Jun 17, 2010

The Theory and Mechanics of 'Emotional Contagion'

Emotional contagion is the tendency to catch and feel emotions that are similar to and influenced by those of others. One view developed by John Cacioppo of the underlying mechanism is that it represents a tendency to automatically mimic and synchronize facial expressions, vocalizations, postures, and movements with those of another person and, consequently, to converge emotionally. A broader definition of the phenomenon was suggested by Sigal G. Barsade—"a process in which a person or group influences the emotions or behavior of another person or group through the conscious or unconscious induction of emotion states and behavioral attitudes". Click anywhere in this sentence to continue reading...

Via: Wikipedia



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2 comments:

  1. Anonymous17.6.10

    In Tallulah Bankhead's autobiography she tells of an incident involving the author W. Somerset Maughm. She had a tendency to mimic others involuntarily and she offended him by doing so as he lisped. In his famous novel,
    Of Human Bondage", the protagonist has a limp, which represents Maughm's issue.

    Tallulah lost out on any chance ever to have any role in any of his presentations and could not convince the author her gesture was unintentional.

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  2. Very interesting example of mimicry :)

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