Psychology 4690G-001

Special Topics in Industrial and Organizational Psychology:  The Psychology of Leadership

If there is a discrepancy between the outline posted below and the outline posted on the OWL course website, the latter shall prevail.

COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVE

This course will address leadership in organizations from a psychological perspective. We will discuss the evolution of theory pertaining to leader emergence and effectiveness and evaluate these theories in terms of research support and practical implications (e.g., leader selection and development). We will examine leadership from the perspective of the leaders as well as their followers, and will address a number of the challenges faced by leaders in modern organizations (e.g., dealing with diversity and change). The overall objective of the course is to develop students’ ability to critically evaluate leadership theory and research and to help them gain a better understanding of what it takes to be an effective leader.

Antirequisite(s):
Prerequisite(s): Psychology 2820E, or both of Psychology 2800E and 2810, plus registration in third or fourth year Honors Specialization in Psychology or Honors Specialization in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. Other Psychology students and Psychology Special Students who receive 75% in the prerequisite courses may enrol in this course.
Corequisite(s):
Pre-or Corequisite(s):
Extra Information: 3 seminar hours, 0.5 course.

INSTRUCTOR: John Meyer

Office: 8411 SSC;  Phone #: 519-661-3679; email: meyer@uwo.ca

SAMPLE READINGS

Avolio, B.J., Reichard, R., Hannah, S.T., Walumbwa, F.O., & Chan, A. (2009). A meta-analytic review of leadership impact research: Experimental and quasi-experimental studies. Leadership Quarterly, 764-784.
Bligh, M.C., Kohles, J.C., & Pillai, R. (2011). Romancing leadership: Past, present, and future. Leadership Quarterly, 22, 1058-1077.
Eagly, A.H. & Chin, J. Diversity and leadership in a changing world. American Psychologist, 65, 216-224.
Eagly, A.H. Johnson-Schmidt, M.C., & van Engen, M.L. (2003). Transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership styles: A meta-analysis comparing men women and men. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 569-591.
Day, D.V. (2001). Leadership development: A review in context. Leadership Quarterly, 11, 581-613.
Dulebohn, J.H. (2012). A meta-analysis of antecedents and consequences of leader-member exchange: Integrating the past with an eye toward the future. Journal of Management, 38, 1715-1759.
Hoffman, B.J., Woehr, D.J., Maldagen-Youngjohn, R., & Lyons, B.D. (2011). Great man or great myth? A quantitative review of the relationship between individual differences and leader effectiveness. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 84, 347-381.
Judge, T.A., Piccolo, R.F., & Ilies, R. (2004). The forgotten ones? The validity of consideration and initiating structure in leadership research. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89, 36-51.
House, R.J., & Aditya, R.N. (1997). The social scientific study of leadership: Quo vadis? Journal of Management, 23, 409-473.
Judge, T. A., & Piccolo, R. F. (2004). Transformational and transactional leadership: A meta- analytic test of their validity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(5), 755-768.
McCall, M.W. (2010). Recasting leadership development. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 3, 3-19.

EVALUATION

20%: Participation (e.g., in class discussion; debates; short presentations)
30%: Mid-term test (short answer and short essay)
30%: Final exam (short answer and short essay)
20%: Term paper (approximately 2500 word essay)

SAMPLE TOPICS:

Leader emergence Leader effectiveness Power and influence
Leadership and motivation The ‘romance’ of leadership The impact of leadership
The role of followers Self-leadership Diversity & leadership
Gender differences in leadership Culture differences in leadership Charismatic leadership Transformational leadership
The ‘dark side’ of leadership
Ethical leadership
Leadership development