Doctoral Dissertation Research: Effects of Conflictng Leader Identity on Group Performance

丽莎·特洛伊尔克里斯塔贝尔·罗加林对女性领导者相互冲突的文化期望如何影响团队表现？研究人员发现，当女性处于领导地位时，她们的行为方式要么与女性身份不符，要么与领导者身份不符。例如，领导人被期望是自信和有统治力的。然而，行为具有支配性、自信的女性往往被认为是糟糕的，因为社会普遍希望女性具有教养，较少对抗，并支持他人。因此，女性领导人和她们领导的群体可能面临相互冲突的文化期望。该项目提出，这些相互冲突的文化期望可能会对群体表现产生负面影响。这种效果是通过一系列相互关联的步骤产生的。首先，如果团队成员体验到由女性领导产生的相互冲突的期望，那么他们可能会开始觉得女性领导者能力较差。如果小组成员不认为女性有能力，那么她们可能不太可能支持和坚持她领导小组的努力，并服从她让她们专注于自己的任务的努力。如果一个小组的成员不太可能把精力集中在任务上，那么这个小组的表现就会受到阻碍。虽然许多关于女性领导力的研究调查了性别对领导者的影响，但很少有人关注性别对团队成员的影响。这个项目是第一个关注领导者性别如何影响团队表现的项目。这个项目的重点是领导者的性别如何影响团队绩效，这也让我们找到了这个重要社会问题的解决方案。我们认为，将女性作为领导者合法化的培训材料可能会破坏对女性领导者的冲突期望的发展，从而消除对团队绩效的有害影响。也就是说，如果团队成员接受的培训强调女性为团队任务和领导角色带来的能力，那么团队绩效就不会受到威胁。为了测试这些想法，爱荷华大学的团队过程研究中心将进行一项实验，研究1)对女性领导者相互冲突的期望如何影响团队绩效；2)使女性领导力合法化的培训是否将女性领导力对团队绩效的假设负面影响降至最低。这项研究同时借鉴了社会学和心理学的理论，为社会学和心理学学科之间的桥梁打开了大门。这项研究可能有助于现有的社会学研究，即对领导者的相互冲突的期望如何影响团队绩效。更广泛的影响。这个项目是对领导人面临的相互冲突的期望的影响的评估，特别关注女性领导人。这项研究的知识有助于更好地了解影响女性领导人个人情况的动态，从而增加代表不足的群体(例如妇女)在领导中的参与，并增进对现任女性领导人的了解。该项目也为本科生提供了参与研究的机会。该项目还将通过培训一名本科生研究助理来增加教育机会，这将使她有机会了解更多关于社会科学和行为科学的科学研究。

SES-061897Lisa TroyerChristabel RogalinHow do conflicting cultural expectations for a female leader affect group performance? Researchers have found that when women are in leadership positions, they are in a situation in which they must either behave in ways inconsistent with being a woman or in ways inconsistent with being a leader. For example, leaders are expected to be assertive and dominant. Yet, women who behave in dominant, assertive ways are often thought of badly, since society generally expects women to be nurturing, less confrontational, and supportive of others. Thus, women leaders and the groups they lead may be faced with conflicting cultural expectations. This project proposes that that these conflicting cultural expectations may negatively affect group performance. This effect arises through a series of interrelated steps. First, if group members experience conflicting expectations that arise from being led by a female, then they may begin to feel that the female leader is less competent. If the group members do not view the female as competent, then they may be less likely to support and adhere to her efforts to direct the group and to comply with her efforts to keep them focused on their tasks. If members of a group are less likely to focus their efforts on the task, then the group's performance will be hampered. While much research on female leadership has investigated the effects of gender on leaders, very little has attended to the effects on group members. This project is the first to focus on how a leader's gender affects group performance. This project's focus on the process through which a leader's gender affects group performance also leads us to a solution for this important social problem. We propose that training materials that legitimize females as leaders can undermine the development of conflicted expectations for female leaders, and thus, can remove deleterious effects on group performance. That is, if group members receive training that emphasizes the competencies women bring to the group's task and to the leadership role, then group performance will not be threatened. To test these ideas, an experiment will be conducted at the Center for the Study of Group Processes at the University of Iowa that addresses 1) how conflicting expectations for female leaders affect group performance; and 2) whether training that legitimizes female leadership minimizes the hypothesized negative effects of female leadership on group performance. This study draws on both sociological and psychological theories, opening the door for bridging the disciplines of sociology and psychology. This study could potentially contribute to existing sociological research on how conflicting expectations for a leader affect group performance. Broader Impact. This project is an assessment of the effect of conflicting expectations that confront leaders, with a particular focus on female leaders. Knowledge from this research may increase the participation of underrepresented groups (e.g., women) in leadership and enhance understanding for current women leaders by facilitating a better understanding of the dynamics that affect women leaders' individual situations. This project also affords an opportunity for undergraduate students to participate in research. This project will also enhance educational opportunities by enabling the training of an undergraduate research assistant, which will allow her an opportunity to learn more about scientific research in the social and behavioral sciences.