The DOI matches its Crossref record; 40 of the 41 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
On Angry Leaders and Agreeable Followers: How Leaders’ Emotions and Followers’ Personalities Shape Motivation and Team Performance
Open accessAbstract
Do followers perform better when their leader expresses anger or when their leader expresses happiness? We propose that this depends on the follower's level of agreeableness. Anger is associated with hostility and conflict-states that are at odds with agreeable individuals' goals. Happiness facilitates affiliation and positive relations-states that are in line with agreeable individuals' goals. Accordingly, the two studies we conducted showed that agreeableness moderates the effects of a leader's emotional displays. In a scenario study, participants with lower levels of agreeableness responded more favorably to an angry leader, whereas participants with higher levels of agreeableness responded more favorably to a neutral leader. In an experiment involving four-person teams, teams composed of participants with lower average levels of agreeableness performed better when their leader expressed anger, whereas teams composed of participants with higher average levels of agreeableness performed better when their leader expressed happiness. Team performance was mediated by experienced workload, which was highest among agreeable followers with an angry leader. Besides having important practical implications, the findings shed new light on the fundamental question of how emotional expressions regulate social behavior.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“The role of personality is exemplified by studies on leadership effectiveness in which participants low on agreeableness (i.e., who attach comparatively little importance to social harmony) rated an angry leader as more effective than a neutral leader, were more motivated by an angry leader, and performed better under an angry leader, whereas participants high on agreeableness (i.e., who value”
From The Social Effects of Emotions (2022) · cites this paper as Van Kleef et al. 2010
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“The role of personality is exemplified by studies on leadership effectiveness in which participants low on agreeableness (i.e., who attach comparatively little importance to social harmony) rated an angry leader as more effective than a neutral leader, were more motivated by an angry leader, and performed better under an angry leader, whereas participants high on agreeableness (i.e., who value”
From The Social Effects of Emotions (2022) · cites this paper as Van Kleef et al. 2010
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
Multiple regression: testing and interpreting interactions
(1992) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.29-3352 · Cited by 36,647
Validation of the five-factor model of personality across instruments and observers.
McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T. (1987) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.52.1.81 · Cited by 6,404
Klein, K. J., & Kozlowski, S. W. J. (2000) · Cited by 4,914
The Motivational Effects of Charismatic Leadership: A Self-Concept Based Theory
Shamir, B., House, R. J., & Arthur, M. B. (1993) · Organization Science · doi:10.1287/orsc.4.4.577 · Cited by 3,640
Normal personality assessment in clinical practice: the NEO personality inventory
Costa, P. T., & McCrae, R. R. (1992) · Psychological Assessment · doi:10.1037/1040-3590.4.1.5 · Cited by 3,414
The ripple effect: emotional contagion and its influence on group behavior
Barsade, S. G. (2002) · Administrative Science Quarterly · doi:10.2307/3094912 · Cited by 3,361
Chan, D. K. (1998) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-9010.83.2.234 · Cited by 2,981
TARGET ARTICLES: "Emotional Intelligence: Theory, Findings, and Implications"
Mayer, J. D., Salovey, P., & Caruso, D. R. (2004) · Psychological Inquiry · doi:10.1207/s15327965pli1503_02 · Cited by 2,802
McEwen, B. S., & Sapolsky, R. M. (1995) · Current Opinion in Neurobiology · doi:10.1016/0959-4388(95)80028-x · Cited by 1,889
Robert J. Hockey, G. (1997) · Biological Psychology · doi:10.1016/s0301-0511(96)05223-4 · Cited by 1,753
Research works printed but not linked: 7
- Clark M.S., 1996, Knowledge structures in close relationships: A social psychological approach, 247
- 10.1037/0022-3514.70.4.820 · DOI
- Kashy D.A., 2000, Handbook of research methods in personality and social psychology, 451
- 10.1002/(SICI)1099-1379(200003)21:2<221::AID-JOB36>3.0.CO;2-0 · DOI
- Lundqvist D., 1998, The Karolinska Directed Emotional Faces—KDEF
- 10.1037/0022-3514.65.5.916 · DOI
- Steiner I.D., 1972, Group processes and productivity
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 101–162 of 162
Management Education and Leadership Styles
Kasemsap, K. (2016) · Advances in human resources management and organizational development book series · doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-1019-2.ch008 · Cited by 8
Need for structure as asset and liability in dynamic team decision-making.
Beersma, B., Greer, L. L., Dalenberg, S., & Dreu, C. K. W. D. (2016) · Group Dynamics Theory Research and Practice · doi:10.1037/gdn0000037 · Cited by 8
Self-citationSrikanth, P. B. (2019) · Personnel Review · doi:10.1108/pr-03-2019-0118 · Cited by 12
Larsen, K. L., & Stanley, E. A. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.749715 · Cited by 9
Kammrath, L. K. (2011) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0023639 · Cited by 8
Zhong, S.-C., Lin, Y.-S., Chang, C.-M., Liu, Y., & Lee, C.-C. (2019) · Interspeech (USB) · doi:10.21437/interspeech.2019-2087 · Cited by 8
Ajibo, C. A., Ishi, C. T., & Ishiguro, H. (2024) · Advanced Robotics · doi:10.1080/01691864.2024.2398554 · Cited by 7
The Relationship Between Followers’ Personality and Preferences in Leadership
Parmer, L. L., Green, M., Duncan, P. A., & Zarate, C. (2013) · Cited by 7
It is OK to Express Guilt: The Prosocial Interpersonal Effects of Leader Guilt Display
Hong, B., Mao, J., & Liu, W. (2025) · Journal of Business Ethics · doi:10.1007/s10551-025-05925-x · Cited by 6
BAKER, N. (2020) · Beykoz Akademi Dergisi · doi:10.14514/byk.m.26515393.2020.8/2.106-126 · Cited by 6
Antoniou, F., Alkhadim, G. S., Stamovlasis, D., & Vasiou, A. (2022) · BMC Psychology · doi:10.1186/s40359-022-00815-7 · Cited by 6
Rosing, F., Boer, D., & Buengeler, C. (2022) · Group & Organization Management · doi:10.1177/10596011221104295 · Cited by 6
Moll, T., & Cherrington, A. (2024) · Psychology of sport and exercise · doi:10.1016/j.psychsport.2024.102673 · Cited by 6
Hughes, I. M., & Freier, L. M. (2023) · Applied Psychology · doi:10.1111/apps.12463 · Cited by 5
Using transformational leadership to improve job satisfaction and empowerment
Larson, E. (2014) · Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association · doi:10.2460/javma.245.10.1088 · Cited by 5
Hong, S. H., & Kim, M. S. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.655047 · Cited by 5
Negative emotions, difficult conversations and leader–follower relationships
Williams, C. E., Thomas, J. S., Gooty, J., & Dunne, D. D. (2024) · Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology · doi:10.1111/joop.12566 · Cited by 4
Wang, Y. (2025) · Psychological Reports · doi:10.1177/00332941251318973 · Cited by 4
Cheng, J. T. (2013) · cIRcle (University of British Columbia) · doi:10.14288/1.0074049 · Cited by 4
Sukhera, J. I., Klasen, J. M., & LaDonna, K. A. (2025) · Medical Teacher · doi:10.1080/0142159x.2025.2485091 · Cited by 3
Kleef, G. A. V., Larsen, M., & Stamkou, E. (2023) · Motivation and Emotion · doi:10.1007/s11031-023-10051-0 · Cited by 4
Heart to Heart: How Your Emotions Affect Other People
Parkinson, B. (2019) · Cited by 3
Achyldurdyyeva, M., Chi, N., & Chen, P.-C. (2021) · Human Performance · doi:10.1080/08959285.2021.1968865 · Cited by 4
Leader state emotions in organizations
Matthews, S. H., Kelemen, T. K., Shao, B., Matthews, M. J., & Wang, D. (2025) · The Leadership Quarterly · doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2025.101909 · Cited by 2
The ruminative pathway: How leader anger expression triggers employee withdrawal behavior
Yang, Y., Chen, H., & Wang, X.-H. F. (2026) · Applied Psychology · doi:10.1111/apps.70064 · Cited by 2
Attributions, Forgiveness, and Gratitude as Relationship Maintenance Processes
McNulty, J. K., & Dugas, A. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108304320.008 · Cited by 2
Destructive Leadership: Explaining, Critiquing, and Moving Beyond Leader-Centric Perspectives
Thoroughgood, C. N. (2021) · Emerald Group Publishing Limited eBooks · doi:10.1108/978-1-80043-180-520211001 · Cited by 3
How do privileged insiders become change agents? A study of institutional volition
Feront, C. (2021) · Open University of Cape Town (University of Cape Town) · Cited by 2
Parkinson, B. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108696234.006 · Cited by 1
Expressão de Raiva e Desempenho: Testando Modelos de Moderação
Campos, S. C. D. C., Gondim, S. M. G., & Ferreira, A. D. S. M. (2021) · Psicologia Teoria e Pesquisa · doi:10.1590/0102.3772e373512 · Cited by 1
강의진, Sohn, Y. W., & 정은경 (2011) · Korean Journal of Industrial and Organizational Psychology · doi:10.24230/ksiop.24.3.201108.553 · Cited by 1
Competition or Silence? The Double-Edged Sword Effect of ESM Affordance on Employee Creativity
Shen, R., & Wang, J. (2024) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su16041675 · Cited by 1
Othman, A. K., Hamzah, M. I., & Nor, A. M. (2017) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-981-10-6053-3_26 · Cited by 2
Personality Traits in Contemporary China: A Lexical Approach
Shao, X., Chai, H., & WANG, W. J. (2019) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-981-13-3537-2_6 · Cited by 1
Parkinson, B. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108696234.002 · Cited by 1
Consensus and Contribution: Shared Status Hierarchies Promote Group SuccessPreprint
Kilduff, G. J., Anderson, C. P., & Willer, R. (2013) · RePEc: Research Papers in Economics · Cited by 1
A Multi-University Examination of College Student-Athlete & Coach Fit
Alexander, A. C. (2014)
McLaughlin, E. M. (2013) · The Scholarship East Carolina University's Institutional Repository (East Carolina University)
Áhrif persónuþátta og tilfinninga á útkomu samninga
Jóhannsson, R. K. (2011)
Team intelligence and team personality predicting team performance
Simon, K. (2013) · University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy (University of Minnesota)
Kong, J.-S., & woo, J. J. (2016) · The Journal of the Korea Contents Association · doi:10.5392/jkca.2016.16.12.422
The effect of subordinate motivation on performance
Kang, E., Chung, E., & Sohn, Y.-W. (2011) · Korean Journal of Industrial and Organizational Psychology · doi:10.24230/kjiop.v24i3.553-574
Why Leaders Need to Rethink Leadership TodayPreprint
Cockburn, T., & Smith, P. (2017) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.3072474
Parkinson, B. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108696234.007
Facial Activity and Emotion Expression
Parkinson, B. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108696234.003
Parkinson, B. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108696234.008
What’s at the Heart of Emotions?
Parkinson, B. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108696234.001
Explaining Emotional Influence
Parkinson, B. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108696234.004
Parkinson, B. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108696234.011
Parkinson, B. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108696234.005
Parkinson, B. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108696234.009
Parkinson, B. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108696234.010
Zhou, S., Chang, J., Yang, Y., Han, Y., Liu, C., Jiao, Y., Meng, Y., & Ji, Y. (2024) · Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.3390/bs14100945
Emotional Expressions in Front‐End Team Work Hamper the Originality of New Product Ideas
Wolf, A., Treffers, T., & Langerak, F. (2025) · Creativity and Innovation Management · doi:10.1111/caim.70005
van Alebeek, C. R. A., Komáromy, D., Peterson, D., & Rooduijn, M. (2026) · Political Studies · doi:10.1177/00323217251412067
Acute stress management training for elite performance under pressure
Stefanski, W. M., Patlak, J., & Minehart, R. D. (2026) · Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings · doi:10.1080/08998280.2026.2633486
Lin, W., Shao, Y., Qian, S., Jiang, L., & Zhan, X. (2026) · Personnel Psychology · doi:10.1111/peps.70026 · Cited by 1
Fairness matters: The impact of leaders' emotional expressions on subordinates' behavior
Abudukadier, A., Zhou, Z., Cheng, Z., Wang, X., Luo, Y., & Chen, X. (2026) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2026.104957
Ethical Leadership in African Multinational Enterprises
Adebiyi, A., Kwaitoo, M., & Asimenu, E. (2026) · Sustainable development goals series · doi:10.1007/978-3-032-24231-0_11
Bradley, C. M., Wolf, E. B., & Greer, L. L. (2026) · Organization Science · doi:10.1287/orsc.2024.19578
Metadata
- Authors
- Van Kleef, G. A., Homan, A. C., Beersma, B., & van Knippenberg, D.
- Affiliations
- University of Amsterdam
- Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (NL)
- University of Amsterdam (NL)
- Erasmus University Rotterdam (NL)
- Venue
- Psychological Science
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2010-10-25
- Volume
- 21
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 1827-1834
- ISSN
- 0956-7976 (ISSN-L)
- 1467-9280
- OpenAlex
- W2164711014
- Cited by
- 162
- References
- 41
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 27 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 9.18
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- hdl.handle.net
- Locations
- Psychological Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UvA-DARE (University of Amsterdam) (publishedVersion)
- Digital Academic REpository of VU University Amsterdam (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) (submittedVersion)
- UvA-DARE (University of Amsterdam) (submittedVersion)
- VU Research Portal (submittedVersion)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO 452-09-010, 452-09-010)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Emotional Intelligence and Performance
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Emotions and Moral Behavior
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Keywords
- anger, happiness, agreeableness, followers, leader-follower relationships, team performance, workload, affiliation, hostility, conflict
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Anger, Emotions, Female, Group Processes, Humans, Leadership, Male, Middle Aged, Models, Psychological, Motivation, Personality, Surveys and Questionnaires, Social Behavior, Social Perception, Workload, Young Adult
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
