How do you really feel? Effect of leaders' perceived emotional sincerity on followers' trust

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Arran Caza, Associate Professor (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/

Abstract: We extend research on leadership and emotions by addressing two previously under-researched areas. Prior research has focused primarily on the valence of leaders' displayed emotion and on followers' affective reactions to those displays. In contrast, we examined followers' cognitive reactions to the perceived sincerity of leaders' displayed emotion. Study 1 found that American workers' trust in a leader was related to their perceptions of that leader's emotional sincerity. Study 2 replicated these results among Chinese workers, and further indicated the mechanisms through which perceived emotional sincerity influenced trust and showed how trust influenced performance. The findings demonstrate the importance of including emotional sincerity in studies of leader affect, and suggest the value of adding a cognitive perspective to the current focus on followers' affective reactions to their leaders' emotions.

Additional Information

Publication
Leadership Quarterly, 26, 518-531. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2015.05.008
Language: English
Date: 2015
Keywords
Leadership, Sincerity, Emotion, Performance, Trust

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