SIOP Fellowship for psychologist De Dreu

8 April 2009

Carsten de Dreu, professor of Work and Organisational Psychology was appointed fellow of the Society for Industrial and Organisational Psychology. De Dreu is one of the few Europeans to have received the honour.

Carsten de Dreu, professor of Work and Organisational Psychology was appointed fellow of the Society for Industrial and Organisational Psychology. De Dreu is one of the few Europeans to have received the honour.

De Dreu received his fellowship in commemoration of his "unusual and outstanding" contribution to work and organisational psychology. The Society for Industrial and Organisational Psychology (SIOP), a division of the American Psychological Association, described De Dreu as a leading scientist in his field. He has published over 100 articles in highly respected scientific periodicals, including the Journal of Applied Psychology and Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

De Dreu has additionally published several books, over 25 chapters in books, and has edited specially-themed editions of scientific periodicals. The SIOP assessment committee describes his research questions as "reflecting a unique mix of theoretical and practical interests". The committee also lauds the fact that De Dreu heads one of the most vibrant research programmes in the area of work and organisational psychology and has been responsible for training a significant number of outstanding PhD students.

Interpersonal vs. business conflicts

De Dreu believes the SIOP's decision to honour his work is partly based on his study of conflicts within organisations. His 2003 article ‘Task versus Relationship Conflict, Team Performance, and Team-Member Satisfaction: A Meta-Analysis' (see the below link) is regarded as one of the landmark studies in the area of conflict management. De Dreu: ‘In the past, the common consensus was that socio-emotional conflicts in the work environment had a negative impact on team performance, while task-related conflicts had a positive effect. However, our study showed that task-related conflicts have an equally damaging effect on team performance. This is partly due to the fact that people tend to take criticism of their work personally. Task-related and socio-emotional aspects are much more interwoven than had previously been assumed.'

A token of appreciation and recognition

Carsten de Dreu is one of the few Europeans to have been appointed fellow of the SIOP. ‘I feel proud to have been appointed; it's a token of recognition and appreciation of both my work and that of my colleagues. I've worked very hard to get my research to a level where it can compete on an international scale. Plus the Americans are coming to realise that there are also a lot of interesting scientific developments going on in Europe.'

Published by  Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences