Education

B.A. in Psychology (1969)
University of Massachusetts, Amherst

M.A. in Social Psychology (1973)
University of  Iowa

Ph.D. in Social Psychology (1974)
University of  Iowa

Teaching

I regularly teach four courses at Luther. General Psychology is probably my favorite as it gives me the privilege to introduce what I think is the most fascinating but also sometimes the most frustrating of disciplines, psychology, which seeks to understand human action, thought, and feeling. I also teach Research Methods. This course is designed to acquaint students with the specific methods used in psychology to understand behavior. At a more applied level I teach a course called Industrial and Organizational (I/O) Psychology.  I/O Psychology is the application of the principles and methods of psychology to the work place focusing on increasing both worker productivity and job satisfaction. The final course is entitled Personality and Individual Differences which is concerned with understanding those forces (biological, social, and psychological) which make each of us the unique person we are.

Research Interests

My main interest is in the area of work leadership. What makes some people good and effective work leaders while others seem to fall short? I am especially interested in the concept of “emotional intelligence.” As opposed to cognitive intelligence which has long been looked at as a predictor of leadership, emotional intelligence refers to the ability to understand, regulate, and communicate emotions and which also seems to be related to effective leadership.  It is a controversial concept with many definitional and measurement issues still to be resolved. Time and research will determine its usefulness.

Personal Stuff

I was born and raised in the Boston area and am proud to be a first generation American, my father being Canadian and my mother English. Not surprising given this background, students can still occasionally detect a somewhat weird accent when I lecture. I have been happily married for 32 years which, as my wife is fond of saying, is not bad out of a total of 41, reading (especially the history of polar exploration and British “drawing room” mysteries), collecting English pottery (especially Royal Doulton),  taking long drives in the car with my wife listening to books on tape, and dreaming about the trips to both the arctic and Antarctic I plan to take upon retirement.