The Role of Whites in Lay Leadership Within Latino Churches

Latinos are the largest ethnoracial minority group in America, and Latino congregations play an important role in the lives of their members and communities. Yet, little research exists on these congregations. The current study provides an examination of the lay leadership structures and power dynamics within Latino congregations. Drawing from organizational ecology theory and the homophily principle as well as contemporary racial stratification literature, we propose competing hypotheses regarding the roles whites play within the lay leadership and power structures of Latino congregations. Utilizing a national multilevel data set, we find the persistence of white privilege existing within Latino congregations, as whites are more likely to hold lay leadership positions within these congregations than Latinos, despite their numeric minority status. Moreover, our results reveal that individual access to the decision‐making process in these congregations increases for both whites and multiracial individuals as the proportion of Latinos increases in their congregation. We further discuss the implications of these findings.     

Training Leader Emotion Regulation and Leadership Effectiveness

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to test whether we could train the regulation of affective displays of leaders in terms of the emotion regulation strategy of deep acting (displaying feelings one also experiences) and display of positive affect. We also tested whether this resulted in improved leadership effectiveness (i.e., a mediation model in which the training results in greater leadership effectiveness through improved emotion regulation).

Design/Methodology/Approach

Data were obtained from a field experiment. We randomly assigned N = 31 leaders (rated by N = 60 subordinates) to a control group without training or an experimental group with emotion regulation training. Before and 2 weeks after the intervention, deep acting (leader-rated) and positive affective displays and leadership effectiveness (subordinate-rated) were assessed.

Findings

The training had positive effects on deep acting, positive affective displays, and leadership effectiveness. Deep acting and positive affect mediated the relationship between the intervention and leadership effectiveness.

Implications

We discuss how this helps build the case both for an emotional labor approach to leadership and for the leadership development potential of such an emotional labor approach.

Originality/Value

The findings of this study represent the first causal evidence that leader emotion regulation can be trained, improved emotion regulation results in greater leadership effectiveness and is one of the first empirical studies that integrates emotional labor theory to leadership effectiveness. It is therefore important from a theory development perspective.

     

Leadership and Rehabilitation Training for Troubled Adolescents in a Tri-ethnic Setting

In many school systems in the country, especially in urban areas, large numbers of adolescent students feel alienated and frustrated because they are not allowed to participate in the decision-making process and in school activities. The result of this lack of participation is illustrated by the large number of adolescents who drop out, are pushed out, or are suspended and expelled. Unless these students become involved, rehabilitated, and their leadership potential is developed, the gap will continue to widen between those who have assumed leadership through authority (administrators, teachers, and counselors) and those who are most affected by a lack of involvement (students).     

Promotion of Civic Engagement with the Family Leadership Training Institute

In this efficacy study, both quantitative and qualitative data were used to gauge the effects of the Family Leadership Training Institute (FLTI) on civic knowledge and empowerment, civic engagement, and community health. The sample of 847 FLTI participants and 166 comparison adults completed pretest and posttest surveys. Medium to very large short‐term effects were observed in civic literacy, empowerment, and engagement. Results mapping interviews were conducted with a stratified random sample of FLTI graduates (n = 52) to assess long‐term (M = 2.73 years) program impact. Most FLTI graduates (86%) sustained meaningful, sometimes transformative, levels of civic engagement after program completion. This engagement involved multiple forms of leadership, most often advocacy, program implementation, and media campaigns; 63% of graduates directed at least some of their activities to marginalized populations. Content analyses of graduates' civic (capstone) projects and results mapping story maps indicated that 81–90% of community activities aligned with public health priorities. Thus, one promising means to promote community health is to empower families to develop leadership skills, become engaged in civic life, and forge connections with diverse constituents.     

Predicting Transformational Leadership in Naval Cadets: Effects of Personality Hardiness and Training

The present study investigated whether personality hardiness predicts peer ratings of leadership style in Navy officer cadets. Cadets ( n  = 71) completed the Dispositional Resiliency (hardiness) Scale, and later rated their peers using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (full range of leadership model). Results show the hardy–commitment facet predicted peer ratings of all leadership styles covered in the model, both before and after and intensive military exercise. The challenge facet was a positive predictor of transformational and transactional leadership and was negatively related to passive-avoidant leadership. Transformational leadership predicted leader performance, as indexed by military development grades; and a partial mediation effect was found for hardiness on the relation between transformational leadership and leader performance.     

Leadership Training for High School Girls: An Intervention at One School

The author describes the planning, implementation, and effects of a leadership training program designed for high school girls.     

Lay theories of willpower

Some people believe that willpower relies on a limited resource and that performing cognitive work (such as using self‐control) results in mental fatigue. Others believe that willpower is nonlimited and that performing cognitive work instead prepares and energizes them for more. These differing lay theories of willpower determine whether or not one's self‐control performance actually does decrease or increase after use, with only limited willpower theorists showing a decrease (the ego depletion effect). Due to the self‐control requirements of everyday life, willpower theories also predict outcomes across domains of academics, health, goal progress, interpersonal relationships, and well‐being. Generally, limited willpower theorists' belief in their limited capacity results in poorer outcomes, particularly during times of high demand. By understanding how willpower theories form and function, interventions that encourage nonlimited willpower theories may be created to improve people's performance and well‐being.     

Lay Theories of Happiness

Over 230 young people completed a battery of questionnaires measuring personality, self-esteem, and happiness as well as one developed specifically for this study on their theories of the causes of happiness. The 36 causes factored into six internally coherent and interpretable factors. Self-reported happiness, extraversion and sex were correlated with the lay theory factors. Four of the six factors were modestly (r < 0.20) correlated with the Oxford Happiness Inventory (OHI) scores. Path analysis, using the OHI as the dependent variable, showed self-esteem, extraversion and neuroticism direct predictors of happiness but that among the lay theories, only lay theories about optimism and contentment were direct predictors. Personality and demographic variables did predict the lay theories but the latter did not act as moderator or mediating factors between the former and happiness. The role and function of lay theories with respect to happiness are discussed.     

Lay theories of suicide

The rank order of a set of 32 causal attributes for depression was similar to that for suicide, as judged by a sample of 66 undergraduates.     

Teaching Psychological Assessment: Training issues and Teaching Approaches

Clinical psychology graduate programs need to pay attention to important issues involved in teaching psychological assessment, if graduate students are to be adequately prepared. Recent studies have suggested a gap between academic training in psychological assessment and internship expectations. Graduate students are not as well prepared as many internship settings would like. In addition to learning the fundamentals, students need help in dealing with issues of categorizing individuals, using tests in helpful ways, taking responsibility for decision-making, and developing a balance between critical evaluation of tests and appreciation of their usefulness. Teaching approaches for dealing with these issues are discussed. The importance of academic and clinical agencies working together is stressed. Goals for graduate training in assessment are suggested.     

Lay conceptions of neuroticism

This paper is concerned with various aspects of a lay-person's conceptualization of neuroticism. Three experiments are reported which aim to investigate various determinants of the common-sense conception of neuroticism. In the first experiment subjects completed various standardized psychological tests measuring neuroticism and anxiety, while also estimating the extent of their own anxiety and neuroticism. In the second experiment subjects attempted to detect items measuring neuroticism in a standard personality questionnaire and secondly estimate the extent of their own and the ‘average’ person's neuroticism. Finally, in the third experiment subjects rated the typicality of various neurotic traits and behaviour which had been supplied by subjects in the previous two experiments. The results suggested some similarity in expert explicit theories and lay-person implicit theories, though there appeared to be systematic biases in the subjects' perception of their own neuroticism. The results are discussed in terms of the correspondence between implicit theories and explicit theories, and the functions of each theory in everyday life are considered. Problems associated with these studies and this research in general are discussed.     

Lay theories of delinquency

This paper is concerned with the range, structure and determinants of lay people's implicit theories of delinquency. The different explicit psychological and sociological theories were reviewed as were studies on lay beliefs about crime and delinquency. After pilot interviews in which people were asked to list what they believed to be the major causes of delinquency, over 350 people completed a questionnaire in which they rated 30 explanations for their importance in explaining delinquency. The results showed numerous sex, age and voting differences. Conservatives tended to blame a person's poor education for his or her delinquency, while Labour voters tended to explain delinquency in terms of societal factors. A factor analysis revealed six clear explanation types for delinquency some of which were clearly related to explicit theories. Results were discussed in terms of the psychology of explanations and the relationship between explicit and implicit theories. Implications of this research were also noted.     

Lay theories of rape

This study examined ‘la’ theories of rape and compared them to numerous academic theories. One hundred and thirty subjects-52 male, 78 female-completed two questionnaires, one regarding attitudes/beliefs to rape in general, the other on the possible causes of the crime. Factor analysis revealed five factors in the attitude/belief items: Subjects generally perceived the rape victim as moral, responsible, and unprovoking; the rapist was perceived as a repressed delinquent. Subjects agreed with two of the six explanation factors, seeing rape as resulting from a desire for aggression induced by societal factors. The rapist was believed to be a psychopath. Lay theories did not correspond to any formal academic rape model or explanations. Beliefs about the causes of, and attitudes to rape, correlated highly. Age was the greatest determinant of perspective; older subjects believed more in victim precipitation. Suggestions are made for further research in this comparatively neglected area.