Alexander Haslam

Last updated

Alexander Haslam
AM
Born1962 (age 61–62)
Education Felsted School
Alma mater University of St Andrews
Emory University
Macquarie University
OccupationAcademic
Known for BBC Prison Study

Stephen Alexander "Alex" Haslam AM (born 1962) is a professor of psychology and ARC Australian Laureate Fellow in the School of Psychology at the University of Queensland. [1]

Contents

His research focuses on areas of social psychology, organisational psychology and health psychology, exploring issues of stereotyping and prejudice, tyranny and resistance, leadership and power, stress and well-being. This work is informed by, and has contributed to the development of, theory and ideas relating to the social identity approach. [1]

Career

Haslam grew up in Elsenham, Essex and completed his secondary education at Felsted School. He holds a Master of Arts (MA) degree from the University of St Andrews and a PhD from Macquarie University (Sydney). His doctoral work at Macquarie was supervised by John Turner (psychologist) and funded by a Commonwealth Scholarship. This was preceded by a year as a Robert T. Jones Scholar [2] at Emory University (Atlanta). Prior to his current appointment at the University of Queensland, Haslam worked at the Australian National University (Canberra) (1991–2001) and the University of Exeter (2001–2012).

Haslam is a recipient of the European Association of Social Psychology's Kurt Lewin Medal (2005), the British Psychology Society's Presidents' Award for distinguished contributions to psychological knowledge (2016), the International Society of Political Psychology's Nevitt Sanford Award for distinguished contribution to political psychology (2017), and the Australian Psychological Society's Award for distinguished contribution to psychological science (2018). In 2009 he was granted the British Psychological Society's Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Psychology, and a National Teaching Fellowship from the Higher Education Academy. [1] He was an Associate Editor of the British Journal of Social Psychology from 1999 to 2001 and Editor-in-Chief of the European Journal of Social Psychology from 2001 to 2005, and President of the psychology section of the British Science Association from 2009 to 2010. He is currently an Associate Editor of Leadership Quarterly (from 2017).

Key research projects

BBC Prison Study

In 2001, Haslam collaborated with Steve Reicher (University of St Andrews) on the BBC television programme The Experiment ,which became known as the "BBC Prison Study". [3] This examined the behaviour of a group of individuals within a simulated prison environment, returning to issues raised by the Stanford Prison Experiment (SPE). Amongst other things, the study's findings challenged the role account of tyranny associated with the SPE as well as broader ideas surrounding the "banality of evil". [4] [5] The core insight from the study was that tyranny results from the engaged followership of subordinates rather than blind conformity to roles or rules. Recent work has also demonstrated that the same analysis can explain the behaviour of participants in Milgram's Obedience to Authority experiments. [6] [7]

New psychology of leadership

Since the 1990s, Haslam has collaborated with a number of social identity researchers, notably Steve Reicher, Michael Platow, and John Turner, developing a social identity analysis of leadership. [8] [9] This work focuses on the role of perceived shared identity as a basis for mutual influence between leaders and followers. It argues that leaders' success hinges on their ability to create, represent, advance and embed a social identity that is shared with those they seek to motivate and inspire.

This approach to leadership is informed by two influential social psychological theories: social identity theory and self-categorization theory. The critical contribution of social identity theory is to recognize that, in a range of social and organizational contexts, people’s sense of self is not primarily defined by their sense of themselves as individuals (in terms of their personal identity, as “me” and “I”). Rather, it is defined by their sense of themselves as members of particular groups (in terms of their social identity, as “we” and “us”).

Through its capacity to structure people’s sense of self, social identity has wide-ranging implications for cognition and behavior — two of which are especially important for leadership. First, when people define themselves in terms of a given social identity they are motivated to see that (in)group (‘us’) as positively distinct from other comparison (out)groups. In simple, terms we want the groups that matter to us to be special. Second, when a particular social identity is salient (i.e., psychologically operative in ways that contribute to a sense of social identification) we are focused, above all else, on the fate and standing of the relevant group.

A key point here is that when a person defines themselves in terms of a particular social identity (e.g., as a feminist), they will be motivated both to discover the meaning of that social identity (e.g., what it means to be a feminist) and to act in ways that embody that meaning. But in a changing and uncertain world, these things may be hard to discern. Accordingly, to makes sense of the world and our place within it, we rely on information from other people who are members of our ingroup. But clearly not everyone is going to be helpful here. If you are a feminist, it makes no sense to look to an anti-feminist or a non-feminist for guidance on matters related to gender relations. Instead, you turn to fellow ingroup members (i.e., other feminists) because you see them as best positioned to inform you about self-relevant features of social reality.

More particularly, we will see others as qualified to inform us about a given social identity—and hence seek out and respond positively to their leadership—to the extent that they are perceived to be representative of a relevant ingroup. Stated more formally in the language of cognitive theorizing about the structure of categories, we are influenced by others to the extent that they are seen to be prototypical of a relevant ingroup

At the same time, though, other research inspired by social identity theorizing has shown that leaders’ prototypicality is not all that matters when it comes to motivating followers. As well as being perceived to be “one of us” leaders also need to be seen to “do it for us” through their work as ingroup champions. Indeed, one of the things that is most problematic for leaders’ effectiveness is the perception that they are either acting for themselves or, worse, for an outgroup. In this vein another large body of research shows that regardless of how prototypical they are, leaders will be more effective when they are also seen to act in ways that advance group interests.

But social identities are not set in stone. Instead they are a moveable feast. Indeed, one of the hallmarks of effective leadership is precisely the ability to take advantage of this flexibility. More specifically, leaders need to be entrepreneurs of identity who work not only to create a sense of shared group membership amongst would-be followers but also to shape their understanding of social identity. In these terms, the first task of a would-be leader is to create a sense that they and their followers are bound together by a common cause which they embody.

Again, though, these endeavors are not enough to guarantee success, especially in the long term. For leadership is not only about the behavior of leaders but also about the way they shape the behavior of followers. Accordingly, leaders need to fashion social identity in ways that are compelling for followers and that allow them to act in ways that embed shared group values in social reality. That is, they need to be identity impresarios who devise and choreograph collective activities and events that bring the groups they lead to life and give them a material force. The form that such activities take necessarily varies as a function of nature of the social identity that leaders are seeking to entrench. Nevertheless, whatever the domain, the long-term effectiveness of groups and leadership is generally buttressed by formalized identity performances and structures—such things as competitions and conferences, feasts and festivals, ceremonies and celebrations.

Early work on social identity and leadership focused mainly on leaders’ identity prototypicality. However, as it has evolved, social identity research has broadened out to also explore leaders’ identity advancement, identity entrepreneurship and identity impresarioship. In 2011, this work was brought together in the first edition of Haslam, Reicher and Platow’s monograph The New Psychology of Leadership. This showcased the work of around 50 researchers who had contributed to research on social identity and leadership at that time (a number that had grown to more than 150 by the time the second edition was published in 2020). To capture the breadth of social identity processes understood to be implicated in the leadership process it also referred to this work as being broadly concerned with identity leadership.

Glass cliff

Haslam has worked with Michelle K. Ryan on the leadership experiences of women, [10] and together they coined the term "glass cliff" to describe some of their key findings – specifically, evidence that women are more likely than men to be appointed to leadership roles in organisations that are performing poorly. [11] [12] [13] This was short-listed for the Times Higher Education "Research Project of the Year" in 2005.

Social cure

Haslam's more recent work (funded by the Australian Research Council) has contributed to the development of the Social Identity Approach to health and well-being, also referred to as "The Social Cure", [14] [15] including the Integrated Social Identity model of Stress (ISIS). [16] This work argues that the sense of social identity derived from shared group membership is a basis not only for individuals to have a sense of meaning and purpose in their lives, but also for them to receive and benefit from social support. [17] It is also a basis for them to work together to overcome stressors rather than succumb to them.

Awards and honors

In 2011, he was awarded an Australian Laureate Fellowship. [18] He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2022 Australia Day Honours for "significant service to tertiary education, particularly psychology, though research and mentoring". [19]

Selected publications

Monographs

Edited books

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milgram experiment</span> Series of social psychology experiments

Beginning on August 7, 1961, a series of social psychology experiments were conducted by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram, who intended to measure the willingness of study participants to obey an authority figure who instructed them to perform acts conflicting with their personal conscience. Participants were led to believe that they were assisting an unrelated experiment, in which they had to administer electric shocks to a "learner". These sham or fake electric shocks gradually increased to levels that would have been fatal had they been real.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social group</span> Two or more humans who interact with one another

In the social sciences, a social group is defined as two or more people who interact with one another, share similar characteristics, and collectively have a sense of unity. Regardless, social groups come in a myriad of sizes and varieties. For example, a society can be viewed as a large social group. The system of behaviors and psychological processes occurring within a social group or between social groups is known as group dynamics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stanford prison experiment</span> Controversial 1971 psychological experiment

The Stanford prison experiment (SPE) was a psychological experiment conducted in August 1971. It was a two-week simulation of a prison environment that examined the effects of situational variables on participants' reactions and behaviors. Stanford University psychology professor Philip Zimbardo led the research team who administered the study.

The out-group homogeneity effect is the perception of out-group members as more similar to one another than are in-group members, e.g. "they are alike; we are diverse". Perceivers tend to have impressions about the diversity or variability of group members around those central tendencies or typical attributes of those group members. Thus, outgroup stereotypicality judgments are overestimated, supporting the view that out-group stereotypes are overgeneralizations. The term "outgroup homogeneity effect", "outgroup homogeneity bias" or "relative outgroup homogeneity" have been explicitly contrasted with "outgroup homogeneity" in general, the latter referring to perceived outgroup variability unrelated to perceptions of the ingroup.

In psychology, the Asch conformity experiments or the Asch paradigm were a series of studies directed by Solomon Asch studying if and how individuals yielded to or defied a majority group and the effect of such influences on beliefs and opinions.

Self-sacrifice is the giving up of something that a person wants for themselves so that others can be helped or protected or so that other external values can be advanced or protected. Generally, the act of self-sacrifice conforms to the rule that it does not serve the person’s best self-interest and will leave the person in a worse situation than the person otherwise would have been.

System justification theory is a theory within social psychology that system-justifying beliefs serve a psychologically palliative function. It proposes that people have several underlying needs, which vary from individual to individual, that can be satisfied by the defense and justification of the status quo, even when the system may be disadvantageous to certain people. People have epistemic, existential, and relational needs that are met by and manifest as ideological support for the prevailing structure of social, economic, and political norms. Need for order and stability, and thus resistance to change or alternatives, for example, can be a motivator for individuals to see the status quo as good, legitimate, and even desirable.

<i>The Experiment</i> British documentary on a psychological experiment

The Experiment is a 2002 BBC documentary series in which 15 men are randomly selected to be either "prisoner" or guard, contained in a simulated prison over an eight-day period. Produced by Steve Reicher and Alex Haslam, it presents the findings of what has subsequently become known as the BBC Prison Study. These findings centered around "the social and psychological consequences of putting people in groups of unequal power" and "when people accept inequality and when they challenge it".

The minimal group paradigm is a method employed in social psychology. Although it may be used for a variety of purposes, it is best known as a method for investigating the minimal conditions required for discrimination to occur between groups. Experiments using this approach have revealed that even arbitrary distinctions between groups, such as preferences for certain paintings, or the color of their shirts, can trigger a tendency to favor one's own group at the expense of others, even when it means sacrificing in-group gain.

Social identity is the portion of an individual's self-concept derived from perceived membership in a relevant social group.

Stephen David Reicher is Bishop Wardlaw Professor of Social Psychology at the University of St Andrews.

Optimal distinctiveness is a social psychological theory seeking to understand ingroup–outgroup differences. It asserts that individuals desire to attain an optimal balance of inclusion and distinctiveness within and between social groups and situations. These two motives are in constant opposition with each other; when there is too much of one motive, the other must increase in order to counterbalance it and vice versa. The theory of optimal distinctiveness was first proposed by Dr. Marilynn B. Brewer in 1991 and extensively reviewed in 2010 by Drs. Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Cynthia L. Pickett, and Marilynn Brewer.

The social identity model of deindividuation effects is a theory developed in social psychology and communication studies. SIDE explains the effects of anonymity and identifiability on group behavior. It has become one of several theories of technology that describe social effects of computer-mediated communication.

Self-categorization theory is a theory in social psychology that describes the circumstances under which a person will perceive collections of people as a group, as well as the consequences of perceiving people in group terms. Although the theory is often introduced as an explanation of psychological group formation, it is more accurately thought of as general analysis of the functioning of categorization processes in social perception and interaction that speaks to issues of individual identity as much as group phenomena. It was developed by John Turner and colleagues, and along with social identity theory it is a constituent part of the social identity approach. It was in part developed to address questions that arose in response to social identity theory about the mechanistic underpinnings of social identification.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolf van Dick</span> German psychologist

Rolf van Dick is a German social psychologist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social identity approach</span> Research and theory pertaining to two intertwined, but distinct, social psychological theories.[

"Social identity approach" is an umbrella term designed to show that there are two methods used by academics to describe certain complex social phenomena- namely the dynamics between groups and individuals. Those two theoretical methods are called social identity theory and self-categorization theory. Experts describe them as two intertwined, but distinct, social psychological theories. The term "social identity approach" arose as an attempt to mitigate against the tendency to conflate the two theories, as well as the tendency to mistakenly believe one theory to be a component of the other. These theories should be thought of as overlapping. While there are similarities, self categorisation theory has greater explanatory scope and has been investigated in a broader range of empirical conditions. Self-categorization theory can also be thought of as developed to address limitations of social identity theory. Specifically the limited manner in which social identity theory deals with the cognitive processes that underpin the behaviour it describes. Although this term may be useful when contrasting broad social psychological movements, when applying either theory it is thought of as beneficial to distinguish carefully between the two theories in such a way that their specific characteristics can be retained.

In social psychology, collective narcissism is the tendency to exaggerate the positive image and importance of a group to which one belongs. The group may be defined by ideology, race, political beliefs/stance, religion, sexual orientation, social class, language, nationality, employment status, education level, cultural values, or any other ingroup. While the classic definition of narcissism focuses on the individual, collective narcissism extends this concept to similar excessively high opinions of a person's social group, and suggests that a group can function as a narcissistic entity.

Idiosyncrasy credit is a concept in social psychology that describes an individual's capacity to acceptably deviate from group expectations. Idiosyncrasy credits are increased (earned) each time an individual conforms to a group's expectations, and decreased (spent) each time an individual deviates from a group's expectations. Edwin Hollander originally defined idiosyncrasy credit as "an accumulation of positively disposed impressions residing in the perceptions of relevant others; it is… the degree to which an individual may deviate from the common expectancies of the group".

Followership are the actions of someone in a subordinate role. It may also be considered as particular services that can help the leader, a role within a hierarchical organization, a social construct that is integral to the leadership process, or the behaviors engaged in while interacting with leaders in an effort to meet organizational objectives. As such, followership is best defined as an intentional practice on the part of the subordinate to enhance the synergetic interchange between the follower and the leader.

Michelle K. Ryan is a Professor of Social and Organizational Psychology at the University of Exeter and (part-time) Professor of Diversity at the University of Groningen, The Netherlands.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Professor Alex Haslam - UQ Researchers". University of Queensland. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  2. ↑ "Robert T Jones Scholarship programme | University of St Andrews".
  3. ↑ Reicher, S. D., & Haslam, S. A. (2006). Rethinking the psychology of tyranny: The BBC Prison Study. British Journal of Social Psychology, 45, 1–40.
  4. ↑ Haslam, S. A., & Reicher, S. D. (2007). Beyond the banality of evil: Three dynamics of an interactionist social psychology of tyranny. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33, 615–622.
  5. ↑ Haslam, S. A., & Reicher, S. D. (2012). When prisoners take over the prison: A social psychology of resistance. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 16, 152–179.
  6. ↑ Haslam, S. A., & Reicher, S. D. (2012). Contesting the 'nature' of conformity: What Milgram and Zimbardo's studies really show. PLoS Biology, 10(11), e1001426. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001426
  7. ↑ Reicher, S. D., Haslam, S. A., & Smith, J. R. (2012). Working towards the experimenter: Reconceptualizing obedience within the Milgram paradigm as identification-based followership. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 7, 315–324.
  8. ↑ Turner, J. C., & Haslam, S. A. (2001). Social identity, organizations and leadership. In: M. E. Turner (Ed.), Groups at work: Advances in theory and research (pp. 25–65). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
  9. ↑ Haslam, S. A., & Platow, M. J. (2001). The link between leadership and followership: How affirming social identity translates vision into action. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 1469–1479.
  10. ↑ Hass, Nancy (18 July 2012). "Marissa Mayer Stares Down 'Glass Cliff' at Yahoo". The Daily Beast . Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  11. ↑ Ryan, M. K., & Haslam, S. A. (2005). The Glass Cliff: Evidence that women are over-represented in precarious leadership positions. British Journal of Management, 16, 81–90.
  12. ↑ Ryan, M. K., & Haslam, S. A. (2007). The Glass Cliff: Exploring the dynamics surrounding the appointment of women precarious leadership positions. Academy of Management Review, 32, 549–572.
  13. ↑ Haslam, S. A., & Ryan, M. K. (2008). The road to the glass cliff: Differences in the perceived suitability of men and women for leadership positions in succeeding and failing organizations. Leadership Quarterly, 19, 530–546.
  14. ↑ Jetten, J., Haslam, C., & Haslam, S. A. (Eds.) (2012). The social cure: Identity, health and well-being. New York and Hove: Psychology Press.
  15. ↑ Haslam, S. A., Jetten, J., Postmes, T., & Haslam, C. (2009). Social identity, health and well-being: An emerging agenda for applied psychology. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 58, 1–23.
  16. ↑ Haslam, S. A., & Reicher, S. D. (2006). Stressing the group: Social identity and the unfolding dynamics of responses to stress. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 1037–1052.
  17. ↑ Haslam, S. A., O'Brien, A., Jetten, J., Vormedal, K., & Penna, S. (2005). Taking the strain: Social identity, social support and the experience of stress. 'British Journal of Social Psychology', '44', 355–370.
  18. ↑ "UQ equal tops in nation for ARC Australia Laureate Fellowships". University of Queensland . 10 August 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  19. ↑ "Australia Day Honours List" (PDF). The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia. 26 January 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
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