. As you are well aware there are multiple studies that show people make emotional decisions, even to the detriment of their own self-interest. Donald Trump gives people permission to air their grievances and their prejudices, he shamelessly appeals to a group disenfranchised by America's faux meritocracy, and for that they love him. It's not logical, it′s not rational, but it is real.
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1 年This is excellent, Dov.
Human Capital Specialist | Facilitator at Luminary Learning Solutions | ICF-PCC | EQ Leadership Coach |EQ Practitioner| Emotional Culture Catalyst | LEGO? Serious Play? |Hands On Thinking Coach | Speaker |Podcaster
1 年Dov Baron interesting perspective and approach. Now this was something i have been searching through, Can Emotional connection or for the fact Ei used in a negative way ? How harmful it can be. I was thinking about Donald trump and was watching documentary how a tweet made a big impact. Loved to have a conversation on this in my cafe (podcast) with you and explore
Donald Moine, Ph.D., Industrial and Organizational Psychologist specializing in Sales, Marketing, Financial Services and Business Funding. Executive Coach. International Consultant. Speaker. Author.
1 年This is an outstanding article Dov Baron. As a Psychologist specializing in Sales and Marketing Psychology, I have studied limbic resonance and its applications in sales. The presentation strategies used by a political, religious or business leader can trigger the release of dopamine which fosters feelings of empathy and harmony with that person. I think it is important to point out that the leader may not actually feel the empathy for his or her followers that the followers feel for the leader. This can get the followers to do things for the leader that the leader would never do for the followers. The presentation strategies of the leader can also trigger the release of norepinephrine which can induce a tremendous amount of fear, anxiety and anger in followers which can get them engage in actions they would never otherwise engage in. These actions can range from buying a certain product to voting for a certain candidate or to rioting. Knowing how to trigger the limbic system in others can give a person great personal power and like all forms of power, this can be used for good (to help people) or for evil (to harm people). Let us hope people use this knowledge for good. Dr. Donald Moine
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1 年To elicit a feeling in their followers, the leader had to feel that feeling first. They had to believe what they were saying, and that can be scary when we think about leaders who promote violence, discrimination, and racism. Knowing that the limbic part of our brain does not have discernment—it mimics feelings—makes it more crucial than ever to have someone holding us accountable for what our feelings validate.