Finished projects

Due to a rising interest in empirical ‘respect’ research but at the same time a somewhat fuzzy use of the term and its semantically close neighbors, we introduce a conceptual framework. The framework draws on existing philosophical traditions and empirical psychological works alike. It is pointed out that respect, acceptance, and tolerance are all attitudes of a subject towards an object which are not aligned on one dimension, but are concerned with quite different issues. Moreover, we propose that research needs to differentiate between two very different kinds of respect. Whereas appraisal respect, acceptance, and tolerance are attitudinal reflections of a subject’s decisions on certain issues (i.e., on influence, membership, and presence), recognition respect is proposed to be an overarching processing mode, i.e., a general attitude on how to confront others.

PDF

The cognitive psychological approach of leader categorization suggests that subordinates respond more positively to leaders when these fit their implicit expectations about leaders (i.e., their leader prototype). However, because cultural factors greatly affect leader prototypes, the mostly Anglo-American instruments are not suitable for research in German-speaking countries. We therefore present two newly developed instruments. To assess a leader’s fit with a socially shared leader prototype in Germany, we reanalyzed the original German GLOBE data with respect to core German leadership attributes. To assess a leaders fit with people’s idiosyncratic leader prototypes, we developed a pictorial one-item measure. While the advantage of the first instrument lies in the interpretability of the fit profile, the advantage of the pictorial instrument is its efficient and culture-free measurement. In an organizational study (N = 104), convergent and criterion validity of both instruments were confirmed; however, the interpretability of the psychometric properties is limited due to the study design (cross-sectional with common source data). Necessary follow-up studies are thus outlined in the discussion.

PDF

All leaders highly depend upon people who follow them. Without followership there is no such thing as leadership. How and which kind of followership can be won, however, varies considerably depending upon the approach leaders employ. A leadership which rests upon positional powers, such as reward and coercive power, might, for instance, be effective in the short run, but it is often not very sustainable. In such cases, people follow only within the prescribed boundaries and only when control mechanisms are in effect. In contrast, in the present book, the author presents a concept of „respected leaders“. Here, respected leaders are conceptualized as individuals whom other people like to follow. People are open to their leadership because they see such individuals personally legitimized to be in a position of leadership.
Due to the novelty of the topic, the purpose of this book is more manifold than just providing an account on who will be respected as a leader. The chapters subsequently explore: What respect is, how important employees consider different facets of respect at work, which kind of leaders employees respect, and what that has to do with employees‘ self-concepts (as potential leaders).

Reference: Van Quaquebeke, N. (2008). Respect & leadership: A psychological perspective. Berlin: Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Berlin.

All leaders highly depend upon people who follow them. Without followership there is no such thing as leadership. How and which kind of followership can be won, however, varies considerably depending upon the approach leaders employ. A leadership which rests upon positional powers, such as reward and coercive power, might, for instance, be effective in the short run, but it is often not very sustainable. In such cases, people follow only within the prescribed boundaries and only when control mechanisms are in effect. In contrast, in the present book, the author presents a concept of „respected leaders“. Here, respected leaders are conceptualized as individuals whom other people like to follow. People are open to their leadership because they see such individuals personally legitimized to be in a position of leadership.
Due to the novelty of the topic, the purpose of this book is more manifold than just providing an account on who will be respected as a leader. The chapters subsequently explore: What respect is, how important employees consider different facets of respect at work, which kind of leaders employees respect, and what that has to do with employees‘ self-concepts (as potential leaders).

Reference: Van Quaquebeke, N. (2008). Respect & leadership: A psychological perspective. Berlin: Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Berlin.

PDF

PDF

Background:It is often criticised that teachers and especially those who are new in a class or simply young at age are not able to get any respect from their pupils. So this work will examine the origin of respect in the relation between pupils and teachers, look why it is refused and which factors and special circumstances could play a role for its development.

The method:At first the relevance and the up-to-dateness of the topic will be briefly reported. Afterwards, the term of respect will be explored in a theoretical part from different perspectives by introducing and analysing different appendages who dealt with the concept of respect before. will be defined more exactly. This should lead to the development of a specific, clear and usable concept of respect. After that, the just mentioned theoretical part will be combined with a practical part in which the observation of five lessons will be presented and analysed. Finally it will be attempted to draw a guideline for teachers which should help to reduce outcomes and cognitions into practice.

The project is supported by the Stiftung Select für Zukunftsgestaltung of the Deutsche StiftungsTrust and is conducted in cooperation with the Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe-Universität in Frankfurt am Main.

PDF

In classes, distinguished by students respect for their teachers, students voluntarily and willingly follow teachers‘ instructions and explanations. Previous research reports that such a learning culture requires particular teacher behavior in three areas: lesson design, regulation, and person-orientation. However, the extant literature has not laid out the specific situations sensitive to respect building or loss of respect and, particularly, which kinds of teacher actions in these situations are prone to elicit or diminish the respect students feel for their teachers. In the present study, students were thus asked to report concrete critical incidences regarding situations in which their teachers have won or lost the students’ respect. Eight-hundred-sixty-nine students participated. They were recruited from various types of schools, ranging from fifth to thirteenth grade. The diversity of the students‘ reports reflects the complexity of the daily endeavor of teaching. Most importantly, they give the reader the opportunity to reflect teacher behavior in the classroom from a student perspective. Among the issues discussed are mobbing, examinations and grading, examples of exceptionally successful lecture types, various types of self-fulfilling prophecies, and the experienced support during personal crises.

This project has been supported by Stiftung Select für Zukunftsgestaltung als Teil der Deutsche StiftungsTrust.

PDF