Matching Your Face or Appraising the Situation: Two Paths to Emotional Contagion

Emotion contagion and physiological synchrony: The more intimate relationships, the more contagion of positive emotions

The study aimed to explore how interpersonal closeness (friends vs. strangers) and emotion type (positive vs. negative) influenced emotion contagion and physiological synchrony between interacting partners. Twenty-eight friend dyads (n = 56) and 29 stranger dyads (n = 58) participated in an emotion contagion laboratory task. In each dyad, one participant, the 'sender', was randomly asked to watch a film clip (neutral, positive, or negative), while their partner, the 'observer' passively observed the sender's facial expressions. Participants' electrocardiograms (ECG) and facial electromyography (EMG) signals were recorded using the BIOPAC system. Results revealed that observing the sender's facial expressions led to the observer's spontaneous mimicry and emotional contagion, accompanied by enhanced physiological synchrony between interacting partners. In the positive emotion condition, the observers reported more positive emotions and displayed stronger zygomaticus major activity in friend dyads than in stranger dyads. Greater physiological synchrony (heart rate and heart rate variability) between interacting partners was also observed in friend dyads than in stranger dyads in the positive emotion condition. These results indicate that positive emotion contagion is more likely to occur between close partners than negative emotion contagion.

The Reward-Related Shift of Emotional Contagion from the Observer's Perspective Correlates to Their Intimacy with the Expresser

Although previous studies have found a bidirectional relationship between emotional contagion and reward, there is insufficient research to prove the effect of reward on the social function of emotional contagion. To explore this issue, the current study used electroencephalography (EEG) and the interactive way in which the expresser played games to help participants obtain reward outcomes. The results demonstrated a significant correlation between changes in emotional contagion and closeness, indicating that emotional contagion has a social regulatory function. Regarding the impact of reward outcomes, the results showed that compared to the context of a loss, in the context of a win, participants' closeness toward the expresser shifted to a more intimate level, their emotional contagion changed in a more positive direction, and the activity of the late positive component (LPC) of the event-related potentials (ERPs) changed to a greater extent. Significantly, the mediation results demonstrated the effect of reward and indicated that changes in the LPC elicited while experiencing the expressers' emotion predicted the subsequent shifts in closeness through alterations in emotional contagion of the anger emotion in the winning context and the happy emotion in the loss context. This study provides empirical evidence regarding the social function of emotional contagion and proves for the first time that the reward context plays a role in it.

Exploring the Influence of Context on Emotional Mimicry and Intention: An Affirmation of the Correction Hypothesis

BACKGROUND

Emotional mimicry, a phenomenon frequently observed in our everyday interactions, is the act of replicating another individual's facial expression. The Emotion Mimicry in Context View and the Correction Hypothesis underscore the critical role of context and intention within emotional mimicry.

METHODS

In two distinct studies, participants were presented with facial expressions of models (happiness and anger) within various contexts (affiliative, distancing, and neutral). Concurrently, we recorded electromyography (EMG) to index emotional mimicry, while participants explicitly rated the models' intentions.

RESULTS

We observed context swiftly influences emotional mimicry within 500 ms, notably when the intentions of contexts are opposing to the intentions of facial expressions, leading to weakened muscle responses and diminished perceived intention. Furthermore, a notable correlation was discovered in the mimicry of angry faces; the more distancing the context, the stronger the corrugator supercilii (CS) muscle activity after context processing.

CONCLUSIONS

First, emotional mimicry should not be simply viewed as an output corresponding to the expresser's facial expressions but the dynamic process involving the active participation of the observer. Second, intention serves as a pivotal anchor, effectively integrating facial and contextual information. As such, we provided empirical support for the Correction Hypothesis.

Kick Cat Effect: Social Context Shapes the Form and Extent of Emotional Contagion

Emotional contagion refers to the transmission and interaction of emotions among people. Researchers have mainly focused on its process and mechanism, often simplifying its social background due to its complexity. Therefore, in this study, we attempt to explore whether the presence and clarity of social context affect emotional contagion and the related neural mechanisms. In Experiment 1, participants were asked to report their subjective experiences after being exposed to the facial expressions of emotional expressers, with or without the corresponding social context being presented. The results revealed that positive or negative expressions from the expressers elicited corresponding emotional experiences in the receivers, regardless of the presence of social context. However, when the social context was absent, the degree of emotional contagion was greater. In Experiment 2, we further investigated the effect of the clarity of social contexts on emotional contagion and its neural mechanisms. The results showed an effect consistent with those in Experiment 1 and highlighted the special role of N1, N2, P3, and LPP components in this process. According to the emotions as social information theory, individuals may rely more on social appraisal when they lack sufficient contextual information. By referencing the expressions of others and maintaining emotional convergence with them, individuals can adapt more appropriately to their current environment.

Computational Process of Sharing Emotion: An Authentic Information Perspective

Although results of many psychology studies have shown that sharing emotion achieves dyadic interaction, no report has explained a study of the transmission of authentic information from emotional expressions that can strengthen perceivers. For this study, we used computational modeling, which is a multinomial processing tree, for formal quantification of the process of sharing emotion that emphasizes the perception of authentic information for expressers’ feeling states from facial expressions. Results indicated that the ability to perceive authentic information of feeling states from a happy expression has a higher probability than the probability of judging authentic information from anger expressions. Next, happy facial expressions can activate both emotional elicitation and sharing emotion in perceivers, where emotional elicitation alone is working rather than sharing emotion for angry facial expressions. Third, parameters to detect anger experiences were found to be correlated positively with those of happiness. No robust correlation was found between the parameters extracted from this experiment task and questionnaire-measured emotional contagion, empathy, and social anxiety. Results of this study revealed the possibility that a new computational approach contributes to description of emotion sharing processes.

Using contact tracing from interlocking diaries to map mood contagion along network chains

Both viruses and moods are transmitted through interpersonal contacts, but it has been extremely difficult to track each unique chain of contacts through which particular moods diffuse. By analyzing 56,060 contact records from 113 interlocking, yearlong diaries collected through a web-based platform in Taiwan, we traced mood states before and after each specific contact along a triplet of persons where B contacts C and subsequently contacts A. Multilevel analyses show that both positive and negative emotions are contagious, but the two paths diverge markedly in how the diffusion stops. Positive contact between C and B (which leads to improved mood for B) spreads to A through B’s contact with A, making A feel better afterward, regardless of whether B’s mood deteriorated between the two interactions. Negative contact between C and B (which leads to worsened mood for B) also spreads to A, making A feel worse after the contact with B. However, the spread of a negative mood discontinues if B’s mood improved between the two contacts. The different patterns of diffusion suggest that a negative mood is harder to disperse, probably because people generally make efforts to keep their negative emotions from spreading to others.

Light makeup decreases receivers' negative emotional experience

Makeup is widely used in modern society and has a positive effect on perceived attractiveness. However, little is known about the other possible outcomes of makeup use. In this study, we investigated whether makeup enhances a receiver's emotional experience. Dynamic faces with or without makeup are presented in Experiments 1 and 2. Participants were asked to imagine themselves video chatting with a target person (expresser) with different expressions: neutral, angry, sad, or happy, and then to appraise their own subjective emotional experience. Emotional valence, arousal, and willingness to communicate were also assessed in Experiment 2. The results showed that makeup improved perceived facial attractiveness and increased the willingness to communicate. More importantly, it revealed that wearing makeup could weaken receivers' negative experiences arising from the angry and sad conditions, which is not the case for the non-makeup condition, but could not affect the happy contagion. Furthermore, incremental changes in the amount of makeup were not accompanied by incremental changes in emotional appraisal (valence and arousal). Overall, we found that makeup may affect emotional contagion and interpersonal communication. Whether the alleviated negative experience due to makeup is adaptive may need further discussion.

Longitudinal Dyadic Interdependence in Depression Symptoms of Caregivers Living with HIV in Uganda and Their Dependent Children's Neurodevelopment and Executive Behavior Outcomes

We tested a model of dyadic interdependence in depression symptoms experienced by female caregivers living with HIV in Uganda (n = 288) and behavioral problems of their HIV-infected (n = 92) and perinatally HIV-exposed uninfected (HEU) children (n = 196). Three repeated measures of caregiver depression symptoms and child neurodevelopment and behavioral outcomes were related to their own outcomes at a previous time point (actor effects), and the outcomes of the other member of the dyad (partner effects). Caregiver depression and child behavioral problem were interdependent over the 24 months of observation. Caregiver depression at T_n predicted child's behavioral problems at T_n+1 (coefficient = 0.1220, SE = 0.0313, p < 0.01); child behavioral problems at T_n predicted maternal depression at T_n+1 (coefficient = 0.0984, SE = 0.0253, p < 0.01). Results suggest the importance of services addressing behavioral needs of affected children and mental health of their mothers.

Emotional Contagion: A Brief Overview and Future Directions

Social interactions can trigger emotional contagion between individuals resulting in behavioral synchrony. Emotional contagion can be a very effective and attractive strategy in communication and advertising, and understanding the mechanisms underlying emotional contagion can help marketers to improve their commercial approaches or develop better ones. The purpose of this study is to review and classify the various methodologies and theoretical approaches on emotional contagion, identify the best practices in this domain, and identify ways of gaging and measuring emotional contagion. The study is based on a mini literature review. We identify different mechanisms and approaches to emotional contagion described in the literature. Emotional contagion can be triggered by facial expressions, indirect human interactions, and/or by observing other people's behavior in direct and indirect interactions. Furthermore, emotional contagion can be triggered physiologically or neurologically by synchronizing with the emotional state of others during human interactions. Regarding the assessment and measurement of emotional contagion, we argue that methods based on neuroscience tools are much more accurate and effective than methods based on traditional research approaches. The study identifies guidelines for research on commercial communication through emotional contagion that can be especially interesting for academia and marketing practitioners. The findings are important for field marketers interested in developing new individualized approaches in their commercial strategies and marketing in general. In addition, the study can become the basis of research that further refines and compares the efficacy of the various techniques and tools involved.

Relating self-other overlap to ingroup bias in emotional mimicry

Humans tend to show congruent facial expressions automatically in reaction to their partners which is defined as emotional mimicry. Although occurring unconsciously, this tendency has been proven to be modulated by social contextual factors such as group membership. Ingroup bias in emotional mimicryhas been well-documented in previous research; however, few studies have investigated the underlying mechanism. Based on the mimicry-as-social-regulator model, this study explored whether the ingroup bias in emotional mimicry arises from the greater self-ingroup overlap. By recording participants' facial electromyographic responses while passively viewing dynamic emotional clips performed by either racial ingroup or outgroup actors, Study 1 validated the presence of ingroup bias in the mimicry of happiness, but not anger. Using asimilar procedure in Study 2, anew sample was employed (N = 37), and a measurement of self-other overlaps via the Inclusion of the Other in the Self Scale was added. The results of Study 2 reproduced the ingroup bias in happy mimicry, and further demonstrated that the effect of group membership on emotional mimicry was mediated by the self-other overlap. In summary, this study provides evidence that the level of interpersonal closeness predicts emotional mimicry.

Right Temporoparietal Junction Plays a Role in the Modulation of Emotional Mimicry by Group Membership

Our prior research demonstrated that the right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ) exerted a modulatory role in ingroup bias in emotional mimicry. In this study, two experiments were conducted to further explore whether the rTPJ is a neural region for emotional mimicry or for the modulation of emotional mimicry by group membership in a sham-controlled, double-blinded, between-subject design. Both experiments employed non-invasive transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to temporarily change the cortical excitability over the rTPJ and facial electromyography (fEMG) to measure facial muscle activations as an index of emotional mimicry. After the anodal or sham stimulation, participants in Experiment 1 passively viewed a series of happy clips, while participants in Experiment 2 viewed happy clips performed by ethnic ingroup and outgroup models. fEMG analyses revealed that participants in Experiment 1 showed the same degree of happy mimicry for both tDCS conditions (anodal vs. sham) and participants in Experiment 2 showed an ingroup bias in happy mimicry in the sham condition, which disappeared in the anodal condition. Taken together, the present study demonstrated that rTPJ plays a role in the modulation of emotional mimicry by group membership.

Right Temporoparietal Junction Modulates In-Group Bias in Facial Emotional Mimicry: A tDCS Study

The present study employs transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a non-invasive brain stimulation technique, to explore the possible role of the right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ) in regulating in-group bias in facial emotional mimicry. Participants received either anodal or cathodal stimulation, or they were assigned to a sham condition. After that, they passively viewed a series of video clips depicting different emotions (happiness and anger) that were performed either by ethnic in-group or out-group models. The emotion-specific muscle activities, zygomatic major (ZM) and corrugator supercilii (CS) were recorded simultaneously as the index of facial emotional mimicry. The results first confirm the in-group bias in facial emotional mimicry in the sham condition, as shown in prior studies, though it only occurs in happy mimicry. Moreover, the in-group bias in facial emotional mimicry is modulated by the cortical excitability over the rTPJ, which may be attributed to the accompanied change of overlap of the mental representations of in-group and out-group. This study provides a close look at the neural underpinning of the modulation of facial emotional mimicry by group membership and highlights the role of rTPJ in on-line control of co-activated self and other representations in social cognition.

Longitudinal dyadic interdependence in psychological distress among Latinas with breast cancer and their caregivers

PURPOSE

Cancer diagnosis and treatment can generate substantial distress for both survivors and their family caregivers. The primary aim of this investigation is to test a model of dyadic interdependence in distress experienced by cancer survivors and their caregivers to determine if each influences the other.

METHODS

To test this prediction, 209 Latinas with breast cancer and their family caregivers (dyads) were followed for 4 waves of assessment over the course of 6 months. Both psychological (depression, anxiety, perceived stress) and physical (number of symptoms, symptom distress) indicators of distress were assessed. Longitudinal analyses of dyadic data were performed in accordance with the actor-partner interdependence model.

RESULTS

Findings indicated that psychological distress was interdependent between cancer survivors and their caregivers over the 6 months of observation. However, there was no such evidence of interdependence on indicators of physical distress.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings are consistent with emotional contagion processes and point to the potential importance of caregiver well-being for the welfare of Latina breast cancer survivors.

How Do Induced Affective States Bias Emotional Contagion to Faces? A Three-Dimensional Model

Affective states can propagate in a group of people and influence their ability to judge others’ affective states. In the present paper, we present a simple mathematical model to describe this process in a three-dimensional affective space. We obtained data from 67 participants randomly assigned to two experimental groups. Participants watched either an upsetting or uplifting video previously calibrated for this goal. Immediately, participants reported their baseline subjective affect in three dimensions: (1) positivity, (2) negativity, and (3) arousal. In a second phase, participants rated the affect they subjectively judged from 10 target angry faces and ten target happy faces in the same three-dimensional scales. These judgments were used as an index of participant’s affective state after observing the faces. Participants’ affective responses were subsequently mapped onto a simple three-dimensional model of emotional contagion, in which the shortest distance between the baseline self-reported affect and the target judgment was calculated. The results display a double dissociation: negatively induced participants show more emotional contagion to angry than happy faces, while positively induced participants show more emotional contagion to happy than angry faces. In sum, emotional contagion exerted by the videos selectively affected judgments of the affective state of others’ faces. We discuss the directionality of emotional contagion to faces, considering whether negative emotions are more easily propagated than positive ones. Additionally, we comment on the lack of significant correlations between our model and standardized tests of empathy and emotional contagion.

Challenges in the comparative study of empathy and related phenomena in animals

The aim of this review is to discuss recent arguments and findings in the comparative study of empathy. Based on a multidisciplinary approach including psychology and ethology, we review the non-human animal literature concerning theoretical frameworks, methodology, and research outcomes. One specific objective is to highlight discrepancies between theory and empirical findings, and to discuss ambiguities present in current data and their interpretation. In particular, we focus on emotional contagion and its experimental investigation, and on consolation and targeted helping as measures for sympathy. Additionally, we address the feasibility of comparing across species with behavioural data alone. One main conclusion of our review is that animal research on empathy still faces the challenge of closing the gap between theoretical concepts and empirical evidence. To advance our knowledge, we propose to focus more on the emotional basis of empathy, rather than on possibly ambiguous behavioural indicators, and we provide suggestions to overcome the limitations of previous research .

Perception of “Live” Facial Expressions

The article provides a review of experimental studies of interpersonal perception on the material of static and dynamic facial expressions as a unique source of information about the person’s inner world. The focus is on the patterns of perception of a moving face, included in the processes of communication and joint activities (an alternative to the most commonly studied perception of static images of a person outside of a behavioral context). The review includes four interrelated topics: face statics and dynamics in the recognition of emotional expressions; specificity of perception of moving face expressions; multimodal integration of emotional cues; generation and perception of facial expressions in communication processes. The analysis identifies the most promising areas of research of face in motion. We show that the static and dynamic modes of facial perception complement each other, and describe the role of qualitative features of the facial expression dynamics in assessing the emotional state of a person. Facial expression is considered as part of a holistic multimodal manifestation of emotions. The importance of facial movements as an instrument of social interaction is emphasized.

Negative emotional contagion and cognitive bias in common ravens (Corvus corax)

Emotional contagion is described as an emotional state matching between subjects, and has been suggested to facilitate communication and coordination in complex social groups. Empirical studies typically focus on the measurement of behavioral contagion and emotional arousal, yet, while highly important, such an approach often disregards an additional evaluation of the underlying emotional valence. Here, we studied emotional contagion in ravens by applying a judgment bias paradigm to assess emotional valence. We experimentally manipulated positive and negative affective states in demonstrator ravens, to which they responded with increased attention and interest in the positive condition, as well as increased redirected behavior and a left-eye lateralization in the negative condition. During this emotion manipulation, another raven observed the demonstrator's behavior, and we used a bias paradigm to assess the emotional valence of the observer to determine whether emotional contagion had occurred. Observers showed a pessimism bias toward the presented ambiguous stimuli after perceiving demonstrators in a negative state, indicating emotional state matching based on the demonstrators' behavioral cues and confirming our prediction of negative emotional contagion. We did not find any judgment bias in the positive condition. This result critically expands upon observational studies of contagious play in ravens, providing experimental evidence that emotional contagion is present not only in mammalian but also in avian species. Importantly, this finding also acts as a stepping stone toward understanding the evolution of empathy, as this essential social skill may have emerged across these taxa in response to similar socioecological challenges.

Universality vs. Cultural Specificity in the Relations Among Emotional Contagion, Emotion Regulation, and Mood State: An Emotion Process Perspective

To investigate the universality and cultural specificity of emotion processing in children from three different ethnic groups (Han, Jingpo, and Dai), we administered three questionnaires, including the emotional contagion scale, emotion regulation scale, and the Chinese mood adjective check list, to 1,362 ethnic Han, Dai, and Jingpo participants (M_age = 13.78 years). Structural equation modeling was used to examine the universality and cultural specificity in the relations among emotional contagion, emotion regulation, and mood state. The results revealed that emotion regulation mediated the relation between emotional contagion and mood state: positive emotional contagion increased positive mood state and decreased negative mood state by the mediated role of reappraisal, negative emotional contagion decreased positive contagion and increased negative mood state by the inconsistent mediated role of reappraisal; negative contagion increased negative mood state by the mediated role of suppression. We found both universality and cultural specificity in the relations among emotional contagion, emotion regulation, and mood state. Regarding cultural specificity, among Dai and Jingpo participants, negative contagion positively predicted reappraisal, while for Han participants, it did not; Jingpo participants demonstrated a weaker negative relation between reappraisal and negative mood state, and a stronger positive relation between negative contagion and suppression; and Dai participants were the only ethnic group that showed a negative connection between negative contagion and positive mood state. Regarding emotion universality, the three ethnic groups all showed positive relations between negative contagion and negative mood, and between suppression and negative mood; additionally, positive contagion positively predicted positive mood state, mediated by reappraisal. Thus, some emotion processes are universal and others more specific. In this paper, we discuss universal emotion processes and ethnic cultural differences in these emotion processes.

Detecting concurrent mood in daily contact networks: an online participatory cohort study with a diary approach

OBJECTIVES

This paper examines how people express personal mood concurrently with those connected with them by one or two degrees of separation.

DESIGN

Participatory cohort study.

SETTING

Online contact diary.

PARTICIPANTS

133 participants kept online diaries for 7 months in 2014, which included 127 455 contacts with 12 070 persons.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Diary keepers rated a contacted person's mood during each specific contact, as well as the strength of ties between any pairs of such contacted persons. Such rich information about ties and contacts enable us to construct a complete contact network for each diary keeper, along with the network members' mood and tie strength. We calculate one's overall mood by that person's average mood score during the study period and take the shortest path between any given pair of contacted persons as the degree of separation. We further assume that two connecting persons in a contact network have made contact with each other during the study period, which allows us to examine whether and how personal moods occur concurrently within these contact networks.

RESULTS

Using mixed-effects models while controlling for covariates at individual, tie and contact levels, we show that personal mood score positively and significantly correlates with the average mood among those directly tied to the person. The same effect remains positive and significant for those connected to the person by two degrees, although the effect size is reduced by about one-half. The mood of anyone separated by more than two degrees is statistically irrelevant.

CONCLUSIONS

Applying network perspectives and rich data at both tie and contact levels to inquiries about subjective well-being, the current study sheds new light on how an improved diary approach can help explain the sophisticated ways in which individuals express their personal moods concurrently during social interactions in everyday life, contact by contact.