Associate Professor
Industrial Organizational Psychology
Ph.D., University of South Florida

Heyne Building, Room 129B
713-743-8031
lpenney@uh.edu

Lisa M. Penney, an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Houston, received her Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of South Florida in 2003. Dr. Penney joined the faculty at UH in August 2004. Before coming to UH, Dr. Penney spent five years working at Personnel Decisions Research Institutes (PDRI), the premier I/O research firm in the U.S., initially as an intern and later as a research associate. While at PDRI, she was involved in a number of projects including the development of training, selection, and performance management systems for government, public and private sector clients.

Teaching:

PSYC 3310 Introduction to I/O Psychology
PSYC 6371 Personnel Psychology
PSYC 7365 Leadership
PSYC 7366 Motivation
PSYC 8393 Emotions in the Workplace

My Teaching Philosophy:

In my opinion, the role of teacher and mentor is one of the most noble callings a person can have. As educators, we bear a great responsibility to society. A friend of mine once joked that as educators we stand on the front lines on the war against mediocrity in this country, but these words also contain a grain of truth. The lessons we impart to our students and the relationships we develop with them as mentors have great potential to impact the future direction of their lives, along with the lives of everyone they will touch.

Because our actions can have such far-reaching consequences, it is important that we are mindful of all that we do and hold ourselves to the highest of standards. This means challenging our students by setting high performance expectations and helping them expand their world view. In my opinion, we do students a huge disservice if we neglect our responsibilities and fail to push them to reach their full potential. After all, the “real world” is far less forgiving than university. We must be open to being challenged ourselves, for it is in the process of questioning that real knowledge is gained and truth revealed. Aristotle said, “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it,” and a teacher who is unwilling to challenge his/her own views will not likely inspire students to challenge theirs.

Mentoring is another critical role of mine because, to paraphrase Brene Brown, “learning is uncomfortable.” Managing the demands of school, work, and young adulthood, including deciding on a career path, can be overwhelming and feelings of frustration and self-doubt are not uncommon. I believe a mentor’s role is to serve as the calm center and guiding force in the midst of these challenges. A mentor must help students outline their goals, identify obstacles and develop strategies to remain focused and overcome those obstacles.

I have learned that being an effective mentor requires many skills. A good mentor must be a good listener, be patient, and know how to spot and solve problems. It is also essential to develop a rapport with each student and to demonstrate very early through words and actions that I am looking out for their best interests. Having a good rapport and gaining a student’s trust is especially important when providing developmental feedback. However, perhaps the most important thing I’ve learned is that sincerity is key. I could list a number of clichés about the importance of being credible, accessible, and approachable, but the truth is that none of it matters unless you truly care about your students and want them to succeed.

Research Interests:

Employee deviance and counterproductive work behavior
Job stressors and strain
Emotional labor
Personality
Compliance and ethical behavior
Work-life balance
Employee engagement
Organizational justice

Research Team Members:

Current Advisees:
Cody Bok
Sara Brothers, MA
Allison Martir
Alec Nordan
Tunji Oki, MA
Dena Rhodes, MA
Lisa Sublett, MA

Other UH graduate students involved in collaborative research with me:
Bobbie Dirr
Joseph Zaragoza, MA

Undergrad and Post-Bac RAs
David Benavidez, BA
Christopher Gallagher, BA
Zachary Traylor, BA
Nghi “Neely” Hang
Cristina Mavarez

Publications

Articles & Book Chapters

* Indicates current or former student.

Hunter, E.*, & Penney, L. M. (In press). The Waiter Spit in my Soup! Antecedents of Customer-Directed Counterproductive Work Behavior. Human Performance.

Hunter, E. M.*, Neubert, M. J., Perry, S. J.*, Witt, L. A., Penney, L. M., & Weinberger, E. L. (2013). Servant leaders inspire servant followers: Outcomes for employees and the organization. Leadership Quarterly, 24, 316-331. doi: 10.1016/j.leaqua.2012.12.001

Penney, L. M., & Kessler, S. (2013). Counterproductive Work Behavior: Where We Have Been and Where We are Going? In S. Fox, R. Burke, & C. Cooper (Eds.) Human Frailties: Wrong Turns on the Road to Success. (pp. 201-226).Farnham, UK: Gower.

Shoss, M.*, & Penney, L. M. (2012). The economy and absenteeism: A macro-level study. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97(4), 881-889 doi:10.1037/a0026953.

Ilie, A., Penney, L. M., Ispas, D., & Ilescu, D. (2012). The role of anger in the relationship between stressors and counterproductive work behaviors: Convergent findings from multiple studies and methodologies. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 61(3), 415-436.

Penney, L. M., David, E.*, & Witt, L. A. (2011). A review of personality and performance: Identifying boundaries, contingencies, and future research directions. Human Resource Management Review, 21, 297-310. doi:10.1016/j.hrmr.2010.10.005

Penney, L. M., Hunter, E. M.*, & Perry, S. J.* (2011). Personality and CWB: Using Conservation of Resources Theory to narrow the profile of deviant employees. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 84, 58-77. doi:10.1111/j.2044-8325.2010.02007.x

Perry, S. J.*, Witt, L. A. Penney, L. M., & Atwater, L. (2010). The downside of goal-focused leadership: The role of personality in subordinate exhaustion. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95, 1145-1153. doi: 10.1037/a0020538

Kessler, S. R., Bandelli, A. C., Spector, P. E., Borman, W. E., Nelson, C. E., & Penney, L. M. (2010). Reexamining Machiavelli: A three dimensional model of Machiavellianism in the workplace. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 40(8), 1868-1896.

Krischer, M.*, Penney, L. M., & Hunter, E.* (2010). Can counterproductive work behaviors be productive? CWB as emotion-focused coping. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 15(2),154-166. doi: 10.1037/a0018349 Also featured in Academy of Management Perspectives, August 2010 issue.

Milam, A.*, Spitzmuller, C., & Penney, L. M. (2009). Individual differences and perceptions of workplace incivility. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 14(1), 58-69. doi: 10.1037/a0012683

Penney, L. M., & Spector, P. E. (2007). Emotions and counterproductive work behavior. In N. M. Ashkanasy & C. L. Cooper (Eds.) Research Companion to Emotion in Organizations. (pp. 183-196). Northampton, MA:  Edward Elgar Publishing.

Spector, P. E., Fox, S., Penney, L. M., Bruursema, K., Goh, A., & Kessler, S. (2006). The dimensionality of counterproductivity: Are all counterproductive behaviors created equal? Journal of Vocational Behavior, 68, 446-460.  doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2005.10.005

Penney, L. M., & Spector, P. E. (2005). Job stress, incivility, and counterproductive workplace behavior (CWB): The moderating role of negative affectivity. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26(5), 777-796. doi: 10.1002/job.336

Penney, L. M. & Borman, W. C. (2005). The prediction of contextual performance. In A. Evers, O. Voskuijl, & N. Anderson (Eds.) Handbook of Selection. (pp. 376-396). Oxford: Blackwell.

Penney, L. M., Spector, P., & Fox, S. (2003). Stress, personality, and counterproductive work behavior (CWB): How do environmental and individual factors influence behavior? In A. Sagie, M. Koslowsky, & S. Stashevsky (Eds.). Misbehavior and dysfunctional attitudes in organizations (pp. 194-210).  New York, NY: Palgrave/ Macmillan.

Penney, L. M. & Spector, P. E. (2002). Narcissism and counterproductive behavior: Do bigger egos mean bigger problems? International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 10(1), 126-134.

Sample of Recent Conference Papers

* Indicates current or former student.

Callison, K.*,  Rogers, A.*, Penney, L. M., & Reeves, J. N.* (2014). Antecedents and consequences of the career commitment of employed mothers. Poster presented at annual meeting of the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Honolulu, HI.

Sublett, L.*, & Penney, L. M. (2014). Don’t fire me! Examining job insecurity in a multilevel context. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Honolulu, HI.

Atwater, L., Penney, L. M., &Witt, L. A. (2013). The effects of ethical leadership and peer abusive behavior on individual abusive behavior. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Southern Management Association, New Orleans, LA.

Penney, L. M. (2013). Discussant. In J. Allen (Chair). Advances in Workplace Mistreatment.  Symposium presented at the annual meeting of the Southern Management Association, New Orleans, LA.

Shoss, M. K.*, & Penney, L. M. (2013). Understanding Motives for Counterproductive Work Behaviors. Symposium presented at the annual meeting of the Academy of Management, Orlando, FL.

Nordan, A.*, & Penney, L. M. (2013). Nice guys finish last: CWB and performance goals. In M. K. Shoss and L. M. Penney (Chairs). Understanding motives for Counterproductive Work Behaviors. Symposium presented at the annual meeting of the Academy of Management, Orlando, FL.

Penney, L. M. (2013, April) Chair.  The Interactionist Approach to CWB: Broadening Our Approach. Symposium presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Houston, TX.

Penney,  L. M., Witt, L. A., Crepeau, L., van Driel, M., & MacDonald, D. (2013, April). Effects of Servant Leadership on Deviance: A Conditional Process Model. In L. M. Penney (Chair). The Interactionist Approach to CWB: Broadening Our Approach. Symposium presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Houston, TX.

*Oki, T., Moore, A. A., & Penney, L. M. (2013, April). Overqualification and Feelings of Deprivation. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Houston, TX.

*Brothers, S. A., *Rhodes, D., & Penney, L. M. (2013). Somebody’s Watching You: Observer Reactions to Deviant Work Behaviors. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Houston, TX.

*Hunter, E. M., *Rubino, C., *Perry, S., & Penney, L. M. (2013, April). Expanding the Generalizability of Surface and Deep Acting Across Industries. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Houston, TX.

*Oki, T., *Zaragoza, J. G., *Childers, O., & Penney, L. M. (2013, April). The Effect of Cynicism on Overqualification and Commitment. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Houston, TX.

Crepeau, L. J., Witt, L. A., van Driel, M., Skiba, T. S., Penney, L. M., Romay, S., & MacDonald, D. (2013). Effects of Experienced Discrimination and Organizational Trust on Well-Being. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Houston, TX.

*Walther, L. N., *Rhodes, D., *Presson, W. D., & Penney, L. M. (2013). When employees feel most secure: Working for fair, supportive organizations. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Houston, TX.