Topic · Human Behavior and Motivation
Most cited papers in Human Behavior and Motivation
What are the most cited papers in Human Behavior and Motivation?
The most cited paper in Human Behavior and Motivation is "The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations." (Theodore M. Newcomb, Fritz Heider, 1958), with 11,956 citations. Next come "From transactional to transformational leadership: Learning to share the vision" (4,678) and "The Farther Reaches of Human Nature" (3,730).
Showing 50 of 100 papers. Every paper with more than 178 citations is listed.
| # | Paper | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations. Theodore M. Newcomb, Fritz Heider · American Sociological Review | Dec 1958 | 11,956 |
| 2 | From transactional to transformational leadership: Learning to share the vision Bernard M. Bass · Organizational Dynamics | Dec 1990 | 4,678 |
| 3 | The Farther Reaches of Human Nature Abraham H. Maslow | 1971 | 3,730 |
| 4 | What Constitutes a Theoretical Contribution? David A. Whetten · Academy of Management Review | Oct 1989 | 2,731 |
| 5 | Effects of Authoritative Parental Control on Child Behavior Diana Baumrind · Child Development | Dec 1966 | 2,544 |
| 6 | Organizational, work, and personal factors in employee turnover and absenteeism. Lyman W. Porter, Richard M. Steers · Psychological Bulletin | Aug 1973 | 2,119 |
| 7 | CONFIGURATIONAL APPROACHES TO ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS. Alan D. Meyer, Anne S. Y. Tsui, C. R. Hinings · Academy of Management Journal | Dec 1993 | 1,916 |
| 8 | Consequences of individual feedback on behavior in organizations. Daniel R. Ilgen, Cynthia Diane Fisher, M. Susan Taylor · Journal of Applied Psychology | Aug 1979 | 1,800 |
| 9 | Effectance Motivation Reconsidered. Toward a Developmental Model Susan Harter · Human Development | 18 Dec 2009 | 1,614 |
| 10 | An empirical test of a new theory of human needs Clayton P. Alderfer · Organizational Behavior and Human Performance | May 1969 | 1,604 |
| 11 | A new self-report scale of intrinsic versus extrinsic orientation in the classroom: Motivational and informational components. Susan Harter · Developmental Psychology | May 1981 | 1,294 |
| 12 | Leadership: Good, better, best Bernard M. Bass · Organizational Dynamics | Dec 1985 | 1,210 |
| 13 | A meta-analysis of the relation between personality traits and leadership perceptions: An application of validity generalization procedures. Robert G. Lord, Christy L. De Vader, George M. Alliger · Journal of Applied Psychology | Aug 1986 | 1,190 |
| 14 | Organizational climate: A review of theory and research. Lawrence R. James, Allan P. Jones · Psychological Bulletin | Dec 1974 | 1,103 |
| 15 | Some factors in self-disclosure. Sidney M. Jourard, Paul Lasakow · Journal of Abnormal & Social Psychology | 1958 | 810 |
| 16 | Transactional and Transformational Leadership: A Constructive/Developmental Analysis Karl W. Kuhnert, Philip Lewis · Academy of Management Review | Oct 1987 | 788 |
| 17 | Causes of employee turnover: A test of the Mobley, Griffeth, Hand, and Meglino model. Charles E. Michaels, Paul E. Spector · Journal of Applied Psychology | Feb 1982 | 788 |
| 18 | Police Socialization: A Longitudinal Examination of Job Attitudes in an Urban Police Department John Van Maanen · Administrative Science Quarterly | Jun 1975 | 752 |
| 19 | A meta-analysis of the relation of job characteristics to job satisfaction. Brian T. Loher, Raymond A. Noe, Nancy L. Moeller et al. · Journal of Applied Psychology | May 1985 | 699 |
| 20 | Organizational culture and counterculture: An uneasy symbiosis Joanne Martin, Caren Siehl · Organizational Dynamics | Sep 1983 | 690 |
| 21 | The Effect of Performance on Job Satisfaction Edward E. Lawler, Lyman W. Porter · Industrial Relations A Journal of Economy and Society | Oct 1967 | 685 |
| 22 | Relationship of stress to individually and organizationally valued states: higher order needs as a moderator. Terry A. Beehr, Jeffrey T. Walsh, Thomas D. Taber · PubMed | Feb 1976 | 581 |
| 23 | A Review of Research on the Application of Goal Setting in Organizations. Gary P. Latham, GARY A. YUKL · Academy of Management Journal | Dec 1975 | 579 |
| 24 | An experimental investigation of need for cognition. Arthur R. Cohen, Ezra Stotland, Donald M. Wolfe · Journal of Abnormal & Social Psychology | Sep 1955 | 574 |
| 25 | A behaviorally-based measure of manifest needs in work settings Richard M. Steers, Daniel N. Braunstein · Journal of Vocational Behavior | Oct 1976 | 518 |
| 26 | Predictive Validity of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking* E. Paul Torrance · The Journal of Creative Behavior | Dec 1972 | 515 |
| 27 | Measurement and meaning of job satisfaction. John P. Wanous, Edward E. Lawler · Journal of Applied Psychology | Apr 1972 | 506 |
| 28 | The Multiple Socialization Of Organization Members Daniel Charles Feldman · Academy of Management Review | Apr 1981 | 501 |
| 29 | Transformational and Servant Leadership: Content and Contextual Comparisons Brien N. Smith, Ray V. Montagno, Tatiana N. Kuzmenko · Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies | May 2004 | 491 |
| 30 | The meaning of money revisited Thomas Li‐Ping Tang · Journal of Organizational Behavior | Mar 1992 | 488 |
| 31 | Psychophysiological approaches to the evaluation of psychotherapeutic process and outcome. John Irving Lacey · American Psychological Association eBooks | 30 Dec 2004 | 467 |
| 32 | Hiring for the organization, not the job David E. Bowen, Gerald E. Ledford, Barry R. Nathan · Academy of Management Perspectives | Apr 1991 | 454 |
| 33 | THE ROMANCE OF LEADERSHIP AND THE EVALUATION OF ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE. James R. Meindl, Sanford B. Ehrlich · Academy of Management Journal | Mar 1987 | 449 |
| 34 | Climate and culture: Interaction and qualitative differences in organizational meanings. Joan R. Rentsch · Journal of Applied Psychology | 1990 | 428 |
| 35 | Personality and organizations: A test of the homogeneity of personality hypothesis. Benjamin Schneider, D. Brent Smith, Sylvester Taylor et al. · Journal of Applied Psychology | Jun 1998 | 427 |
| 36 | WHAT DO MANAGERS DO? A CRITICAL REVIEW OF THE EVIDENCE Colin P. Hales · Journal of Management Studies | 1986 | 423 |
| 37 | The concepts of alienation and involvement revisited. RABINDRA NATH KANUNGO · Psychological Bulletin | 1979 | 420 |
| 38 | Performance and Satisfaction in an Industrial Sales Force: An Examination of their Antecedents and Simultaneity Richard P. Bagozzi · Journal of Marketing | Mar 1980 | 417 |
| 39 | Organizational Climate and Job Satisfaction in the Salesforce Gilbert A. Churchill, Neil M. Ford, Orville C. Walker · Journal of Marketing Research | Nov 1976 | 407 |
| 40 | A Longitudinal Examination of the Fourth Grade Slump in Creativity E. Paul Torrance · Gifted Child Quarterly | Dec 1968 | 385 |
| 41 | Facets of work values: A structural analysis of work outcomes. Dov Elizur · Journal of Applied Psychology | Aug 1984 | 378 |
| 42 | Job attitudes in management: I. Perceived deficiencies in need fulfillment as a function of job level. Lyman W. Porter · Journal of Applied Psychology | Dec 1962 | 377 |
| 43 | Effort: The double-edged sword in school achievement. Martin V. Covington, Carol L. Omelich · Journal of Educational Psychology | Apr 1979 | 374 |
| 44 | Factors Affecting the Context for Motivation in Public Organizations James L. Perry, Lyman W. Porter · Academy of Management Review | 1982 | 374 |
| 45 | An emerging construct for meaningful work Neal Chalofsky · Human Resource Development International | Mar 2003 | 368 |
| 46 | Value orientations, political conflicts and left-right identification: A comparative study Oddbjørn Knutsen · European Journal of Political Research | Jul 1995 | 355 |
| 47 | Phenomenology: A New Way of Viewing Organizational Research Patricia B. Sanders · Academy of Management Review | Jul 1982 | 344 |
| 48 | The change of personal constructs from the viewpoint of a theory of construct implications Dennis Neil Hinkle · OhioLink ETD Center (Ohio Library and Information Network) | 1965 | 343 |
| 49 | Toward the measurement of organizational practices: Scale development and validation. Robert James House, John‐Ross Rizzo · Journal of Applied Psychology | Oct 1972 | 337 |
| 50 | Characteristics of Departments, Positions, and Individuals: Contexts for Attitudes and Behavior Denise M. Rousseau · Administrative Science Quarterly | Dec 1978 | 331 |
Citations are OpenAlex's own counts, from its 2026-09-23 snapshot, so the ranking can differ from Google Scholar or Web of Science. A paper is listed for a field when OpenAlex files it under one of the field's topics; retracted papers and papers whose citation count cannot be traced to citing works are left out, and a preprint and the article it became are shown once. Release dates are OpenAlex's: where a source gave only a month or a year, that is what is shown. How the lists are chosen.