In her first few weeks at the marketing division of Rolland Retails, Judith Cox realized that Joshua, Doug, and Carl were closer to her manager, Eric Scott, than the other five team members

Eric, Joshua, Doug, and Carl came to work at the same time, were seen together at the cafeteria, and stayed late and worked when the need arose. While Judith was in training, she received very good feedback from Eric, and as she transitioned to the floor, she felt that Eric was giving her interesting projects, allowing her more freedom, and seeking her opinion frequently. The information provided in the scenario supports the prediction that ________.
A) Judith will develop low trust propensity toward Eric
B) Joshua, Doug, and Carl will display low trust propensity in Judith
C) Eric's ingroup will remain a reference group for Judith permanently
D) Judith will become a part of Eric's ingroup in the marketing division
E) Judith will have lower levels of identification-based trust with Eric when compared to other trainees

D
Explanation: D) Leader-member exchange (LMX) theory argues that, because of time pressures, leaders establish a special relationship with a small group of their followers. These individuals make up the ingroup, and they are trusted, get a disproportionate amount of the leader's attention, and are more likely to receive special privileges. Other followers fall into the out-group.