Nonverbal Communication in Leadership
A special issue of Behavioral Sciences (ISSN 2076-328X). This special issue belongs to the section "Social Psychology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 11 November 2026 | Viewed by 36
Special Issue Editors
Interests: human resources management; innovation; leadership; nonverbal communication; organizational psychology
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This call for papers solicits proposals for papers from researchers and academics engaged in the interdisciplinary intersection between nonverbal communication and leadership.
This interdisciplinary perspective explores the role that nonverbal communication plays in leadership emergence, effectiveness and processes. We invite scholars from psychology, behavioral ecology, management, organizational science, anthropology and communication studies and related disciplines. This Special Issue seeks to consolidate and advance our understanding of nonverbal communication and its critical role in human social hierarchies, particularly in the context of leadership. We invite empirical papers, theoretical papers and review articles.
This Issue aims to examine how nonverbal communication functions to negotiate leadership, express authority and manage social hierarchies across time and cultures. We are particularly interested in evolutionary perspectives, as well as bridging research and practice.
Suggested Topics of interest:
- Nonverbal signals of prestige and dominance for navigating hierarchical relationships.
- The role of laughter and smiles in communicating affiliation and authority.
- Vocalics and paralinguistic cues that shape perceptions of leadership and social rank.
- Facial expressions in human and non-human primates in leadership signaling.
- Self-conscious emotions (e.g., pride) and their nonverbal display indicators of status.
- Static and slowly changing facial features as reliable cues in leadership.
- Nonverbal indicators of trustworthiness, confidence and composure.
- Mimicry and synchrony as mechanisms of nonverbal alignment and cohesion.
- Gender and biological sex differences in nonverbal signaling, including congruence and stereotype violation
Prof. Dr. Ronald E. Riggio
Prof. Alan Crawley
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Behavioral Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- nonverbal
- non-verbal
- leadership
- dominance
- first impression
- evolution
- faces
- facial expression
- power
- authority
- status
- charisma
- assertiveness
- embodied leadership
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
