Psychology Commons^™

Isolating Factors Predicting Cooperation In Work Groups: Leader Motivation And Style, Denise Hunter Velaski

Dissertations and Theses

There is evidence that cooperation in the workplace can have positive outcomes for organizations. To take advantage of these outcomes, it would be useful to gain information about the causes of cooperation. This study attempts to isolate some factors, leader motivation and style in particular, that may predict cooperation within work groups.

Effectiveness Of Computer-Based, Modified Computer-Based And Workshop Training In The Learning/Application Of Leadership Skills, Karen E. Chappell

Master's Theses

This study examined the effectiveness of training methods in effective leadership principles. Forty-two male and female Introductory Psychology students were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: computer-based training (CBT), computer-based training with videotaped vignettes (CBTV), or group-based workshop training with videotaped vignettes (GBW). Training effectiveness was assessed on two dependent variables, pretest/posttest scores in conceptual knowledge and pretest/posttest scores in applied knowledge. Only partial support was found for the hypothesis that there would be significant differences in mean pretest and mean posttest scores on both conceptual and applied knowledge as a result of training method. Method of training was …

Styles Of Leadership : Leader Behavior In A Crisis Situation, Jacqueline J. Delisle

Honors Theses

This study examined leadership behavior in a simulated crisis situation. The subjects were 16 undergraduate students enrolled in a leadership class. Subjects completed a leadership behavior questionnaire, and two leaders were chosen on the basis of their scores. The remainder of the subjects were assigned to groups in a manner which balanced their average scores. The findings indicated that the appointed leaders made significantly less suggestions as emergent leaders arose and gained power. Possibilities for future research were proposed.

Self-Presentational Determinants Of Sex Differences In Leadership Behavior, Donelson R. Forsyth, Barry R. Schlenker, Mark R. Leary, Nancy E. Mccown

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

Men and women placed in leadership positions communicated information about their skills and abilities to their subordinates. Although leaders’ perceptions of their abilities, group members’ knowledge of their leader’s abilities, and the specific skills needed by the leader were all manipulated in the experimental setting, self-presentations of ability were primarily determined by sex role stereotypes rather than by situational factors. Results indicated that (1) male leaders emphasized their social influence and task abilities; (2) female leaders emphasized their interpersonal, socioemotional abilities; and (3) group members felt task ability, as compared to interpersonal ability, was a far more important skill for …

Effective Group Meetings And Decision Making, Donelson R. Forsyth

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

An extraordinary amount of work and many types of decisions are handled by groups of people, for in group meetings we can pool our knowledge and abilities, give each other feedback about our ideas, and tackle problems that would overcome us if we faced them alone. Group members not only give us emotional and social support when meeting together, but they can stimulate us to become more creative, more insightful, and more committed to our goals.

Not every group, however, realizes all these positive consequences. Often we dread going to "committee meetings," "council sessions," and "discussion groups" because they take …

The Influence Of The Perceived Emotions Anger And Fear On Leadership Ratings, Helen M. Mcfalls

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Leader, Follower, And Nonleader Patterns In Emergent Leadership, Catherine Mae Holmes

Master's Theses

In the present research 82 freshmen at the University of Richmond who had previously been administered the Omnibus Personality Inventory (OPI) volunteered for a short discussion session after which each student completed a 9 item leadership scale on each of the other group members. A multiple regression analysis revealed a significant correlation between the Social Extroversion scale of the UPI and ratings of group participation (r=.38, <.01). A post hoc multiple discriminant analysis identified 7 OPI scales which discriminated 64.4% of the cases into correct leadership groups. These findings support a leader-follower-nonleader paradigm for small croup participation, identifying unique personality configurations for each group -- leaders who participate actively and who organize the group process, followers who offer suggestions congeniality and nonreaders who either refuse to interact or become antagonistic to group goals. Suggestions for future research include a need for observer ratings of group interactions as well as more extensive personality measures of social variables such as dominance and social desirability.

Predicting Leader Emergence Within Fielder's Contingency Model Of Leadership Effectiveness, Helen Ferguson Daniel

Master's Theses

Eighteen fourman groups consisting of female undergraduates at the University of Richmond participated in problem-solving tasks within the restrictions of an all-channel communication network. Each subject was chosen by her scores on Fiedler' s (1967) Least-preferred co-worker (LPC) scale. The hypothesis that low LPC Ss would emerge as group leaders under the conditions of Octant II of Fiedler's contingency model was not supported by the nominations of twelve groups. Two-factor ANOV s showed non­ significant time differences over time for the four leadership conditions. These results are consistent with the Rice and Chemers (1973) findings which indicate that Fiedler' s …

The Number Of Dominant Speakers, Participation Time And Leadership Ratings In The Leaderless Group Discussion, H. Ray Berry

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Partial Test Of The Contingency Model On Adult-Led Groups Of Children, Jeffrey Wayne Jones

Master's Theses

The problem was to test the applicability of Fiedler's contingency model on 15 adult-led groups of children in a field situation. The effectiveness of high and low least preferred co-worker (LPC) leaders on structured and unstructured group tasks was investigated when leader­ member relations were good and leaders had strong power. The data were analyzed in a 2 x 2 factorial design using the analysis of variance. None of the F tests reached statistical significance, thus the model was not supported. Several possible reasons for the findings were given as well as suggestions for future research.

Trait Anxiety, Leadership And Group-Induced Decision Change, Chester D. Gaston

Student Work

The twelve item Choice Dilemmas Questionnaire (CDQ) developed by Kogan and Wallach (1964) has been used extensively for investigating individual and group decision-making processes. Each item presents a hypothetical life situation in which the central character must choose between two courses of action, one of which is more risky than the other but also more rewarding if successful. For each situation the Sis must select the lowest probability of success they would accept before recommending that the potentially more rewarding (and risky) alternative be chosen. After Ss have made their private individual choices, a group is formed and each item …

The Relationship Of Leadership Effectiveness To L.P.C For University Department Chairmen, Carter W. Brown

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

For most of recorded history leadership ability has been considered a simple variable linearly related to the effectiveness of a team of workers. Everyone possessed it to some degree. When a king or corporate president had a task to be accomplished, all he needed to do to maximize the probability of the task being completed vas to locate the individual with the greatest leadership skill available. For centuries man has tried to quantify this variable so that identification of good leaders could be achieved more accurately. After years of futile attempts at quantification, leadership theorists began in the early 1900's …

Effects Of Prior Experience Of One Group Member On The Performance Of The Wheel Network, Mark Hinterthuer

Student Work

The present study investigated the effects of prior experience of one group member on the performance of the wheel network. Groups participating in the experiment included four experimental groups and a control group. The four experimental groups included combinations of centrally or peripherally trained Ss transferred to a central or peripheral position in naive wheel networks. Dependent variables were measured in four categories: time, number of messages, number of errors, and individual ratings on a post-communication questionnaire. The position occupied by the experienced Ss during training had no apparent effect on their transfer group,s performance. The network position of the …

Emergent Leadership As A Function Of The Leaders Social Distance And The Task Situation, George Stephen Goldstein

Master's Theses

The present study attempts to investigate the phenomena of social distance of the leader as a function of group effectiveness on different tasks. A number of hypotheses will be studied.

A Statistical Analysis Of The Relations Between Interpersonal Perception And Adjustment In Leaders, Stephen Alan Mourer

Student Work

The study of leadership and its relationship to other psychological dimensions has been and continues to be a lively research topic in the field of psychology. The study of leadership raises many important questions that, ultimately, can only be properly answered by controlled experimentation. Who will become a leader? Under what circumstances will he lead? What are the psychological dimensions most commonly related to leadership? What is leadership? Can we train leaders? These questions and many others serve as a continuous challenge to researchers In psychology as well as related disciplines. The Importance of leadership to day was

A Study Of Personality Characteristics And Effectiveness Of Job Performance Of Usaf Non-Commissioned Officers Instructing Basic Military Training, John R. Grotzinger

Student Work

Years of service in the Air Force has served to reveal the need for an increased awareness of the high cost of training personnel. While many factors are involved in this problem, one particularly important facet is the type and quality of leadership, instruction and supervision which basic trainees are s u b jected to in their initial period of adjustment to military life. This inchoate period of adjustment in the Armed Services is a particularly sensitive one for the individual.

A Study Of Personality And Interest Traits Of Successful And Unsuccessful Group Work Leaders Using Six Standardized Tests, Mary E. Flannigan

Student Work

No recreational or leisure-time program can rise above the level of its leadership. No matter how fine the objectives of the Board of Directors and the Executive, if they are not matched by competence of those who actually provide leadership, they fail.

From the standpoint of objectives and policies, nothing so directly determines the value and outcome of a Social Group Work Agency as the leaders in program activities. It is the Group Leaders, whether paid or volunteer, within an agency that reduce to a minimum the gap between the possible and actual effectiveness of the program.