Social Psychology Commons^™

Francis Bacon As Philosopher Of Leadership: The Essays As Manual For Values-Based Leaders, Matthew Sharpe

The Journal of Values-Based Leadership

This essay presents the case for Francis Bacon as what we would today term a leadership theorist avant la letter, focusing on the development of the character of leaders, faced with all the pressures of their role.  We aim to show Bacon's leadership theory at once anticipates without directly embodying contemporary leadership theories (in part 1): not only presenting a robust moral vision for leadership, as serving the public good (part 2), but differentiating characteristic kinds of “followers,” with their strengths, weaknesses, and characteristic vices, and realistically addressing how to best lead them (Part 3); and providing ten "how …

Understanding Workplace Psychological Safety Among Latina Professionals: An Exploration Of Intersectional Experiences, Michal Tapia

Theses and Dissertations

Latina professionals represent one of the fastest-growing segments of the U.S. workforce, yet they remain disproportionately underrepresented in executive and C-suite roles. This disparity reflects structural conditions that shape access to voice, support, advancement, and decision-making authority.

This mixed-methods study examined psychological safety among 145 Latina professionals across the United States, defined as the belief that one can speak up, ask for help, disagree, or raise concerns without fear of negative consequences (Edmondson, 1999, 2019). The study explored how identity, relationships, leadership, workplace support, inclusion, mentorship, and structural barriers shape psychological safety at work.

Quantitative analyses showed that workplace support …

9th Gsep Research Symposium - 2025

GSEP Research Symposium

The Ninth Annual GSEP Research Symposium, themed "Building Bridges to Elevate Humanity: Innovations and Insights in Education and Psychology", was hosted by the Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology (GSEP) on June 19–20, 2025, at the historic Château d’Hauteville in Switzerland and virtually via Zoom.

This hybrid symposium convened a vibrant global community of students, alumni, faculty, and scholars to share research that addresses real-world challenges, advances scholarly inquiry, and builds pathways for inclusive collaboration and leadership. Spanning a wide array of topics—from artificial intelligence and mental health to trauma-informed practices, educational equity, social justice, and cross-cultural leadership—the …

Buyer Perceptions Of Single- And Mixed-Gender Dyadic Sales Teams: Should I Have A Wingman Or A Wingwoman?, Eric Kushins, Melissa Clark

Journal of Applied Marketing Theory

Prior research suggests that the gender composition of sales teams may impact team performance. However, research at the intersection of sales, gender, and teams is limited. In this study, we collect survey data from hypothetical buyers who viewed one of six sales pitch videos, including solo salesmen and saleswomen, single-gender dyadic sales teams, and mixed-gender sales teams. The hypothetical buyers were asked to rate each of the salespeople on important traits that have proven to lead to successful sales interactions, including customer orientation, understanding, trustworthiness, awareness of others’ feelings, competence, knowledge, and if the hypothetical buyer would take advice from …

Leading With Joy: Lessons From The Literature, Jennifer A. Keach, Jenne M. Klotz, Galen J. Talis

Libraries

This article provides an introduction for library leaders at all levels to support equitable conditions for joy in the workplace, as well as for anyone who wants to develop their personal practice of joy through lessons discovered in popular, academic, and professional writing and multimedia. Joy has a place in contemporary libraries’ conversations about burnout, vocational awe, and care. The article begins with a guide to the annotated bibliography which explores five themes: defining joy, finding individual joy, work and organizational joy, empowering change with joy, and joy-adjacent emotions. The thematic guide may be read alone or used as an …

Charismatic Leadership And Vulnerability: A Comprehensive Study Of Cult Dynamics, Danielle Santana Denrich

Psychology Presentations

The term "cult" has various definitions in academic discourse, including religious or quasi-religious groups and small, ideologically aligned communities. This paper explores the complexity of the term, its alternative labels, and the influence of media portrayal on public perception. It examines cult leaders' attributes, focusing on the "dark triad" personality traits—narcissism, machiavellianism, and psychopathy—and their manifestation in charismatic leaders. The functionality of cults is scrutinized, highlighting their appeal as a familial structure and promises of intellectual, spiritual, and political power. However, the darker side of cult functionality involves manipulative recruitment tactics and thought-stopping techniques. Additionally, the paper examines susceptibility to …

Fostering Belonging In The Workplace: What Does Commitment Look Like At Interpersonal, Team, And Organizational Levels?, Jody Condit Fagan

Libraries

Researchers describe belonging as “an essential human need” that supports people’s abilities to share, create meaning, participate, and learn with others at work (Filstad et al., 2019, p117). Sense of belonging varies by culture (Cortina et al., 2017) and belonging-related stressors have been shown to be more intense for those who identify with outgroups (Walton & Brady, 2017). Given this context and the impossibility of directly creating belonging, how can people at all levels support an inclusive commitment to fostering belonging as an organizational value? This presentation will define belonging, outline relevant actions and behaviors, and illuminate potential pitfalls.

Wait, Who Did You Say We Are? The Effects Of Self-Uncertainty And Leadership Rhetoric On Group Identification, Samantha Gardner

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Uncertainty identity theory (e.g., Hogg, 2021a) posits that when feelings of self-uncertainty arise, we are motivated to reduce those feelings, and one way we can do this is to identify with a distinctive group that has a clearly defined identity. In these circumstances, we look to the group’s leaders to provide an identity message, and to do so in an unambiguous and affirmational manner. This analysis generates a hypothesis that has attracted partial support (Gaffney et al., 2019), but requires more rigorous testingin conditions of high self-uncertainty, identity-affirming rhetoric used by leaders increases (a) group identification, (b) perceived group entitativity, …

Virtual Reality Influence On Moral Reasoning Through Compassion, Dennis W. Dunivan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates quantifiable links between virtual reality, moral reasoning, and compassion, contributing to the development of improved pedagogy for moral leadership development through experiential learning. It is the first empirical study to determine how specific virtual reality experiences potentially influence moral reasoning as measured by the DIT-2 (Rest et al., 1999), as well as the possible mediation effects of compassion on this relationship as measured by the Compassion Scale (Pommier et al., 2019). Although pedagogical implications are discussed, including the integration of virtual reality experiences into curriculum, the boundaries of this study are controlled to measure the direct influence …

Rebranding The Battle Against Clinician Burnout, Taylor Albitar

DSW Capstone Projects

The purpose of this capstone project is to take a deep dive into the issue of burnout among marginalized healthcare providers. This paper will dissect key points in history that target wellness and define terms that are relevant to understanding the effects of burnout on a person’s work-life balance. It will be divided into several sections, including an overview of the problem and contributing factors, a thorough review of relevant literature, a conceptual idea that will explore both the problem at hand and theories that can help with its effects, and finally a practice application that will serve as the …

Adaptive And Maladaptive Coping As Mediators Of The Relationship Between Impostor Phenomenon And Help Seeking Intention, Victor Mosconi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The modern workplace and public media have reported on the influence of the impostor phenomenon (IP) on leadership mental health and workplace effectiveness. The choice of coping strategy may influence leaders’ intentions to seek psychological help. Guided by the impostor cycle model, the purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the extent to which adaptive and maladaptive coping mediates the relationship between IP and help-seeking intention in a convenience sample of 162 participants in leadership positions. The Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale assessed strength of IP, the Brief COPE measure assessed adaptive and maladaptive coping, and the Beliefs About Psychological …

Mind Wandering In Daily Life: A National Experience Sampling Study Of Intentional And Unintentional Mind Wandering Episodes Reported By Working Adults Ages 25 – 50, Paula C. Lowe

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Numerous researchers have investigated thinking that drifts away from what the individual was doing, thinking that is known as mind wandering. Their inquiries were often conducted in university lab settings with student participants. To learn about mind wandering in the daily life of working adults, this experience sampling study investigated intentional and unintentional mind wandering episodes as reported by working adults, ages 25–50, living across the United States. In this age frame, work and family responsibilities have increased in complexity and overlap. Using a smartphone app, participants were randomly notified to answer experience sampling surveys six times a day for …

The Social Cognitive Model Of Leadership Perceptions: Proposing A Dynamic, Integrated Theory Of Leadership Identification And Appraisal, Leah Howard, Justin Travis

University of South Carolina Upstate Student Research Journal

This paper is an exploration of the relationships between the stereotype content model, implicit leadership theory, and leadership behavior theory with a focus on illuminating the elements held in common by these three theories and identifying the positive implications of integrating these theories into an inclusive social cognitive model for future leadership research.

After briefly summarizing the three focal theories, we highlight the correspondence between them. We then establish the importance of organizing these theories into a comprehensive model which can be used to understand and explain leadership from a cohesive, multidimensional approach. In proposing such a theoretical model, we …

Comedians Are Leaders: Comedians' Use Of Humor Makes Us Feel Like We Matter, Matthew Burt

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This research examines funny functions of shared group membership – how content that clearly demarcates ingroup membership may be at the root of humor. Participants in this study listened to a recording of a stand-up comedian who was defined as being either a fellow college/university student (ingroup) or a non-college student (outgroup). Additionally, the audio either contained audience laughter or no audience laughter. Upon finishing the recordings, participants were asked to answer survey questions about their experience with the comedian, rate their overall sense of shared group identity with the comedian, their level of positive affect, distinctiveness from an outgroup, …

From Me To We: A Phenomenological Inquiry Into Group Beingness, Stacey K. Guenther

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

To be human is to be a member of myriad groups. The universality of groups in our lives poses an important area of study for social scientists investigating human flourishing. Additionally, inquiring into the evolutionary potential of groups may begin to inform new ways of addressing the intractable issues we face as a human species. While most empirical studies of groups focus on group performance, or group doingness, this study explored group beingness and the experience of manifesting deep union and oneness, which is an intersubjective phenomenon that has been called coherence. Intersubjective coherence is often written about from a …

Mothers Leading By Example: Maternal Influence On Female Leadership In Kenya, Catherine Chege

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This qualitative research aimed to study the experiences of Kenyan female leaders and explore Kenyan maternal influence in their lived experiences. It examined how maternal influence shapes female leadership in Kenya by embodying relational and transformational leadership qualities and proves that maternal influence makes women congruent with leadership roles. Despite global advances recognizing the principle of women’s political, economic, and social equality, Kenyan women continue to be marginalized in many areas of society, especially in leadership and decision making. Kenyan women also continue to rank very low in their communities’ social hierarchy, yet they play a critical role in their …

Education For Citizenship: A Study Of The Effects Of Cocurricular Student Philanthropy Education On Prosocial Behavior, Félix José Alonso

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this concurrent mixed-methods study is to explore the use of student engagement and cocurricular student philanthropy education as an approach to awareness raising and as a mechanism for creating a culture of philanthropy among college students. This dissertation is a synthesis of the review with a consensus that student engagement and cocurricular student philanthropy education create greater awareness, learning, and intentions around philanthropy and prosocial behavior, as well as increased instances of making charitable contributions and civic engagement. The study concludes that student engagement and cocurricular philanthropy education are effective mechanisms for creating a culture of giving. …

The Language Of Pandemic Leaderships: Mapping Political Rhetoric During The Covid-19 Outbreak, Cristina J. Montiel, Joshua Uyheng, Erwine Dela Paz

Psychology Department Faculty Publications

This paper maps political rhetoric by national leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic. We identify and characterize global variations in major rhetorical storylines invoked in publicly available speeches (N = 1201) across a sample of 26 countries. Employing a text analytics or corpus linguistics approach, we show that state heads rhetorically lead their nations by: enforcing systemic interventions, upholding global unity, encouraging communal cooperation, stoking national fervor, and assuring responsive governance. Principal component analysis further shows that country-level rhetoric is organized along emergent dimensions of cultural cognition: an agency-structure axis to define the loci of pandemic interventions, and a hierarchy-egalitarianism axis …

Traits Of Religious Leadership, Alex J. Raymond

Honors College Theses

Religious leaders act in crucial roles throughout their communities, yet few studies have addressed these leaders. Despite numerous experiments having been conducted with religion and leadership, little has focused on specifically religious leadership. This study sought to contribute to the limited body of knowledge regarding the traits of religious leadership. We had developed eight preacher profiles that presented varying qualities of moral integrity, communal involvement, and the capability to instill personal meaning in individual religious members. After reading one of these profiles in an online survey, the 178 participants were asked to answer a series of questions to rate the …

Seeing Through Woke-Washing: Effects Of Projected Diversity Values And Leader Racial Diversity On Equity In Workplace Outcomes, Adrienne M. Kafka

CMC Senior Theses

The presence of multicultural values, emphasizing the appreciation of distinct cultural identities in companies’ promotional materials, versus colorblind values, which minimize cultural distinctions, may affect Black/Hispanic/Latinx (BHL) vs White individuals’ cognitive ability employment selection test scores and likelihood of applying to an organization differently depending on the company’s demonstrated leader racial diversity (LRD). Participants (N = 419), recruited via Amazon MTurk, read a hypothetical job application call and mission statement with a specific diversity ideology emphasized (multiculturalism, colorblind, control, Black Lives Matter (BLM)) and viewed headshots of the company C-suite either with low LRD (mostly White) or high LRD before …

Who Should Lead? Effective Influence As A Product Of Group Context And Group Purpose, Nicolas Barreto

CGU Theses & Dissertations

One of the most important features of any group is who is most influential, who leads. Expectation states theory (EST) and the social identity theory of leadership (SITL) both make predictions about which group member will have the most influence. EST argues that group members follow whomever they believe will lead the group to success. SITL states that the individual who best embodies the group’s defining attributes has the most influence. This dissertation proposed that influence and leadership in a group are dependent on group features, and it tested two such features: (a) a group’s social context and (b) a …

The Nature Of Informal Roles In Interdependent Sport Teams, Jeemin Kim

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The degree to which athletes understand and execute their formal role responsibilities (i.e., prescribed by coaches) is important for individual and group functioning (Eys, Schinke, Surya, & Benson, 2014). Recent literature suggested that informal roles can emerge within sport teams more naturally without coaches’ explicit assignments (e.g., team comedians, distracters), and have significant influences on team functioning (Cope, Eys, Beauchamp, Schinke, & Bosselut, 2011). This doctoral dissertation examined the nature of informal roles within interdependent sport teams, focusing on their antecedents and outcomes. Three separate projects were conducted. Project One examined athletes’ personality in the big five dimensions (McCrae & …

An Experimental Test Of Fiedler's Contingency Model Of Leadership Effectiveness: The Effect Of Gender, Samantha De Souza

Master's Theses

The present study is an experimental test of Fiedler's (1967) Contingency Model of Leadership Effectiveness across genders, as Fiedler's Contingency Model has been tested largely with male participants. The model predicts group performance based on four key variables: leadership style, as indexed by the Least-Preferred Coworker (LPC) Scale, and three situational variables, leader-member relations, task structure, and position power. In situations characterized by high leader-member relations, and low position power, Fiedler predicts a negative correlation between the leader's LPC score and group performance when groups perform a structured task (Octant II), and a positive correlation when groups perform an unstructured …

Papal Support For Women Under Uncertainty: Changing Perceptions Of Women In Religious Leadership Positions In The Roman Catholic Church, Stephanie M. Byers

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Women have historically been barred from holding positions of leadership and power. As a result, much of the literature examining women as leaders is narrow in context, focusing mainly on business and political settings (Eagly & Johnson, 1990). The current work contributes to diverse leadership research by analyzing women leaders in the context of the Roman Catholic Church - a historically gender-biased religious organization with no current leadership opportunities for women. The Church’s rigid leadership stance provides an optimal setting for exploring openness to accept change in traditionalist organizations. Previous research on identity leadership has shown that prototypical leaders are …

The Effect Of Imagined Intergroup Contact On Heterosexism, Laurel Mertz

Master's Theses

Heterosexism and other forms of prejudice against the LGBTQ community remain prevalent across the world. Thus, the study of how to reduce heterosexism has become a much more common and necessary domain of research in recent years. Previous research has demonstrated mixed results of the effect of imagined intergroup contact on heterosexism. the current study sought to evaluate various contexts in which imagined intergroup contact would decrease or increase levels of both implicit and explicit heterosexist attitudes. I predicted that individuals who imagined winning a basketball game with a gay teammate would display more positive attitudes toward gay men whereas …

Lead Me To Lose: How Leaders, Uncertainty, And Competition Influence Weight Loss Intentions In Groups, Jeffrey M. Beaulieu

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The rates of obesity in the US was 42.4% in 2017-2018. Engaging people’s social identities through leadership may be an effective method to encourage weight loss. The social identity approach to leadership often examines representative and prototypical leadership as of the average group traits or as leaders who are similar to followers. However, exceptional leaders may also be prototypical. The preference for exceptional (ideal) over similar (representative) leaders may lie in the identity function the leader serves. Here, I hypothesized that ideal leaders (e.g., someone who has already successfully lost weight), who embody extreme positive group attributes are most influential …

Core Concepts In Heroism Science, Volume Two, Scott T. Allison

Bookshelf

What lies at the core of heroism?

This book attempts to answer this daunting question. To understand the core of heroism – the forces underlying it – let’s first examine what heroism is at its surface. On the outside, heroism is a behavior, or set of behaviors. These actions are directed toward helping others, and they go beyond expectation and are considered by most people to be extraordinary (Franco, Blau, & Zimbardo, 2011). In addition, heroism involves taking great risks and making exceptional sacrifices (Allison, Goethals, & Kramer, 2017). We observe these extreme helping behaviors and we admire them -- …

Living Through The Chilean Coup D’Etat: The Second-Generation’S Reflection On Their Sense Of Agency, Civic Engagement And Democracy, Denise Tala Diaz

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation illuminates how the experience of growing up during the Chilean dictatorship (1973–1990) affected the individual's sense of self as citizen and the impact on their sense of democratic agency, civic-mindedness, and political engagement in their country's current democracy. To understand that impact, the researcher chose to study her own generation, the “Pinochet-era” generation (Cummings, 2015) and interviewed those who were part of the Chilean middle class, who despite not being explicit victims of perpetrators, were raised in dictatorship and surrounded by abuse of state power including repression, disappearance, and imprisonment. The theoretical frame of the Socio-Political Development Theory …

‘‘The Greatest Teacher, Failure Is’’: Handling Failure In Military Parachute Training, David Bergman

Journal of Human Performance in Extreme Environments

The present study examined failure in an extreme setting within a military parachute training course used to better prepare individuals for combat. A grounded theory analysis of interviews and observations led to four interdependent reasons for failure, three mediating factors of how failure was perceived, and eight ways of coping in how individuals handled failure. Two overarching master themes were established of decision aversion where individuals tend to avoid making decisions regarding their own failure in order to minimize guilt and shame, and externalization where attribution is made primarily to causes outside the self in order to maintain a positive …

Seeking Mirrors: Representation And Identity At Asian Pacific Islander Film Festivals, Yang Jiang

Dissertations

Media representation plays an important role in shaping how we perceive ourselves. For ethnic and racial minorities, studies have confirmed that exposure to stereotypical and negative representations can harm the development of ethnic and racial identity. Currently, however, there is little understanding of how representation can support the development of ethnic and racial identity. Essentially, what might visibility, rather than invisibility, in media representation look like, and what is the relationship between visibility and ethnic and racial identity?

This dissertation sought to address these questions by looking at the experience of Asian Pacific Islander (API) attendees at API film festivals. …