Date of Award

Spring 6-1-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Industrial/Organizational Psychology (PhD)

Department

Industrial/Organizational Psychology

First Advisor/Committee Member

Dr. Paul R. Yost

Second Advisor/Committee Member

Dr. Joey A. Collins

Third Advisor/Committee Member

Dr. Kristin Saboe

Keywords

cultural humility, authentic leadership, psychological capital, state legislatures, political institutions, social identity, path analysis

Abstract

Political institutions, particularly U.S. state legislatures, function not only as sites of governance but also as complex workplaces characterized by high public scrutiny, identity salience, and multidirectional power dynamics. Despite these conditions, limited research has examined how leadership processes influence the psychological well-being of those who serve within them. This research draws on humility theory, authentic leadership theory, social identity theory, and positive organizational behavior to examine the role of cultural humility in fostering authentic leadership and psychological capital (PsyCap) among U.S. state legislators. Using a cross-sectional survey design, data was collected from 160 U.S. state legislators. Cultural humility was operationalized as a multidimensional composite reflecting self-reflection, interpersonal openness, and power consciousness. Path analysis was employed to test a moderated mediation model in which cultural humility predicts authentic leadership, which in turn predicts PsyCap (hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism), with race/ethnicity examined as a moderator. Results supported a positive relationship between cultural humility and authentic leadership, and between authentic leadership and psychological capital. Authentic leadership was also found to fully mediate the relationship between cultural humility and psychological capital. Furthermore, post-hoc analyses suggested that authentic leadership self-awareness appeared to play a particularly important role as a mediator, and an alternative model with cultural humility as the mediator between authentic leadership and psychological capital was not supported. Race/ethnicity did not moderate the relationship, suggesting the same processes may be operational and important for all ethnic groups or a need for future research to study more nuanced or context-sensitive approaches to capturing identity in political leadership research. This study contributes to leadership and organizational psychology by positioning political institutions as workplaces and advancing cultural humility as a foundational leadership capacity. Practically, findings inform leadership development and institutional strategies aimed at fostering resilience, authenticity, and inclusion among public leaders, ultimately strengthening both workplace functioning and democratic governance.

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