The Construction of a Transformational Leader: Follower Attachment and Leadership Perceptions

Attachment theory suggests that unmet needs may filter perceptions of reality. Moreover, since the attachment system is always primed in anxious individuals, it tends to bias cognitive processing in a self‐sustaining manner. Here, it is proposed that individuals high in attachment anxiety are predisposed to perceive leaders as capable of meeting their needs. An exploratory laboratory study was conducted to examine the relationship between attachment anxiety and perceptions of transformational leadership. Individuals who scored high in attachment anxiety reported transformational leadership, even though such elements were objectively absent. The implications for follower receptiveness to transformational and charismatic leadership are discussed.     

Subjective determinants of attraction: Self-perceived causes of the rise and decline of liking,love, and being in love

Eighty-one female students at a German university were asked to indicate in writing (a) how they would come to like, love, and be in love with someone, and (b) how in their case liking, loving, and being in love with someone would come to an end. The responses were analyzed using a comprehensive list of 117 determinants developed for this study, which were grouped into four causal categories–P (person), O (other), P×O (relational), and E (environmental) conditions. Regarding the rise of attraction, the most frequent determinant for liking and for being in love was the existence of positive attributes of O (69% and 63%); for love, it was the existence of positive feelings from O (29%). Regarding the decline of attraction, the most frequent determinant for liking was negative behavior on O's part (42%); for love, abuse of one's trust by O (25%); and for being in love, disillusionment with regard to O (44%). Further analyses (including ANOVAs) involved the mean frequencies for the four causal categories. Concerning the rise of attraction sentiments, P causes were predominant for love and O causes were predominant for liking and for being in love; P×O causes were particularly infrequent for being in love. Concerning the decline of attraction sentiments, only for liking was one causal category predominant (O causes). E causes were hardly mentioned for both the rise and the decline focus. The findings are discussed in the context of both the more traditional research on “objective” determinants of attraction and, in particular, of recent research on the subjective (common-sense or implicit) understanding of liking, love, and being in love.     

Comparative identity and evaluation of socio-political change: Perceptions of the European Community as a function of the salience of regional identities

Using questionnaire data concerning perceptions of the European Community (EC) in Scotland and Andalucia we explored how the EC is perceived, and a European identification adopted as a function of the salience of these ‘regional’ identities. Drawing on the work concerning the concept of ‘comparative identity’ (Ros, Cano & Huici, 1987) it is argued that disidentification with the ‘nation-state’ (i.e. Britain and Spain respectively) is a useful way of measuring the salience of such regional identities in the self/concept. We predicted that such identities would be more salient in Scotland than in Andalucia and that in Scotland the salience of subjects' regional identities would be associated with beliefs concerning the need for strategies of regional empowerment in its relation to the nation (Britain). We further predicted that the EC would be judged as a function of this comparative identity so that in Scotland (but not in Andalucia), a European identification would be associated with what may be called ‘social change’ beliefs (e.g. beliefs concerning the need for changing aspects of the region's relationship with the nation). Supportive evidence is found for all these predictions. However, no support was found for our prediction of a correlation between the Scots' regional identification and their European identification. The paper concludes with a discussion of the utility of the concept of comparative identity. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF A COMPUTERIZED INTERPRETATION SYSTEM FOR PERSONNEL TESTS

A computerized system was developed for generating narrative interpretations of scores from a battery of personnel screening tests. The report structure and interpretive statement library were designed to capture the test expertise and interpretive strategies of a panel of testing experts. This was accomplished by enumerating the questions that the experts believed the battery could answer, developing answers to these questions, and devising rules for selecting the appropriate answers based on test-battery scores. The accuracy, thoroughness, readability, and coherence of the computer-generated reports were evaluated in comparison to reports generated by human experts for the same examinees. Results of the evaluation showed the computerized reports to be more accurate and thorough, as readable, and somewhat less coherent than interpretations generated by the typical human expert. The computerized system development and validation strategies described are useful for other applications in which numbers are interpreted in a narrative report format.     

Gender Dilemmas and Myth in the Construction of Marital Bargains: Issues for Marital Therapy

Marital therapists are regularly confronted with issues of equality and fairness when working with couples. This article examines the social-contextual factors that influence couples' negotations about these issues. A common solution for couples, "the myth of equality," is identified, together with the processes that maintain it. The role of the therapist in relation to gender equality is addressed.     

Counseling African Americans: Integrating Spirituality in Therapy

African American culture is rich with religious and spiritual traditions and practices that largely have been ignored in traditional approaches to counseling with this population. The purpose of this article is to describe the religious and spiritual dimensions of African American culture and to offer strategies for incorporating them into counseling African American clients.     

A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF LEADER REWARD BEHAVIOR, SUBORDINATE EXPECTANCIES, AND SATISFACTION

Positive and punitive leader reward behavior and their longitudinal relationships with subordinate expectancies and satisfaction were studied in a large manufacturing organization. Longitudinal data were collected approximately one year apart from 132 managerial, engineering and supervisory employees. Cross-lagged correlations suggested that positive leader reward behavior was causally related to higher effort-to-performance expectancy, as well as higher satisfaction with work, opportunities for promotion and overall satisfaction. Punitive leader reward behavior was suggested to be causally related to lower satisfaction with work, supervision and overall satisfaction. Implications were discussed for the use of leader reward behavior and for future research.     

The General Confidence Scale: Coping With Environmental Uncertainty and Threat

We investigated general confidence as a psychological buffer for coping with environmental uncertainty and threat. In Study 1, a new scale to measure general confidence was developed and cross‐validated with different samples. Study 2 examined general confidence as a moderator of the influence of environmental stress on individual strains. Two groups of participants were presented with photographs either of terrorist attacks or of neutral scenes. We found a significant interaction between presented scenes and general confidence. Study 3 examined the effect of general confidence on acceptance of mobile phone stations while controlling for relevant variables. The results showed good incremental validity for the General Confidence Scale over related personality and social psychological constructs.     

The stranger1

This work concerns a nine‐year analytical experience with a patient who presented as a main feature an apparent inability to experience and express feelings. Right from the beginning the author was confronted with the question of the viability of analytical work, considering transference or emotional involvement in the absence of perceptible establishment of an affective link on the part of the patient. The patient never missed a session, was usually very punctual and presented very rich material, but the accounts of his life, everything he was saying, hearing and observing was manifestly deprived of any emotional meaning for the patient and consequently deprived of sense for the analyst. If, at the beginning, the question was how to communicate with the patient, after some time it became a problem of how to enable the patient to communicate with himself. Confi rming an observation by Bion that the patient is the best colleague the analyst can have, the way forward was indicated by the patient himself. This article is a theoretical exercise based on this clinical experience, using concepts developed by Bion, Ferro and Winnicott.