Psychology department heads throughout the country (1151) were surveyed to learn more about the individuals filling those positions. The response rate was 56 percent, with a usable sample of 86 percent men and 14 percent women. The questionnaire contained 35 multiple-choise items, primarily about characteristics of the school, the job, and the respondent, and nine short-answer essay questions about attitudes toward the job. Salient chairperson characteristics include these: most received their highest degrees within the last 15 years and are under 45; women tended to be younger and more recently appointed; most of the respondents are at small schools, with women chairing generally smaller departments, less often offering doctorates; the differences in department size for those headed by women are not attributable to less training for women; respondents of both sexes like power and affiliation, dislike interference with self-actualization, find personnel issues and some interpersonal issues difficult, administration and paperwork time-consuming, and facilitating department functioning important; more men were brought in from outside the institution, and may have more actual power in their positions; women are more sensitive to sex bias in language, and have fewer close relationships with department members; women were less likely to be or have been married and have children; and most respondents were white, with Protestant or Catholic church affiliations, if any. Data are displayed in tables. (MSE)