Leader Self-Sacrifice and Leadership Effectiveness: The Moderating Role of Leader Prototypicality.

Self-sacrificing behavior of the leader and the extent to which the leader is representative of the group (i.e., group prototypical) are proposed to interact to influence leadership effectiveness. The authors expected self-sacrificing leaders to be considered more effective and to be able to push subordinates to a higher performance level than non-self-sacrificing leaders, and these effects were expected to be more pronounced for less prototypical leaders than for more prototypical leaders. The results of a laboratory experiment showed that, as expected, productivity levels, effectiveness ratings, and perceived leader group-orientedness and charisma were positively affected by leader self-sacrifice, especially when leader prototypicality was low. The main results were replicated in a scenario experiment and 2 surveys. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychologists' Clinical Evaluations and Attitudes: An Examination of the Influence of Gender and Sexual Orientation.

Becoming aware of factors that may affect differential treatment of clients is necessary for psychologists to practice competently. Scholarly writing and empirical studies have suggested that therapist gender, client gender, and client sexual orientation are 3 such factors. This study examined therapist gender, client gender, and client sexual orientation in relation to psychologists' attitudes and clinical evaluations for clients. Results indicated that female psychologists held more positive attitudes and treatment expectations for clients than did male psychologists and that some psychologists hold inconsistent attitudes toward female clients generally and lesbian, gay, and bisexual clients in particular. Continuing education and consultation are recommended to increase psychologists' awareness of gender and sexual orientation issues and potential influences in treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Role of Canadian Psychologists in Conducting Fitness and Criminal Responsibility Evaluations.

Historically, only physicians, typically psychiatrists, were permitted to conduct forensic mental health evaluations for the courts. In the United States, the courts have affirmed increasing acceptance of involvement of psychologists since the 1940s. In Canada, the legal system continues to adhere to the assumption of medical dominance to a large extent. For instance, Canadian legislation requires that a physician conduct court-ordered assessments of fitness to stand trial and criminal responsibility. In this article, relevant Canadian law is compared to American law, and empirical research on the ability of psychologists to assess fitness and criminal responsibility is discussed. These legal and empirical reviews are used to generate policy recommendations regarding the qualifications of forensic examiners. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of A World of Difference: Gender Roles in Perspective.

Reviews the book, A World of Difference: Gender Roles in Perspective by Esther R. Greenglass (1982). In A World of Difference, Esther Greenglass has given us an excellent social-psychological perspective on sex, gender, and sex-role differences. Greenglass clearly analyses current research on these topics with the perspective of the culture in which gender-based behaviour occurs. Equally important, however, is the discussion of the social and cultural context of the research itself. Aside from this important and useful discussion of the research in its social context, there is a very thorough review of contemporary issues relating to gender roles. This is a very readable book for students. The collection of pictures and cartoons depicting contemporary male and female roles illustrates the issues while showing their humorous side. Throughout the book, there are examples of Canadian data and Canadian research which will make the book particularly appealing to those who find that U.S. texts are too chauvinistic about the American experience. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex Role Orientation, Self-Disclosure, and Gender-Related Perceptions.

The level of self-disclosure and the sex-role orientation of 104 males and 91 females was determined in order to assess the impact of these characteristics on interpersonal judgments of gender-related behavior. The subject's own level of disclosure was found to have an impact on perceptions of males and females represented to be moderately high and moderately low in disclosure. Those more similar were viewed to be better adjusted, more likable, and preferred partners in an experiment. There was a failure to find differential standards in the evaluation of male and female disclosure, and a subject's sex role orientation (androgynous or sex role stereotyped) had no effect on perceptions. Gender, however, did have an impact on judgments made and interacted with the gender of the individual perceived. Male subjects rated male and female individuals differentially, whereas female subjects did not. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender and letters of recommendation for academia: Agentic and communal differences.

In 2 studies that draw from the social role theory of sex differences (A. H. Eagly, W. Wood, & A. B. Diekman, 2000), the authors investigated differences in agentic and communal characteristics in letters of recommendation for men and women for academic positions and whether such differences influenced selection decisions in academia. The results supported the hypotheses, indicating (a) that women were described as more communal and less agentic than men (Study 1) and (b) that communal characteristics have a negative relationship with hiring decisions in academia that are based on letters of recommendation (Study 2). Such results are particularly important because letters of recommendation continue to be heavily weighted and commonly used selection tools (R. D. Arvey & T. E. Campion, 1982; R. M. Guion, 1998), particularly in academia (E. P. Sheehan, T. M. McDevitt, & H. C. Ross, 1998). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Teams that Lead: A Matter of Market Strategy, Leadership Skills and Executive Strength.

This article reviews the book by Theresa J. B. Kline titled, "Teams that Lead: A Matter of Market Strategy, Leadership Skills and Executive Strength." Reviewed by John Tivendell, this article offers an in-depth analysis of the text and delves into various models of leadership skills and marketing strategy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

It's Good to Be Leader: The Influence of Randomly and Systematically Selected Leaders on Decision-Making Groups.

Research on hidden profiles reveals that groups often have trouble utilizing unshared information and making the optimal decision in decision-making contexts. However, a directive group leader advocating the best decision can help a group overcome this problem. The current study examines how a leader's access to information affects the quality of group decisions and information sharing. In addition, how leader selection processes affect leader influence is considered. Overall, evidence is found indicating a leader's access to information and leader selection processes influence group discussions and decision quality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The social psychology of gender: How power and intimacy shape gender relations.

Reviews the book, The social psychology of gender: How power and intimacy shape gender relations by Laurie A. Rudman and Peter Glick (see record 2008-09331-000). In this volume, respected gender experts Rudman and Glick (both former recipients of the Gordon Allport Intergroup Relations Award for their respective research in this area) highlight the ways in which male dominance and intimate interdependence work together to shape peoples’ attitudes toward men and women and thusly their interactions with members of both sexes. Although its publication in the Texts series suggests that it is aimed primarily at a student audience, this volume nevertheless has much to offer the interested layperson and the serious academic as well. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of professor ethnicity and gender on student evaluations: Judged before met.

Ethnic minority academicians face a number of challenges in the “ivory tower.” One set of challenges arises from the racial stereotypes that others hold, and the current research investigates the stereotypes held by students before they even meet such professors. After providing college preparatory students with a CV of a professor (differing in their race—White, Black, or Asian; their gender—male or female; and their academic discipline—Science or Humanities), students evaluated the professor on measures of competence, legitimacy, and interpersonal skills. We found that students evaluated Black professors to be significantly less competent and legitimate than their White and Asian counterparts. Both Black and Asian professors were judged to have significantly less interpersonal skills than White professors. No gender main effects emerged. Professors in science were judged to be more competent and legitimate than professors in humanities. Very few interactions surfaced. We discuss our results in terms of previous stereotype research and the implications our results have for further compounding the challenges that Black professors face in academia. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intelligence and Leadership: A Quantitative Review and Test of Theoretical Propositions.

Meta-analysis was used to aggregate results from studies examining the relationship between intelligence and leadership. One hundred fifty-one independent samples in 96 sources met the criteria for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Results indicated that the corrected correlation between intelligence and leadership is .21 (uncorrected for range restriction) and .27 (corrected for range restriction). Perceptual measures of intelligence showed stronger correlations with leadership than did paper-and-pencil measures of intelligence. Intelligence correlated equally well with objective and perceptual measures of leadership. Additionally, the leader's stress level and the leader's directiveness moderated the intelligence-leadership relationship. Overall, results suggest that the relationship between intelligence and leadership is considerably lower than previously thought. The results also provide meta-analytic support for both implicit leadership theory and cognitive resource theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Attitudes: Their structure, function, and consequences.

Reviews the book, Attitudes: Their structure, function, and consequences edited by Russell H. Fazio and Richard E. Petty (see record 2007-02438-000). Fazio and Pety developed a text of key readings on attitude structure, function, and outcomes. Indeed, the size of the literature under review led the editors to divide the work into two sections: one text targeting attitude structure and function and a second (forthcoming) volume targeting the attitudes and persuasion literature. The text we are reviewing is the first in this two-volume set. Despite the difficulty of the task Fazio and Petty set for themselves, the result is a book that is appropriate for an audience ranging from the advanced undergraduate to the professional academic. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Beliefs, Attitudes and Values.

Reviews the book, Beliefs, Attitudes and Values by Milton Rokeach (1968). I believe that Rokeach does not believe that his beliefs about beliefs, attitudes, and values are beliefs. The author seems to believe that he presents in this collection of previously published papers something other than his beliefs. Yet, from his presentation it would appear that there exists nothing but beliefs. Much of the confusion which appears in this book is due to the various ways in which the word "belief" is used. The author states that "the task for psychology is . . . to learn enough about the structure of belief systems to know how to form them, and how to modify them so that they will best increase the happiness and freedom of the individual and his society." As a result of the task the author sees for psychology he has undertaken a number of experiments presented in the papers which make up this volume. A detailed discussion of those experiments seems useless in the light of the fact that they are all based on Rokeach's confusing use of the word 'belief in terms of which he also defines "attitudes" and "values." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Leader group prototypicality and job satisfaction: The moderating role of job stress and team identification.

The authors examined the relationship between leader group prototypicality (the extent to which a leader is representative of the collective identity) and job satisfaction as an indicator of leadership effectiveness. Leader group prototypicality was expected to interact with job stress and team identification, such that leader group protototypicality is more strongly related to job satisfaction for followers with higher job stress and team identification. Two cross-sectional surveys (N = 329 and N = 89) conducted with the employees of 4 Italian organizations provided support for this hypothesis. The authors discuss how these findings extend our understanding of leadership effectiveness within the social identity model of leadership. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The language of online leadership: Gender and youth engagement on the Internet.

This study examines the JUNIOR SUMMIT online community, which consisted of 3,062 adolescents representing 139 countries, varying SES, and a range of experience with computers. The online forum culminated in the election of 100 delegates. By analyzing the messages posted before results of the election were announced, we explore whether language use predicts who was elected as a leader, as well as gender differences in leadership style. Results indicate that the young online leaders do not adhere to adult leadership styles of contributing many ideas, sticking to task, and using powerful language. On the contrary, while the young people elected as delegates do contribute more, their linguistic style is likely to keep the goals and needs of the group as central--by referring to the group rather than to themselves, and by synthesizing the posts of others rather than solely contributing their own ideas. Furthermore, both boy and girl leaders follow this pattern of interpersonal language use. These results reassure us that young people can be civically engaged and community minded, while indicating that these concepts themselves may change through contact with the next generation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Food and life, pleasure and worry, among American college students: Gender differences and regional similarities.

Questionnaires on food attitudes and behavior were completed by 2,200 American undergraduates from 6 regionally dispersed college campuses. Results indicate that a substantial minority of women and a much smaller minority of men have major concerns about eating and food with respect to both weight and health. Overall, 14% of women reported being embarrassed to buy a chocolate bar in the store. A 6-factor structure emerged: weight concern, diet and health orientation, beliefs about the diet-health link, food negativity/importance of food as a source of pleasure in life, eating disordered behaviors, and natural/vegetarian food preferences. There were surprisingly few regional differences, virtually none if race and social class were taken into account. Gender was the strongest predictor of responses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Gender dysphoria: Development, research, management.

Reviews the book, Gender dysphoria: Development, research, management edited by Betty W. Steiner (1985). The term gender dysphoria is attributed to Fisk (1973) and is described in the introductory chapter as a diagnostic label much broader than transsexualism. It refers to those who, "at one time or another, experience sufficient discomfort with their biological sex to form the wish for sex reassignment". However, when one compares the DSM-III definition of transsexualism as "a persistent sense of discomfort and inappropriateness about one's anatomic sex and a persistent wish to be rid of one's genitals and to live as a member of the other sex", one is left bewildered as to how the concept of gender dysphoria is broader than the diagnostic category of transsexualism. One's bewilderment is more likely to wax than wane when, in subsequent chapters (including two by the editor herself), the term gender dysphoria is rejected in favour of such terms as transsexualism, cross-gender identification, gender disorder, and gender-identity disturbance. Even in the final "personal perspective" chapter, the editor asserts that "This book has been an attempt to bring together in a cohesive whole some of the recent work that has been, and continues to be, done in transsexualism and gender identity". The book, however, is not altogether without merit. There are two noteworthy chapters. One is an intriguing, thought-provoking treatise by Hoenig on the aetiology of transsexualism. The other is Zucker's impressive literature review of crossgender-identified children. Those two chapters, interestingly, are alloted one-fourth of the entire book. The remaining thirteen chapters are left to vie for the remaining pages. The disappointments I encountered with this book reminded me of a Bahamian cruise I was recently fortunate enough to enjoy. At one of the midnight buffets I eagerly chose a pastry that looked somewhat like a cream puff. It was not until I bit into it that I discovered it was void of whipping cream. The shell itself was tasty, but I had expected so much more. Perhaps it is appropriate to compare Steiner's volume to a buffet. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The New Partnership: Women and Men in Organization.

Reviews the book, The New Partnership: Women and Men in Organizations by Nina L. Colwill (1982). The stated goals of her book are "to increase awareness" of a) sex-role problems in organizations, b) some potential solutions, and c) relevant research evidence. An unstated but evident goal is to persuade the reader that women, men, and organizations will all benefit from the maximal development of both sexes' potential. The book contains nine chapters, four of which are co-authored with others expert on the chapter topic. The broad range theory and research presented deals with attitudes, roles, traits and abilities, achievement and related attributions, power, communication, and groups and leadership. Each subject area is initially viewed broadly with a subsequent focus on special issues and research results relevant to sex discrimination in organizations. At the end of each chapter is a section dealing with "alternatives for change" and a set of exercises for use in groups, individually, in interviews, and in designing a study. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The leadership imperative: Linking strategy and competency requirements for success: Interview with H. Laurence Fuller, Chairman, CEO, and President of Amoco Corporation.

The following is an interview with H. Laurance Fuller, Chairman, CEO, and President of Amoco Corporation, a $28 million petroleum and petrochemical company based in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Fuller highlights the link between business strategy and the factors required of leaders in the successful pursuit of that strategy. Amoco is engaged in a major change process refocusing strategy and reshaping culture. As a part of that change process, an effort is underway to identify leadership competencies to be used in selection, performance appraisal, training, and development, career management and succession planning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)