Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 November 2013
From the perspective of the Think manager – Think male, this study was conducted to examine the type of leadership role depending on gender in a sample of 158 Spanish adolescents –according to three types of leaders: “male middle leader”, “female middle leader” and “middle leader in general”. The kind of emotional expression (positive and negative) evoked by their leadership behaviors (task– and relationship– oriented) was also analyzed. Lastly, whether adolescents’ sexist beliefs affected the attribution of traits and the emotional expression towards these leaders was examined. Results showed that task-oriented traits were more characteristic of the leadership role than relationship-oriented traits. Adolescents expressed more positive emotions towards a task-oriented leader and towards a leader behaving in ways associated with both task– and relationship– oriented styles, but only for men. Finally, hostile sexism predicted fewer task-oriented traits to female leaders, more negative affect towards task-oriented male leaders and towards counter-stereotypic leaders. These results were moderated by the sex of adolescents.