Emotional Contagion Mechanism

A Emotional Contagion Mechanism is a psychological mechanism that enables automatic transmission of emotional states between social agents through unconscious mimicry and neural synchronization.

• AKA: Emotion Contagion, Affective Contagion, Mood Contagion, Emotional Transfer Mechanism.
• Context:
  • It can typically operate through Facial Mimicry and Postural Mirroring.
  • It can typically activate Mirror Neuron System for behavioral synchronization.
  • It can often occur without Conscious Awareness via automatic processes.
  • It can often influence Group Emotions through collective mood.
  • It can range from being a Weak Emotional Contagion to being a Strong Emotional Contagion, depending on its transmission intensity.
  • It can range from being a Positive Emotional Contagion to being a Negative Emotional Contagion, depending on its emotional valence.
  • It can range from being a Rapid Emotional Contagion to being a Slow Emotional Contagion, depending on its transmission speed.
  • It can range from being a Selective Emotional Contagion to being a Universal Emotional Contagion, depending on its target specificity.
  • It can facilitate Social Bonding Process through shared emotions.
  • It can spread Human Laughter Behavior via contagious laughter.
  • It can influence Organizational Climate through mood transmission.
  • ...
• Examples:
  • Laughter Contagion Mechanisms, such as:
    • Group Laughter Contagion for collective amusement spread.
    • Media-Induced Laughter Contagion for recorded laughter effect.
    • Cascading Laughter Phenomenon for escalating group laughter.
  • Mood Contagion Mechanisms, such as:
    • Depression Contagion for negative mood spread.
    • Enthusiasm Contagion for positive energy transfer.
    • Anxiety Contagion for stress transmission.
  • Behavioral Contagion Mechanisms, such as:
    • Yawn Contagion for reflexive mimicry.
    • Crying Contagion for infant distress spread.
  • ...
• Counter-Examples:
  • Deliberate Emotional Expression, which involves conscious control.
  • Emotional Regulation, which blocks emotion transmission.
  • Cognitive Empathy, which requires conscious perspective-taking.
• See: Psychological Mechanism, Mirror Neuron System, Social Psychology, Group Dynamics, Human Laughter Behavior, Facial Expression, Nonverbal Communication, Affective Science, Social Influence Task, Emotional Intelligence.

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