RUI: Antecedents of Servant Leadership Experiences for Underrepresented Students

本研究将探讨公仆领导的认知与发展前因。通过服务他人的需求来领导的好处是众所周知的，特别是在组织领导的背景下。然而，很少有研究调查仆人领导的预测因素，也没有研究调查领导者是如何发展成以创造仆人领导循环的方式来思考和行为的。在最新领导力和认知心理学理论的激励下，本项目将系统地研究服务性领导的前因。该项目整合了组织和认知心理学的既定测量，并测试了以下指标与作为服务型领导的实践有何关系：(1)心理理论(即一个人对他人想法、情绪和意图的理解)，(2)识别(即，感知和归类)服务型领导的基本特征的能力，以及(3)在服务和/或领导方面的具体第一手经验。这个项目将考察影响这些因素的经历的性质。具体目标包括研究心理理论和领导认知如何影响领导发展，以增进对这种认知和社会过程如何相互作用的了解，并通过澄清认知的组成部分和具体经验如何在领导形成中发挥作用，系统地捕捉服务型领导发展的前因，为组织服务型领导发展的实践提供信息。拟议的研究是跨学科的，整合了认知心理学和组织心理学，在传统上单独研究的心理学领域之间架起了一座桥梁。该项目促进来自代表性不足群体的不同学生的参与。本科生将由两名教员PI(每个人都有不同的专业领域-I/O和认知心理学)和一名教员助理(在人类发展-性格分析、积极青年发展、纵向设计和路径建模方面拥有专业知识)指导研究的各个方面，从而为学生提供接触跨学科科学研究的独特机会，目标是向他们灌输对科学发现的欣赏。数据收集将涉及在大学毕业期间和毕业后对贝恩领导力项目参与者进行的一系列调查和其他措施。该奖项全部或部分由《2021年美国救援计划法案》(公共法律117-2)提供资金。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project will investigate the cognitive and developmental antecedents of servant leadership. The benefits of leading by serving the needs of others are well-known, especially in the context of organizational leadership. Yet, few studies have investigated predictors of servant leadership and none have investigated how leaders develop to think and behave in ways that create a cycle of servant leadership. Motivated by state-of-the-art leadership and cognitive psychology theories, this project will systematically investigate the antecedents of servant leadership. The project integrates established measures from organizational and cognitive psychology and tests how the following relate to one’s practice as a servant leader: (1) Theory of Mind (i.e. one’s understanding of the thoughts, emotions, and intentions of another), (2) ability to recognize (i.e., perceive and categorize) the essential characteristics of servant leadership, and (3) specific first-hand experience in serving and/or leading. This project will examine the nature of experiences that influence these factors. Specific aims include studying how Theory of Mind and leadership recognition affect leadership development to advance knowledge about how such cognitive and social processes interact and systematically capturing the antecedents of servant leader development to inform the practice of organizational servant leadership development, by clarifying how components of cognition, and specific experiences, play a role in leadership emergence. The proposed research is interdisciplinary, integrating cognitive and organizational psychology, building a bridge between areas of psychology that have traditionally been studied separately. This project promotes the involvement of a diverse set of students from underrepresented groups. Undergraduate students will be mentored through all aspects of the research by two faculty PIs (each with a different area of expertise – I/O and Cognitive Psychology), as well as a Faculty Associate (who has expertise in Human Development - character analysis, positive youth development, longitudinal design, and pathway modeling), thus offering students a unique exposure to interdisciplinary scientific research, with the goal of instilling in them an appreciation for scientific discovery. Data collection will involve a series of survey and other measures administered longitudinally to participants in the Benne Leadership program both during and after college graduation.This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.