NZinga Rasberry, Ph.D.

She/her

Education: Bachelor of Arts in psychology (May 2009)

Master of Arts in industrial/organizational psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy in international psychology, organizations and systems concentration from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology

McNair Project: Leader-Member Exchange (2008)

Mentor: Satoris Culbertson, Ph.D.

Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) is a leadership theory stating that organizational leaders develop unique relationships with each of their subordinates. These relationships differ in quality, which may depend on numerous factors. The purpose of the ongoing study is to examine specific leader, member, and organizational influences on the quality of LMX. The research model to be tested proposes that leader and member job stress are related to leader and member stress (personal), which then affects the LMX quality. Additionally, member’s need for achievement is hypothesized to be positively related to LMX quality, but moderated by the employee’s perception on the organization’s decision to promote from within; if members perceive organizations to regularly promote from within, a positive relationship will result. Similarly, a leader’s perception of member need for achievement is hypothesized to be related to LMX quality, but moderated by the leader’s perception of the member as a threat. Leaders who perceive members as a competitive threat will show a negative relationship. Those who do not perceive members as a threat will show a positive relationship between perception of members’ need for achievement and LMX quality. Finally, member job security will be positively related to LMX quality, and mediated by the employee’s turnover intentions and member’s stress levels. A similar relationship is predicted for leaders, with a negative relationship between leader job stress and LMX quality mediated by leader turnover intentions and leader stress levels. Data are currently being collected. Correlations and regressions will be conducted to test proposed hypotheses.