Your Emotions Are Contagious

Emotion is a very important aspect of the human being. Without emotion, how can a person be expressive? How can a person show feelings of sadness or excitement? We all show our emotion verbally and nonverbally. Our emotions and how we express them can influence others and be passed on as contagious emotions. With this in mind, the facial feedback hypothesis can be viewed as the facial emotions and how we reflect them to be interpreted to others. For example, when professional models have to do their photo shots they must show a precise emotion such a being happy with a big open, smile showing all the white pearls and dimples or they may be just laughing. You have to understand this because when people are actually being happy or acting all serious, that person can allow the other person to be the same way (1)***. If someone feels really sad and depressed often the other people around them can feel the same way. An example, of this is when the football played got killed and the day after the University opened back up, the campus felt really sad and dead. Students were not in class and the day was moving slow. I could actually feel the contagious emotion of this tragic event. If someone is feeling happy and hyper, then they can pass that emotion on while they are having leisure time with his or her friends. Gender influence the meaning of contagious emotions because society has a set standard that males are to act like one way and females are most likely to pass on to females; possibly males as well. Stereotypical people have certain expectations of how gender affects the behavior of humans (1)***.

From research, those who are really hyper and bouncing all off the wall (or just happy) will most likely to pass on that feeling to someone else because they will tell the others how they feel and make the other person be the same way as well. Along the same lines, people who are depressed and tell an emotional story can cause that feeling to fall one someone else (2)***. When people are having conversations with each other, their feeling, especially facial expressions, are being mimic at every second with no regards of consciously thinking. This deal with in instinct of reacting emotionally whether one is sad or happy. This is evidence that emotions can be contagious and be passed on to others (1, 3)***. This can happen to students in the classroom between the students and teachers since they do know each other. The classroom may not be a healthy place to learn if there is violence or angry students throughout the class (6)***. In therapy, you are speaking with the psychologist or doctor to get help so the mood of the happy psychologist or doctor will be passed onto their patient because they are there to help them with whatever problems they may have and not make things worse. Also, if the doctor is serious and tensed, then the patient will feel that vibe and be nervous or scared because the doctor is not too friendly.

To talk about the contagious emotions in the workplace, by the workers bringing their moods and feelings from home to the workplace and not being considering to keep the atmosphere positive. Furthermore, if a person has a boss that is generally happy and positive on the job and making sure all the employees are doing their job correctly and satisfying the customers and the next day he appears to be to have a look on his face as if something is bothering him, then one of the workers will mostly likely respond to his facial expression. In other words, his concerned, worried look will cause another coworker to be concerned too since the boss is usually happy, and excited to be at work; instead the bad news of having to lay off some of the employees is the main concern will lead to a contagious emotion go spread. (4)***. Another instance is when a coworker, student, or anyone wakes up on the wrong side of the bed and bring their angry to the normal working environment and everyone noticed. When asked what is wrong, the angry person will start yelling because he or she does not want to be bothered. When this happens everyone else will be angry to because they were yelled at for someone else bringing personal problems to the working environment instead of having a positive attitude and not be a negative person for that day. This will have a cause and effect situation with everyone since the angry emotion was passed on from one person to the next (5, 7)***.

With the knowledge that emotions are contagious can could influence others to be the same way as we are feeling, I think that there can be a difference shown in others if we lead with a positive outlook or we have an positive attitude towards different experiences. Leading with a positive attitude can also help those who may feel sad when a tragic event happens. If you come visit them at their house or get them out the house and having fun, then you will respond emotionally to what they are feeling at the present moment (8)***. Also, in the future, it is important to mange and control my emotions rather let the emotions control me. In other words, instead of allowing someone else feels one way while I am in a happier mood, I could stop and know that they could be manipulating me to feel the same way as you. They could trying to push how they feel about a situation on me rather me having my own emotionally reaction to situation from another perspective (8)***. This can also mean that I will understand concept of display rules that relates to how I am suppose to expressed my emotion during the when, where, and how during a given situation. This could also mean that I can catch another person’s emotion by allowing them to set the mood or do something that will make me feel the same way (1)***. The understanding of contagious emotions and different situations, and every day conversations when they occur, they can an affect one me and as well as everyone else.

Sources:

  1. King, Laura. The Science of Psychology.***
  2. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE6D91131F936A25753C1A967958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1***
  3. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/29/AR2006052900757.html***
  4. http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1708***
  5. http://www.cpa2biz.com/Content/media/PRODUCER_CONTENT/Newsletters/Articles_2007/CPA/Office_Moods.jsp***
  6. http://eqi.org/steps.htm***
  7. http://www.newdirectionsconsulting.com/pdfs/EmotionalIntelligence.pdf***
  8. http://www.bus.umich.edu/FacultyResearch/Research/TryingTimes/PositiveEmotions.htm***
  9. http://www.aces.uiuc.edu/news/stories/news4087.html***

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