It was hypothesized that choices of “democratic” forms of leadership would be replaced by choices of “omnipotent” and “omniscient” forms in an imaginary crisis situation.Ss were 233 school children aged 11 and 13 years, of both sexes and two differing social class levels. Results were based on responses to fixed alternatives in four questionnaire items. The prediction was very strongly supported, but because of superficialities of method the results may have reflected procedural artefacts rather than the demonstration of a general principle of human