Implicit leadership theory: Differing influence in task engaged vs. task unengaged subjects.
Item
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Title
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Implicit leadership theory: Differing influence in task engaged vs. task unengaged subjects.
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Identifier
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AAI3037403
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identifier
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3037403
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Creator
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Halewski, Helen L.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Donald M. Levine
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Date
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2002
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Industrial | Psychology, Social
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Abstract
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This research examined subjects' involvement with a task on the direction and strength of their leader perceptions. Leader perceptions were considered in terms of implicit leadership theories (ILTs), a perceptual simplification similar to a stereotype. Leader labels (e.g., 'effective' or 'ineffective') trigger an ILT which influences leader perception in both summary judgements and memory for specific behaviors. Being perceived as an effective leader is necessary to be influential in ways other than blatant coercion.;Subjects included 97 female and 49 male students from a college in upstate New York. Dependent variables included ratings of general leader impression, leader behavior, and a quality assessment of the group + leader interaction. Task involvement was defined as a tri-dimensional construct: (1) 'cognitive engagement', interest and attentiveness, (2) 'affective response', an emotional reaction, and (3) 'behavioral participation', active involvement. Task involvement was manipulated by participation in the task and through verbal and written prompts. Analyses of variance and planned comparisons were used to test the hypotheses.;The hypotheses were based on the reasoning that task-involved subjects would be more accurate and less extreme in their judgements about leaders. The first hypothesis posited that task-involved subjects are less susceptible to the biasing influence of leader labels in summary judgements of overall leadership effectiveness. The second hypothesis posited that task-involved subjects are less influenced by leader labels in behavioral ratings. Neither hypothesis was supported. The third hypothesis posited that task-involved subjects would be less influenced by leader labels in evaluating workgroup performance. Subjects made their own quality evaluation, instead of being provided one as in other ILT research. This hypothesis was also not supported. However, subjects' evaluations of workgroup performance were also not significantly influenced by leader labels. Subjects whose overall quality assessment was higher rated the leader significantly higher on both leader behaviors and on general leader impression. Additional analyses on causal attribution for outcomes suggest that task-uninvolved participants place more emphasis on the role of the group and how well they worked together in achieving an outcome. Task-involved participants were found to perceive the leader as more causally potent in determining the outcome. Theoretical and practical contributions and suggestions for future research are presented.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
