A laboratory experiment testing the antecedents of leader cognitions

A laboratory experiment was conducted to test relationships between leadership style, feedback on subordinate performance within the context of either the vision or goals of the organization, and leader cognitions representing a modified version of Wofford and Goodwin's (1994) cognitive processing model of leadership. The results indicated that: (1) positive feedback leads to the access of transformational cognitions, whereas negative feedback leads to the access of transactional cognitions; (2) negative feedback about subordinate performance causes transformational leaders to access transactional cognitions in response to subordinates; (3) the relationship between transformational leadership behavior and transformational cognitions is strengthened when feedback received about subordinates is vision-related compared to feedback that is goal-related; and (4) the relationship between transactional leadership behavior and transactional cognitions is strengthened when feedback received is goal-related compared to feedback that is vision-related. Limitations and future research directions are discussed. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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