(Neuro)cognitive Mechanisms Underlying Leadership Behavior

"There is nothing in life to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more so we may fear less."
Marie Skłodowska Curie
 

Our research approach integrates social science with a (neuro)cognitve perspective to unravel the basic psychophysiological processes underlying effective and ineffective leadership behavior. We aim to identify intra-individual antecedents of leadership, i.e., processes within the individual which are causing behavior. Thereby, we focus on both intra-individual processes on the side of the leader (e.g., how will leaders behave based on their individual cognitive characteristics) as well as on the side of the follower (e.g., how is certain leadership behavior perceived and reciprocated explicitly and implicitly by followers based on their individual cognitive characteristics). We extend classic leadership research introducing new methodology, including cognitive, psychophysiological, and neuroscientific measures.

Leads
Jakub Cichor
Leidy Cubillos-Pinilla
Hannah Kunde

Projects & Research Groups
TUM Neurophysiological Leadership Lab (NeLeLab)

Key Publications
Brugman, S., Lobbestael, J., Sack, A. T., Cima, M. J., Schuhmann, T., Emmerling, F., & Arntz, A. (2018). Cognitive predictors of reactive and proactive aggression in a forensic sample: A comparison with a non-clinical sample. Psychiatry research269, 610-620.

Brugman, S., Lobbestael, J., von Borries, A. K. L., Bulten, E. B., Cima, M., Schuhmann, T., (Emmerling) Dambacher, F. & Arntz, A. (2016). Cognitive predictors of violent incidents in forensic psychiatric inpatients. Psychiatry Research, 237, 229-237.

Brugman, S., Lobbestael, J., Arntz, A., Cima, M., Schuhmann, T., (Emmerling) Dambacher, F., & Sack, A. T. (2014). Identifying cognitive predictors of reactive and proactive aggression.  Aggressive Behavior, 41(1), 51-64.

Emmerling, F., Peus, C., & Lobbestael, J. (2023). The hot and the cold in destructive leadership: Modeling the role of arousal in explaining leader antecedents and follower consequences of abusive supervision versus exploitative leadership. Organizational Psychology Reviewhttps://doi.org/10.1177/20413866231153098

Emmerling*, F., Gross*, J., Vostroknutov, A., Sack, A. T. (2018). Manipulation of Pro-Sociality and Rule-Following with Non-invasive Brain Stimulation. Nature Scientific Reports, 8(1), 1827. [*equal contribution]

(Emmerling) Dambacher, F., Schuhmann, T., Lobbestael, J., Arnzt, A., Brugman, S. & Sack, A. T. (2015b). Reducing proactive aggression through Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 10(10), 1303-9.

(Emmerling) Dambacher, F., Sack, A. T., Lobbestael, J., Arntz, A., Brugman, S., & Schuhmann, T. (2014c). The Role of Right Prefrontal and Medial Cortex in Response Inhibition: Interfering with Action Restraint and Action Cancellation Using Transcranial Magnetic Brain Stimulation. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 26(8), 1775-84.

(Emmerling) Dambacher, F., Sack, A.T., Lobbestael, J., Arnzt, A., Brugman, S. & Schuhmann, T. (2014b). Out of control: Evidence for anterior insula involvement in motor impulsivity and reactive aggression. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 10(4), 508-16.

(Emmerling) Dambacher, F., Sack, A. T., Lobbestael, J., Arntz, A., Brugman, S., & Schuhmann, T. (2014a). A network approach to response inhibition: dissociating functional connectivity of neural components involved in action restraint and action cancellation. The European Journal of Neuroscience, 39(5), 821–831.