Emotional contagion
Emotional Contagion
Have you ever experienced suddenly feeling more lively and energetic around someone? Or, on the contrary, feeling depressed and anxious, even though that person hasn’t said anything to cause that particular emotion?
In this case, it’s very likely you were affected by emotional contagion. Emotional contagion is the process through which we are unconsciously affected by the emotions of those around us. We have the ability to “pick up” the emotions surrounding us, allowing ourselves to be influenced by them, whether they are positive or negative.
Emotional contagion is transmitted through nonverbal channels. When two people are in a conversation, there is a tendency for them to mimic each other, synchronizing their facial expressions, voice, posture, and gestures. And when we mimic a nonverbal behavior, we also tend to feel the emotion associated with that behavior. For example, if we slump our backs, let our shoulders fall, and tilt our heads down, sadness tends to overtake us. Or try to think of something very sad while wearing a broad smile… you will find it very difficult. Each emotion is expressed nonverbally in a certain way, and if we reproduce the nonverbal expression of an emotion, we will eventually come to feel the associated emotion, albeit at a lesser intensity. The tendency to synchronize is automatic, unconscious, and most likely based on the functioning of mirror neurons (See the article Empathy and Art).
Thus, through synchronization, we manage to get on the same “wavelength” as someone else. However, this also depends on the relationship that is created between different people. If people like each other, the chances of synchronization are high, but if there is a relationship of adversity, then synchronization does not occur. And what we feel then are not the same emotions, but opposing emotions. Thus, if a person we dislike is happy, we do not rejoice with them, on the contrary.
Who has the ability to produce emotional contagion the most? Generally, those who can express their emotions most strongly using facial expressions, voice, posture. Moreover, they are less sensitive to the emotional contagion produced by others. Actors are very skilled at this, after all, it is their job to convey emotions as well as possible. There are also people with strong beliefs who do not hesitate to express them, who truly believe in what they say and thus are very expressive. Expressive people also try to be those who want to convince us of something (politicians, salespeople, etc.). Up to a certain level, they succeed, but they cannot be as expressive as those who authentically experience emotions.
However, who are the persons most sensitive to emotional contagion? Probably mothers, because when a mother is taking care of her baby, she is forced to communicate exclusively nonverbally with the little one. Anyone who has been around a mom has seen how quickly her mood can change depending on the baby’s emotions.
It’s important to know what emotional contagion is because, whether we like it or not, it exists and we cannot avoid it. There are often situations where we are around certain people and, although rationally we know they have the best intentions, they still induce negative emotions in us. They do it most often unconsciously, through nonverbal channels. If we pay attention to the nonverbal behavior of these people, we will truly be able to see what they feel and can decide whether it’s worth building a relationship or whether it’s better to look for and surround ourselves with people capable of contaminating us with somewhat better emotions.
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