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Scott T. Allison

Selected Works

2016

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Psychology

Paradoxical Truths In Heroic Leadership: Implications For Leadership Development And Effectiveness, Scott T. Allison, Jennifer L. Cecilione Dec 2015

Paradoxical Truths In Heroic Leadership: Implications For Leadership Development And Effectiveness, Scott T. Allison, Jennifer L. Cecilione

Scott T. Allison

In this chapter, we discuss the basic elements of heroic leadership, showing how heroism and exemplary leadership are deeply intertwined. We then describe six paradoxical truths about heroic leadership that are often unrecognized and unappreciated. We believe that ignorance of these counterintuitive truths and paradoxes about heroic leadership can lead to misunderstandings about leaders, leadership, and leadership development. Most of these paradoxes are a central part of the hero’s journey as described by comparative mythologist Joseph Campbell (1949). We will discuss the genesis of these paradoxical truths, and we will suggest ways that an awareness of these principles can engender …

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Suffering And Sacrifice: Individual And Collective Benefits, And Implications For Leadership, Scott T. Allison, Gwendolyn C. Setterberg Dec 2015

Suffering And Sacrifice: Individual And Collective Benefits, And Implications For Leadership, Scott T. Allison, Gwendolyn C. Setterberg

Scott T. Allison

In this chapter, we review the ways in which suffering and sacrifice are beneficial to human beings. In our review, we draw from both ancient and modern spiritual traditions and a large body of psychological research on the determinants of happiness and mental health. Our review is necessarily an abbreviated one; a thorough treatment of this topic would surely fill an entire volume. This chapter represents an initial attempt to illuminate basic insights, using broad brushstrokes, about the ways in which suffering and sacrifice contribute to people’s emotional, behavioral, and spiritual wellness. In addition to describing the psychological and spiritual …

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Hero Worship: The Elevation Of The Human Spirit, Scott T. Allison, George R. Goethals Dec 2015

Hero Worship: The Elevation Of The Human Spirit, Scott T. Allison, George R. Goethals

Scott T. Allison


In this article, we review the psychology of hero development and hero worship. We propose that heroes and hero narratives fulfill important cognitive and emotional needs, including the need for wisdom, meaning, hope, inspiration, and growth. We propose a framework called the heroic leadership dynamic (HLD) to explain how need-based heroism shifts over time, from our initial attraction to heroes to later retention or repudiation of heroes. Central to the HLD is idea that hero narratives fulfill both epistemic and energizing functions. Hero stories provide epistemic benefits by providing scripts for prosocial action, by revealing fundamental truths about human existence, …

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