Psychology uwaterloo.ca

Department of Psychology

Core Faculty of the Industrial/Organizational Program

Wendi Adair, Assistant Professor
(BSc, Georgetown; MSc, PhD, Northwestern)

My research focuses on negotiation and conflict management in the global marketplace. Much of my work investigates the universality of negotiation theory that has been largely developed in the West (information exchange, persuasion, decision-making biases, reciprocity, offer-counter offers) and defines cultural norms for negotiation strategies, sequences, and stages in multiple national cultures. Other areas of research include the role of context in communication, behavioral adaptation, and third culture building in cross-cultural interactions. My research on reciprocity in cross-cultural negotiations has received awards from both the American Psychological Association and the International Association for Conflict Management. My work identifying the different paths that U.S. and Japanese negotiators take to generate joint gains was recognized with an award from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues.

Ramona Bobocel, Associate Professor
(BSc, Alberta; MA, PhD, Western Ontario)

There is an increasing awareness among social scientists that people's attitudes and behavior in many domains, such as the workplace, are strongly influenced by their experience of justice (or fairness). Underlying my recent research program is a continuing interest in judgments of justice in the workplace, with particular emphasis on (a) the effects of such judgments on attitudes (e.g., organizational commitment, leader trust), and (b) determinants of the experience of justice itself. An overarching goal is to understand the psychological mechanisms underlying fairness effects. 

Doug Brown, Assistant Professor
(BA, Alberta; MSc, Calgary; PhD, Akron)

Although subordinates are an important component of leadership, little attention has been directed towards delineating their role in the leadership process. My research interests focus on understanding the basic mechanisms that underlie how leaders influence their subordinates and the factors that influence the leadership impressions formed by subordinates. Most recently, my interests have focused on the mediational role of subordinates' self-concepts in the leadership process.

John Michela, Associate Professor
(BS, Maryland; MA, PhD, University of California-Los Angeles)

My research involves the following topics:

• How people's responses to visionary leaders' presentations are affected by personal values
• The cognitive and emotional processes involved in persuasive effects of visions
• Motivational explanations for effects of participation in formulating or communicating visions for change
• Innovation in product development and process improvement as affected by team processes, organizational culture, climate, and the employee-employer relationship
• Research methodology involving multi-level modeling or hierarchical linear and non-linear models

Pat Rowe, Professor Emeritus
(BA, Toronto; MA, Dalhousie; PhD, McGill)

As an Industrial/Organizational (I/O) psychologist, my research interests are in the area of work behaviour, with primary emphasis on the "I" or personnel side of I/O psychology. One long-term interest has been on the selection interview and the decisions made by both the employer and the applicant. Another area of interest is the effect of work experience on subsequent job performance, work attitudes, and employment status. Much of this latter work involves students at Waterloo in co-operative (alternating work/study terms) education programs.

Cross-appointed Faculty from the University of Waterloo

Paul Guild, Professor
Department of Management Sciences (D. Phil, University of Oxford)

Dr. Guild studies technology management for product differentiation in global markets and exploring new products, services and applications that future users will want, value and accept. He was central to the creation of Innovate, Inc., a not-for-profit company housed at the University which helps entrepreneurs to develop their venture concepts prior to the "incubation" stage.

Adjunct Faculty

Lisa Keeping, Assistant Professor
Management and Organizational Behaviour, School of Business and Economics, Wilfrid Laurier University (PhD, University of Akron)

Dr. Keeping's primary research interests focus on employees' reactions to HR functions. Specific interests include self-ratings of performance, performance appraisal reactions, and reactions to feedback.

Practitioner in Residence

Jim Clemmer, Practitioner in Residence
As Practitioner in Residence, Jim Clemmer expands the range of opportunities for UW I/O graduate students to observe and participate in management and organization development practice. Mr. Clemmer is a bestselling author and internationally acclaimed keynote speaker, workshop/retreat leader, and management team developer on leadership, change, customer focus, culture, and personal growth. Jim co-founded Canada's largest consulting and training firm, The Achieve Group, now part of AchieveGlobal. He currently heads The CLEMMER Group, a coaching and consulting organization based in Kitchener, Ontario

Additional Faculty with Interests in Industrial/Organizational Psychology

There are several faculty members in other divisions of our Psychology Department with research interests in areas related to I/O (e.g., Mark Zanna in Social, Derek Koehler in Cognitive, Geoff Fong in Health and Social).