path–goal theory of leadership

a leadership theory stating that leaders will be effective insofar as they make it clear to followers how they can achieve goals and obtain rewards. By doing so, leaders enhance their followers’ expectancy that hard work will lead to task success and that task success will lead to valued rewards. The four basic leadership styles proposed in this theory are instrumental (directive), supportive, participative, and achievement-oriented leadership. Each of these styles can be effective or ineffective, depending on the nature of the work environment and the characteristics of subordinates. See also valence–instrumentality–expectancy theory.

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Psychology term of the day

May 9th 2024

psychonomic

adj. denoting an approach to psychology that emphasizes quantitative measurement, experimental control, and operational definitions, especially in the area of experimental, laboratory psychology. The word was coined to provide a name for the Psychonomic Society, which was created in 1959 by a number of experimental psychologists who were opposed to what they regarded as a swing in the American Psychological Association toward an emphasis on the mental health concerns of psychology. See experimental psychology.