Psychology Commons^™

Perceptions Of Peer Leadership Among Honors Students, Christy M. Culbreth

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

My Capstone Experience/Thesis project seeks to explore and compare the perceptions of peer leadership among freshmen honors students who have received formal leadership training and freshmen honors students who have received no formal leadership training. Peer leadership plays an important role in all aspects of life. If students who have had formal leadership training have a more positive perception of their peer leaders, educators may want to put more peer leadership curriculum into their programs. This study tests the hypothesis that freshmen honors students who have received formal leadership training will have a more positive perception of their peer leaders. …

Leading Amidst Competing Technical And Institutional Demands: Revisiting Selznick’S Conception Of Leadership, Marya Besharov, Rakesh Khurana

Marya Besharov

This chapter explores how Selznick’s approach to leadership can inform contemporary organizational theory and research. Drawing on Selznick’s writing in Leadership in Administration and related works, we characterize organizations as simultaneously technical entities pursuing economic goals and value-laden entities pursuing non-economic goals arising from their members and their role in society. These two aspects of organizations are deeply intertwined and in continual tension with one another, and the essential task of leadership is to uphold both – protecting and promoting values while also meeting technical imperatives. To do so, leaders establish a common purpose that includes values and ideals not …

Self-Awareness And The Evolution Of Leaders: The Need For A Better Measure Of Self-Awareness, Greg C. Ashley, Roni Reiter-Palmon

Psychology Faculty Publications

A growing body of empirical research suggests that self-awareness is associated with successful leadership. Although self-awareness research has generated a number of scales to measure self-awareness, none have done so with the explicit focus of leadership. The present research is a summary of three studies designed to develop and begin validation for a scale to measure self-awareness in the context of leadership and leader development. The result of Study 1 and 2 was a 54-item self-awareness scale. A confirmatory factor analysis provided evidence for a marginal fit. Predictive validity was assessed in Study 3 by looking for associations between self-awareness …

A Paradoxical Leadership Model For Social Entrepreneurs: Challenges, Leadership Skills, And Pedagogical Tools For Managing Social And Commercial Demands, Wendy K. Smith, Marya Besharov, Anne K. Wessels, Michael Chertok

Marya Besharov

Social enterprises offer the promise of financially sustainable organizations that can respond to the world's most pressing problems. Yet for social enterprises to succeed their leaders must effectively manage conflicting demands that arise from dual commitments to improving social welfare and achieving commercial viability. While existing research highlights distinct skills for enabling social missions or for achieving business outcomes, we draw on paradox research to build theory about the challenges and associated skills for effectively managing the tensions emerging from the juxtaposition of social mission and business outcomes. We then use two exemplary settings for educating social entrepreneurs, one in …

Generativity In Young Adults: Comparing And Explaining The Impact Of Mentoring, Lindsay J. Hastings

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this embedded explanatory sequential mixed methods study was to examine the impact of mentoring relationships on generativity in college students. Generativity refers to concern for establishing and guiding the next generation The first, quantitative phase compared generatvity levels among general college students, college student leaders who do not mentor, and college student leaders who mentor through a program called Nebraska Human Resources Institute (NHRI) at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. Data were collected via surveys (N = 273) using the Loyola Generativity Scale (LGS), the Generativity Behavior Checklist (GBC), and the Personal Strivings measure. A multivariate …

How Leadership Can Influence Well-Being: The Roles Of Leader-Member Exchange And Social Support, Crystal Burnette

All Theses

The present study examined how leadership can influence the impact of job demands on well-being by facilitating the development of known moderators of this relationship, such as social support. Direct and moderated relationships were proposed between job demands, leader-member exchange (LMX), supervisor social support, psychological well-being and emotional exhaustion. Data were collected from high-skilled employees and managers in a manufacturing plant in the People's Republic of China. Surveys were administered in two waves, allowing longitudinal relationships to be tested. As hypothesized, high-quality LMX relationships facilitated supervisor social support. Also as expected, supervisor social support had a direct positive relationship with …

Eat More Chicken And Lead More People: Perceived Measures Of Servant Leadership At Chick-Fil-A, Michael Mishler

Masters Theses

This present study used survey data from 31 employees working at 2 Chick-fil-A locations to assess the supervisor's perceived level of supervisor's level of servant leadership and how the level (a) affects coworker's perceptions of performance, (b) job satisfaction, and (c) relational trust amongst coworkers. The participants ranged in ages from 18-50. The average age for the participants was 26. The data for the study was collected through the distribution of surveys to individuals who currently work at Chick-fil-A. The two selected locations were approximately 300 miles apart in Virginia. The study employed quantitative research methods in order to collect …

The Effect Of General Versus Specific Coworker In Directions On Fiedler's Least Preferred Coworker Scale, Derrick Lottes

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study explored the effect of directions on the Least Preferred Coworker (LPC) scale; specifically, this study tested whether thinking of a generalized least preferred coworker (General LPC) would yield lower scores compared to thinking of a specific least preferred coworker (Specific LPC). The data supported this hypothesis as responses to the General LPC yielded more critical LPC scores than did responses to the Specific LPC. The hypothesis that thinking of a generalized least preferred coworker would yield more stable result than would thinking of a specific least preferred coworker was not supported. Finally, the hypothesis that LPC scores would …

I Can Do That: The Impact Of Implicit Theories On Leadership Role Model Effectiveness, Crystal L. Hoyt, Jeni L. Burnette, Audrey N. Innella

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

This research investigates the role of implicit theories in influencing the effectiveness of successful role models in the leadership domain. Across two studies, we test the prediction that incremental theorists (‘leaders are made’) compared to entity theorists (‘leaders are born’) will respond more positively to being presented with a role model before undertaking a leadership task. In Study 1, measuring people’s naturally occurring implicit theories of leadership, we showed that after being primed with a role model, incremental theorists reported greater leadership confidence and less anxious-depressed affect than entity theorists following the leadership task. In Study 2, we demonstrated the …

Generational Differences In Evaluation And Expression Of Leadership Style, Abigail E.B. Reiss

Wayne State University Dissertations

Generational differences in the workplace have received a great deal of attention in the

past few years. The present study used 360° data to examine the agreement of Generation Y, Generation X, and Baby Boomers target leaders with other raters. Archival data generated by the TalentSage leadership assessment was used. Both self-reported leadership style and perceived leadership style was considered. Significant differences were observed between Generation X and Generation Y for self-reported leadership style, however no significant increase in agreement between targets and raters was observed for generation matched versus generation mismatched pairs.

Influence Of Age And Gender On The Emotional Intelligence Of Managers, L. K. Singh, Ruchi Srivastava

Business Review

Organizations are made up of people and function through people. Without people organizations cannot exist. The resources of men, money, materials and machines are collected, coordinated and utilized through people. Therefore, we can say that people are the most significant resource of any organization. However globalization has brought in more competition. Now the organizations are on a race to become the market leader and there is high competition for survival. All these factors have brought the employees under fear, sense of insecurity and high stress due to which they become nervous, chronically worried, depressed and emotionally instable. They are easily …

Fit To Lead? Supervisors' Health Behaviors, Well-Being, And Leadership Behaviors, Kristin Saboe

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study proposes a model to test the relationships amongst supervisors' health behaviors and leadership behaviors. Specifically, 107 supervisor-subordinate pairs responded to a cross-sectional survey. Supervisors provided self-reports of their health behaviors (physical activity, diet, sleep, alcohol/tobacco use) and perceived well-being. Subordinates rated the supervisors' perceived leadership style and the quality of relationships they share at work. Results were mixed with support largely being found for previously established relationships between (a) physical activity, sleep duration and quality, and well-being, and (b) leadership behaviors and supervisor-subordinate relationship quality. The primary thesis of this study--that leaders with improved health behaviors and well-being …

How Men And Women Differ: Gender Differences In Communication Styles, Influence Tactics, And Leadership Styles, Karima Merchant

CMC Senior Theses

This paper lays the historical background for why women and leadership is an important topic today in order to discuss gender differences in communication styles, influence tactics, and leadership styles. This paper also outlines barriers women face when trying to attain and succeed in leadership positions. The analysis should provide a greater understanding of how men and women differ, especially in leadership and management positions, and what companies can do to help women overcome gender bias and discrimination in the workplace.

An Examination Of Ceo Emotion's Relationship With Organization-Level Performance, Elizabeth J. Peyton

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

My study examined the relationship between CEO emotions and organization-level performance. I also tested the feasibility of using FACS in a business setting. Lastly, I explored the nature of CEOs' expressive styles. I found support for a relationship between CEOs' positive emotion displays and organization-level performance, but not a relationship between CEOs' negative emotion displays and organization-level performance. My results also supported the idea that CEOs have a unique and consistent expressive style that remains independent of displayed emotion and that researchers can use FACS to measure this expressive style.

Role Of Foundations In The Changing World Of Philanthropy: A Houston Perspective, Ronnie Hagerty

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

From the earliest days of the American nation, philanthropy has had a defining role in leading change. Philanthropy has provided vision and voice for nascent social movements ranging from civil rights and the women’s movement to AIDS research and environmentalism. As the 21st century has moved into its second decade, philanthropy finds itself facing significant pressures that threaten to compromise its ability to innovate and advocate for issues and individuals whose voices cannot be heard over the public rhetoric of the day. Once perceived as the purview of the rich and well connected, modern philanthropy cuts across social, economic, and …

Leading Deeply: A Heroic Journey Toward Wisdom And Transformation, Richard Warm

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation will explore leadership as a mytho-poetic transformational journey toward self-knowledge, authenticity, and ultimately wisdom; the power to make meaning and give something back to the world in which we live; and the necessity of transformation. I view leadership as a transformative process and a transformational responsibility. As leaders we must undergo our own transformation in order to lead change on a larger scale. The dissertation will be both philosophical and theoretical, exploring how the threads of the hero’s journey, transformation, wisdom, and leadership intertwine. It will also examine the role of education in this process. Education does not …

Women's Leadership In Philanthropy: An Analysis Of Six Giving Circles, Deborah A. Witte

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

Women have played an essential role in the development of philanthropy in the United States. While their giving behavior and financial contributions have been studied extensively, other aspects of their philanthropy-namely leadership-have not been documented as completely. The giving circle-a new trend within philanthropy where groups of individuals pool their money, and through educating themselves about issues in their community, decide together where to award their funds-provides an ideal case for this study, as the majority of giving circle members are women. In order to gain a better understanding of women's leadership, focus groups were conducted with more than 35 …

Downsized Survivors: Areas Of Loss And Work Behaviors, Cyndi J. Schaeffer

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This research design used factor analysis to develop subscales related to areas of loss, and subscales related to work behaviors of survivors following a downsizing. Five loss subscales were revealed as a result of factor analysis. They were loss of sense of justice and supervisory support; loss of security and support; loss of positive outlook; loss of territory; and loss of control and identity. There were two work behavior components identified through factor analysis. They were lack of productivity and sabotage; and intention for flight. The loss components, sense of justice and supervisory support; security and competence; and territory, were …

Millennial Integration: Challenges Millennials Face In The Workplace And What They Can Do About Them, Chip Espinoza

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

There is a monumental changing of the guard that is currently taking place in organizations due to demographic metabolism. One of the largest birth cohorts or generations in history (Baby Boomer) is beginning to retire while their predecessor (Builder) is almost completely out of the workforce. Gen X is hitting stride and on the cusp of inheriting the proverbial organizational mantle. The three aforementioned age cohorts have learned to play in the organizational sandbox together. However, a new age cohort (Millennial, a.k.a. Gen Y), equal or greater in size to the Baby Boomer cohort started entering the playground approximately ten …

Getting Back To My Life: Exploring Adaptation To Change Through The Experiences Of Breast Cancer Survivors, Charles A. Foster

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

The holding environment concept, developed by Donald Winnicott, has been used to represent the type of support that encourages adaptive change during psychosocial transitions. The leadership and change literature posited that the holding environment had the ability to shape the trajectory of the transition, yet did not test this empirically. The psychosocial breast cancer literature empirically researched support during and after treatments ended, but did not incorporate the holding environment concept. This presented the opportunity to inform both the leadership and breast cancer fields by studying holding environments in the breast cancer setting. This study had a twofold purpose: 1) …

Making Heroes: The Construction Of Courage, Competence And Virtue, George R. Goethals, Scott T. Allison

Scott T. Allison

In this article, we examine the psychological processes underlying the construction of heroes. We focus on the cognitive and motivational forces that give rise to heroism, and we discuss the behaviors that characterize heroic life.