Abstract
A laboratory study and a field study (N = 168) investigated evaluative affect display (EAD), that is nonverbal evaluative reactions, toward leaders in small, face-to-face groups. Butler and Geis had found that female leaders received more negative affect than did male leaders, whereas both groups were judged equally competent on rating scales. Study 1 replicated their findings with a more economic coding method and improved methodological control. Study 2 examined EAD in routine meetings of real teams in different organizational field settings. Results suggest that EAD is a reliably observable phenomenon in field and laboratory settings. Generally, more negative affect was displayed toward female leaders across contexts. By contrast, there was no preference for men over women in competence ratings on scales.
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