Identifying leader social cognitions: integrating the causal reasoning perspective into social cognitive theory

In this paper we propose a leadership model that combines Bandura’s (1997) social cognitive theory with the causal reasoning perspective (Martinko, 2002). The model suggests that leader causal reasoning processes affect leader perceptions of goals, self-efficacy, and leadership task schema that, in turn, affect the leader’s selection of strategies and enactment of behaviors. Each leader social cognition is conceptually defined and developed. Particular emphasis is given to describing how the understanding of attributional explanations, dimensions, and biases can aid in the description of the causal reasoning processes that precede self-and member-regulation. Social cognitions are the &dquo;cognitive processes and structures (e.g., self-conceptions, standards, goals) through which individuals assign personal meaning to events, plan courses of action, and regulate their motivation, emotions, and interpersonal behavior&dquo; (Cervone, 1991, p.372). Social cognition research has focused on how people perceive themselves and others in social situations. It has also examined how people make attributions for the outcomes of their own or others ’ behavior, and the perceptual biases that influence the process. However, leader social cognitions have received only limited attention in mainstream leadershi