Watching over your own: How surveillance moderates the impact of shared identity on perceptions of leaders and follower behaviour: How surveillance moderates the impact of shared identity on perceptions of leaders and follower behaviour

Aisling O'Donnell, Jolanda Jetten, Michelle K. Ryan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

In two studies we investigate how level of surveillance moderates followers' responses to leaders with whom they either do or do not share identity. Study 1 (N = 80) demonstrated that imposing high surveillance where identity is shared with a leader undermined perceptions of the leader as a team member, reducing levels to that of leaders without a shared identity. Study 2 (N = 84) replicated this finding, also demonstrating that willingness to work for the group declined when leaders with shared identity used high surveillance (compared to a low surveillance condition). This process was partially explained by perceptions that surveillance was an invasion of privacy. Together, these studies illustrate that the benefits of shared identity are easily undermined when a leader uses surveillance in a context where it is unnecessary.

Original languageEnglish (Ireland)
Pages (from-to)1046-1061
Number of pages16
JournalEuropean Journal of Social Psychology
Volume40
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2010

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Watching over your own: How surveillance moderates the impact of shared identity on perceptions of leaders and follower behaviour: How surveillance moderates the impact of shared identity on perceptions of leaders and follower behaviour'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this