Leaders and bosses are often seen as independent and self-assured in their decision making, but new research suggests they are more likely to rely on the experiences and ideas of others when making choices.

Jennifer Cook, Hanneke den Ouden, Cecilia Heyes and Roshan Cools examined the ‘social dominance paradox’ and concluded that dominant individuals are more likely to use social learning, (the experiences of others around them), in decision making than subordinate people, who tend to draw primarily on their own experiences.

To get a better grap of these findings, watch the entertaining and informing video below in which social and individual learning is revealed by people building rockets and fMRI scanning.