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ECOSYSTEM PERSPECTIVE AND BARACK OBAMA'S CAMPAIGN FOR THE PRESIDENCY

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2009

Jennifer Crocker  and
Shayne B. Hughes
Jennifer Crocker*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology and Research Center for Group Dynamics, University of Michigan
Shayne B. Hughes
Affiliation:
Learning as Leadership, Inc.
*
Professor Jennifer Crocker, Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 530 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48198. E-mail: jcrocker@umich.edu
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Abstract

The presidential campaign of Barack Obama was remarkable for the millions of volunteers and donors it inspired. In this article, we argue that the Obama campaign was inspirational because it communicated an ecosystem perspective—a perspective in which people care about something larger than the self. We describe the characteristics of ecosystem perspectives revealed in a program of social psychological research and how these characteristics translate to ecosystem leadership. We then consider Obama's speeches and actions at critical moments in the campaign that suggest to us an ecosystem perspective.

Keywords

ObamaLeadershipGoalsEcosystemSelf-Image
Type
STATE OF THE DISCIPLINE
Information
Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race , Volume 6 , Issue 1 , Spring 2009 , pp. 125 - 136
Copyright
Copyright © W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research 2009

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