PSY4703.001 - Psychology of Leadership
Mid-Term Study Guide
Terms
Consideration- behavior that involves
concern for relationships
Initiating Structure- behavior that involves
concern for task objectives
Critical incidents- type of study that uses
description of leader behavior obtained from
direct observation
Historiometric studies- facts of history that
have been subjected to statistical treatment
Descriptive theory- explains leadership
processes, describes typical activities of
leaders and explains why certain behaviors
occur in different situations
Prescriptive theory- specify what leaders
must do to become effective and they
identify any necessary conditions for using
particular type of behavior
Participative leadership- involves the use of
various decision procedures that allow other
people some influence over the leader’s
decision
Delegation-leader gives individual or group
responsibility for making a decision
Autocratic decision-making- leader makes
decision alone with no input from others
Consultative decision-making- leader
consults followers and asks for opinions and
suggestions before making decision
Instrumental compliance-the target person
carries out a requested action for the purpose
of obtaining a reward or avoiding
punishment controlled by the agent (leader).
Internalization-the target person becomes
committed to support and implement
proposals by the agent because they appear
to be intrinsically valuable and in correlation
to the target’s values, beliefs and self image
Personal identification- the target person
imitates the agent’s behavior or adopts the
same attitudes to please the agent
Position power (and types of power
associated with)- power that derives from
one’s rank or status
I.e.- legitimate power, reward power,
coercive power, information power,
ecological power
Personal power (and type of power
associated with)- influence derived from
task expertise or friendship and loyalty
I.e.- referent power and expert power
Internal attributions- traits or other aspects
of a person that create meaning and causal
explanation of events
External attributions-situational factors that
create meaning and causal explanation of
events
Leadership traits- individual characteristics
or attributes, such as aspects of personality,
temperament, needs, motives, and values,
identities that are often assumed to be
relatively stable
Leadership skills- individual attributes,
skills and capacities that lead to effective
leadership
Implicit leadership theory- assumptions,
stereotypes and beliefs can influence the
extent to which we believe someone is a goo
leader
Impression management- tactics intended to
influence people to like the leader or have
favorable evaluations of them
In-groups- social group with which one
identifies
Out-groups- social group that one does not
identify with
Technical skills- leader knowledge of
methods, procedures, etc.
Conceptual skills- leader has ideas,
analytical thinking, and creativity
Interpersonal skills- knowledge about
human behavior, empathy and social
sensitivity; communication & cooperation
5 personality factors-??
Need for achievement-enhances leadership
effectiveness only if subordinated by a need
for socialized power, so that leaders efforts
are directed towards building a stronger
team
Need for power- people with this need enjoy
influencing others and tend to seek positions
of authority
Stress tolerance- essential for leader to
remain calm and give decisive direction to
subordinates in time of crisis
Emotional stability-someone who is welladjusted and not prone to volatile changes in
mood; high level of cognitive moral
development
Leadership substitutes- situational factors
that substitute for the role of the leader
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Subordinate experience, professionalism
Satisfying task, intrinsically motivating
Group cohesion
Role clarity (formalization)
Leadership neutralizers-constraints
preventing leader form improving
deficiencies in intervening variables
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Subordinate indifference
Low position power
Inflexible rules, policies
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Dispersed work sites
Idealized influence- behavior that increases
follower’s identification with the leader
Individualized consideration- providing
support, encouragement and coaching to
followers
Inspirational motivation- communicating an
appealing vision and using symbols to focus
subordinate effort
Intellectual stimulation- behavior that
influences followers to view problems from
a new perspective and look for more
creative solutions
Transactional leadership-motivates
followers by appealing to their self-interest
and exchange benefits
Charismatic leadership – form of influence
based on follower perceptions that the leader
is endowed with exceptional abilities
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Socialized-followers take pride in being a
member of the group and regard
membership as most important social
identity
Personalized- followers imitate leader’s
behavior, carry out leader requests and make
extra effort to please them
Leadership & Other Theories
Leader behavior taxonomies1. Task oriented – planning work activities, clarifying goals, monitoring opterations
2. Relations oriented –supporting, developing, recognizing
3. Change oriented- determine need for change, plan for change and implement change
Normative Decision Model- model to identify the situations that determine whether a specific
type of decision process will be effective
 Five decision processes
a. AI- decide yourself
b. AII- get info, then decide alone
c. CI-consult individuals, then decide yourself
d. CII- consult group, then decide yourself
e. GII- group consensus  decision acceptance
 Situational factors
o Information (leader, follower)
o Likelihood of acceptance
o Likelihood of cooperation/conflict
o Structure of problem
o Disagreement
o Importance
 67% success rate when used (Vroom & Jago 1988)
 Limitations
o Decisions involve more than one discrete event
o Parsimony
o Leader knowledge, still not taken into account
o Does not take into account relationships
Power & Influence - Influence processes and outcome of influence attempts
 Formal influence often initiated by leader
 Informal influence often initiated by follower
 Strategy use influenced by at least 3 factors
o Individual characteristics
o Goal of subordinate and leader
o Characteristics of target influence
 Instrumental compliance
 Internalization
 Personal identification
 Outcomes
o Resistance
o Compliance
o Commitment
Social exchange theory- power is gained through the exchange of benefits or favors between
leaders and followers, which can be material or psychological
 Emphasis on expert power and authority
Types of power (Bass, 1960; Etzioni, 1961)
 Position (formal) power
o Legitimate, coercive, ecological, reward and information
 Personal (referent) power
o Expert or referent
Leader-member exchange theory- describes the role-making process between a leader and
follower (each individual) and the exchange relationship that develops over time. Both leader
and subordinate define subordinate’s role.
 High exchange with select followers
 Working relationships of dyads
 Quality of exchange relationship between leader and follower
 Process approach of transactional approach
 LMX is not
o A universal trait or behavior theory
o Not a leader v. follower domain (focus is on both parties )
o Not a contingency theory
 Focus on how leader relates to follower on daily basis, not in different
situations
 LMX s an active and ongoing process of transactions
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Value of exchange:
o Acknowledge of information
o Perceives mutual obligations
o Requires mutual communication
 Dimensions of LMX
o Trust
o Loyalty
o Liking
o Support
o Attention
o Latitude
 Outcomes of LMX
o High quality  high performance, job satisfaction, organizational commitment,
intention to stay
 Focus on longitudinal studies, not statistical
 LMX positives
o Emphasizes differential
o Stresses importance of
relationships
communication
o Analyzes the quality of dyads
o Suggests high quality 
o Focus on active transactions
positive outcomes
 LMX negatives
o Lacks clear definition
o Fails to address equity
o Unclear how process evolves
perceptions
o Need more longitudinal
o Unclear level of analysis
studies to understand how
relationships vary
Affective Events Theory- model developed to explain how emotions and moods influence job
performance and satisfaction
Ability-based model of Emotional intelligence (Mayer, Salovey & Caruso)- based model of
emotional intelligence:
 Emotional intelligence involves the ability to perceive, appraise and express emotion; the
ability to access and generate feelings when they facilitate thought; ability to understand
emotion and emotional knowledge; and the ability to regulate emotions to promote
emotional and intellectual growth
o Participation and identification
o Facilitation of thought
o Understanding
o Emotion management
 And individual needs to understand their emotions and emotions of others as well as
regulate these emotions by directing them towards constructive activities and personal
performance
Fiedler’s LPC contingency model- “Least-Preferred Coworker”
 High LPC rate LPC favorably and means leader cares more about relationships than
task objectives; values interpersonal success
 Low LPCrates LBC negatively and means leader care more about task achievement
over interpersonal success
 Not as strong of a theory as others**
Path-Goal Theory-focuses on exchange; leader behavior can influence subordinate satisfaction
and performance by increasing pay-offs or outcomes for work accomplished and by making sure
there is a clear path for getting work done (goal) by removing obstacles and providing resources
 Key facets
o Leader behaviors: supportive, directive, participative, achievement oriented
o Situational variables: task (stressful, boring, dangerous, etc.), subordinate
(experience, competence)
Cognitive Resources theory- idea that when stress is low, leaders are able to take advantage of
cognitive resources and use them well, but when stress is high, leaders tend to rely more on
experience and less on intellect. Thus intelligence shows a smaller influence on performance
during crisis or high stress.
 Leaders revert to what has been learned
Leader Substitutes theory- aspects of a situation that make task-oriented behavior or relations
oriented behavior by the designated leader redundant or ineffective. Such as:
 Subordinate experience, professionalism
 Satisfying tasks, intrinsically motivating
 Group cohesion
 Role clarity (formalization)
Transformational Leadership- leader behaviors drive key follower reactions  trust, satisfaction,
identification, fairness, efficacy, etc.
 Idealized influence- setting a good example
 Intellectual stimulation- encourage followers to think outside the box
Multiple choice and Short Answer Possibilities
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What differentiates effective from ineffective leadership?
o An effective leader is a good listener, open to other’s ideas, organized, leads by
example, sets goals and is considerate. Where as an ineffective leader is
dictatorial or lasses-faire, emotionally volatile, lacks knowledge, is disorganized,
tries to be a “friend” to employees. Effectiveness is measure by the extent to
which leader’s organizational unit performs successfully and attains goals.
What are some examples of multiple levels of leadership?
o
o
o
o
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Intra-individual leadership Researchers use psychological theories of personality traits, values skills, motivations and
cognition to explain the decisions and behavior of individual leader. Rare to describe only
the leader**
Dyadic process Focus is on relationship between leader and subordinate or follower. Satisfies need to
influence (LMX theory is a dyadic leadership theory)
Group process Focus is on the influence of leaders on collective processes that determine team
performance
Organizational process Group provides a better understanding of leadership effectiveness. Describes leadership
as a process that occurs in a larger “open system” in which groups are subsystem.
What is common method bias?
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o Measures are affected by correlations among them being inflated or deflated
depending upon several different factors
Describe two similarities and two differences between managers and leaders
o Managers- deal with every day supervision, where as leaders focus on long term
goals and planning
o Managers are in charge of everyday support and direction of followers, where as
leaders are in charge of large recognition
What are some outcomes of leadership researchers have looked at?
Drawing on Yukl’s taxonomy of leadership behavior, describe some task-related
behaviors, relations behaviors, and change behaviors
o
o
o
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What are four differences between a laboratory experiment and a field study
o
o
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Task oriented- supervisors
 Planning work activities
 Clarifying roles and objectives
 Monitoring operations
Relations behaviors- mid level managers
 Supporting
 Developing
 Recognizing
Change behaviors- senior leaders
 Determine need for change
 Plan for change
 Implement change
 Monitor progress
Lab study is a controlled
environment
Field study can look at an actual
organization
o
o
Lab study has problem with
external validity
Hard to define leadership in field
study
Leadership research methods – define each and know pros/cons
o
o
o
o
o
Survey research Advantages: easy, real data, can study wide range of topics, easy to communicate results,
multiple levels of data
 Disadvantages: biases and error, ambiguous times, method, source bias, design
limitations
Critical incidents – “field experiments”
 Advantages: focus on effectiveness of behavior, rich and detailed data, large N-size in
done via a questionnaire, good exploratory technique to reveal strengths and weaknesses
 Disadvantages: assumes knowledge of “effective” leadership behavior, selective
remembering and reporting based on implicit ideas about good/bad leadership, miss
everyday behavior, limited focus leader behavior
Interviews, observation
 Advantages: actual organizational behavior, chance for follow-up to gain details or
insight, people like to talk about their jobs.
 Disadvantages: time consuming, relies on qualitative interpretation (content coding an
help), accuracy and representation of what is observed, low N-size
Case studies/qualitative research
 Advantages: complex, rich descriptive data, contextual information captured, multiple
perspectives and organizational levels included, can cover a range of topics.
 Disadvantages: difficult to quantify and empirically examine results, comparison to other
leaders, org data is difficult, limited generalizability, need solid theory; often lacking,
often limited to descriptive findings
Historiometic
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o
o
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Advantages: high accessible, descriptive and prescriptive, known outcomes, can cover
many topics
 Disadvantages: need solid theory, time consuming, requires careful sampling and
material selection
Lab experiments
 Advantages: control over variables of interest, can infer causality, can cover many topics,
can collect and analyze data at multiple levels of leadership
 Disadvantages: more resource intensive than surveys, cant always manipulate topic of
interest, generalizability; fidelity of setting, student samples criticized, immediate
relevance, sometimes hard to sell
Quasi experiments
 Advantages: control over some variables of interest, can infer causality, can conduct in
organizations, can collect and analyze data at multiple levels of leadership, relevance is
apparent
 Disadvantages: no random assignment, requires more complex design and N-size to infer
causality, more resource intensive than surveys, cant always manipulate topic of interest,
limited purpose, typically to test an intervention
6 Situational variables influencing type of decision making process (e.g., autocratic,
consultative, group consensus) to influence decision acceptance and quality
1. Information (leader,
4. Disagreement
followers)
5. Structure of problem
2. Likelihood of acceptance
6. Importance
3. Likelihood of cooperation/
conflict
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Conditions likely to result in more successful delegation
o Responsibilities are specified
o Monitor progress in
clearly
appropriate ways
o Adequate authority and
o Arrange for subordinate to
specific limits of discretion
have access to necessary
are given
information
o Reporting requirements are
o Provide assistance and
specified
support, but do not reverse
o Ensure subordinate accepts
delegate
responsibilities
o Make mistakes a learning
o Inform others who need to
experience
know
Influence tactics – know specific names and be able to give examples
o
o
o
o
o
o
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Rational persuasion
 Use logical arguments,
evidence to gain support
Apprising
 Point out personal or
professional benefits of
providing support
Inspirational appeals
 Appeals to values, ideals,
emotions to gain support
Consultation
 Encourage input and
participation to gain
support
Exchange
 Offer explicit incentives
for support
Collaboration
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o
o
o
o
o
Provide resources,
assistance for support
Personal appeals
 Ask for support as a
personal favor
Ingratiation
 Use praise, flattery before
asking for support
Legitimating
 Use rules, policies,
contracts to back up
request for support
Pressure
 Use demands, threats,
frequent reminders to gain
support
Coalition
 Leverage existing support
of others to gain support
What do leaders contribute to high quality exchange relationships?
o Leaders do more for the follower, improves their self-worth, more trust, influence,
information, challenging work and communicate more frequently
What do followers contribute to high quality exchange relationships?
o Follower goes beyond formal role requirements, has satisfying performance, is
loyal and committed t the leader
Define and describe 6 dimensions of LMX relationships
1. Trust- abstract
4. Latitude- concrete
2. Liking- abstract
5. Attention -concrete
3. Loyalty- abstract
6. Support -concrete
Problems with LMX measures
o
o
o
Lack of validity
Different dimensions for correlated
items
Combine relationship quality and
exchange commodity
o
o
o
o
Lack of agreement between leaders
and member
Unclear level of analysis
Overreliance on questionnaires
Lack of attention to equity
perceptions
o
o
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o
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o
Lack of longitudinal studies
Difference between leader traits and skills
o A trait refers to person’s individual attributes, including aspects of personality,
temperament, needs motives and values. Skills refer to a leader’s ability to do
something in an effective manner. Competencies are a combination of traits and
skills
Describe how some traits facilitate effective leadership and how some traits can derail
leadership (bright and dark traits). In what ways or under what circumstances can bright
traits be bad and dark traits be good?
o If self-confidence occurs in excess, dysfunctional behaviors occur Leaders become overly optimistic and make risky decisions that don’t
always pay off
 Sometimes can be come arrogant or know-it-all with makes it difficult to
cooperate with others and form/grow relationships
o Need for power
 Must be socialized need for power if going to be beneficial. If it is a
personalized need for power, leader will dominate subordinates, keeping
them weak and dependent
3 approaches to studying emotions in leadership contexts
o Surveys
o Experimental studies
o Qualitative studies
Needs for future research on emotions and leadership
o
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Lack of attention to group dynamic
Emphasize attributions and
behaviors
Leadership research defines
emotion variables in ways that are
consistent with broader emotion
literature
Theory development still weak,
over emphasis on benefits of
positive emotion
o
o
o
o
Balance of lab and field studies
Field studies poorly aligned with
theory
Measurement diversity and
soundness lacking
Multiple levels need more
consideration
Does leadership research need to continue to explore the role of emotional intelligence?
Why or why not?
o Yes, because research that concludes there is not a emotional intelligenceleadership like is flawed.
What skills are needed by leaders occupying lower-level vs. senior/executive level
leadership positions?
o Lower-level managers need successful problem solving, and technical
achievement, where as higher level leaders need to delegate and not micromanage
subordinates who have more expertise about the nitty-gritty details
In what ways can a situation be favorable for a leader based on LPC theory?
o Can be favorable when leader has substantial position power, the task is highly
structured and relations with subordinates are good
What are intervening variables in House’s Path-Goal Theory?
o Intrinsic valence of behavior
o Expectancy that effort leads to accomplishment
o Intrinsic value of goal accomplishment
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o Expectancy that goal accomplishment leads to desired rewards
o Valence of reward to followers
Compare and contrast the mental models for two of the three types of outstanding
leadership types
o Transformational leadership: leaders behaviors drive key follower’s reactions
such as: trust, satisfaction, identification, fairness and efficacy
o Transactional leadership: follower offered a contingent award
o Transactional did better in certain criteria
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Job satisfaction, motivation, leader job performance
o Transformational did better in others
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Increased domain specific knowledge
Decreased working memory load due to knowledge compilation
More automatic processing
More meta-cognition and meta-management
Principle-based view of problems
What four factors should be incorporated into theories of leader cognition?
o
o
o
o
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Satisfaction with leaders, group/organization performance, rated leader effectiveness
What are the benefits of experience for leaders? How does experience contribute to
knowledge and skill development?
o Experience enables:
Knowledge (forms of, organization, richness)
Processing operations –
 Sometimes problems require a leader to define the problems and generate new ideas and
solutions; other times they require careful evaluation of a limited set of existing
alternatives that might be the inly options given the situation. Leaders may need both
types of processes.
Strategies for applying processes (standards, using single v. multiple processes)
 Things the leader can do to more effectively apply the processing operations. For
example, setting standards- if a solution doesn’t meet a certain standard, the leader
generates alternatives or applies multiple processes
Errors (biases, focus on simple causes or short term feedback)
 Leaders may be prone to various error or biases in their problem solving and decisionmaking, such as using heuristics or rules of thumb when the situation calls for something
different; focusing on short term outcomes
What situational factors require greater levels of leader cognition?
o Situation is complex and ambiguous- makes it harder to identify critical cause in
the situation and harder to predict outcome success
o Different options or courses of action are available
o Novel issues- leader cannot apply existing solutions, must generate new ones, no
scripts in place to deal with existing situation
o Access to cognitive resources- stress can interfere with access to and use of
cognitive resources such as intelligence
 Having less overall cognitive capacity can mean less cognitive resources
to draw from; time pressure can limit access to resource and role demands
or divided attention due to so many competing leadership tasks
o Social and structural support from followers- social support may ease stress for
leaders while structural support such as providing a leader with ideas and help can
add to cognitive recources available