Can Emotions Be Contagious? Here's The Expert Answer

JAKARTA - You may have heard the phrase, "Smileing is contagious," and smile back immediately as someone grumbles at you. Or maybe the phrase, "musibah or difficulty often comes in a row," and see how someone's masal character affects others. Or maybe you've noticed that if someone you care about is hurt, you also feel the pain.

If you feel one of these phenomena, it means you experience emotional transmission.

Emotional transmission is a way to describe how emotions or behaviors can spread between individuals and/or groups,' explainsLAF Amodio, LMSW.

"Humans are social beings and react and respond to stimulation in the surrounding world. It is not surprising that because humans are social, emotional and behavioral creatures can be influenced by those around them as well," he added.

Emotional transmission occurs when a person responds to the stimulation they feel when looking at other people's emotions. Preliminary research found that emotional transmission occurs unconsciously, as an imitated behavior based on one's observations. However, there are other things that are more than that. Some psychological factors also affect your emotional response.

Various factors can affect or trigger emotional transmission. These factors can include verbal and non-verbal communication such as facial expressions and body language. Other environmental factors such as music, aroma, and atmosphere can also affect, "explained Amodio, launching Very Well Mind, Wednesday, March 19.

Imagine a room full of people watching stand-up comedy. Funny stories and comedian's actions caused a contagious emotional response in the form of joy, leading to laughter. Regarding environmental factors, a room that is all neatly arranged can cause feelings of peace, calm, and comfort. And that emotion is contagious to everyone who enters it.

Advertisers, filmmakers, restaurant owners, retail sellers, and others rely on emotional transmission to convince you to buy something. Or evoke feelings in you.

However, just like positive emotions that can be shared, negative emotions can also be contagious. You tend to imitate angry emotions, frustration, or depression when your boundaries are low.

"The main things like lack of sleep, not eating that day, pre-existing stress or fatigue will make a person more susceptible to negative emotional transmission. Because basically, you are tired and more easily dragged by external emotional flows," saidaturd Loo, PhD, licensed psychologist and founder director of Manhattan Therapy Collective.

Realizing or not, if you are aware of your own mood swings, you imitate other people's moods, or imitate the emotions or feelings of a group, you are experiencing emotional transmission.

Research shows that there is a neurological reason to mimic emotions called mirror neuron systems. Basically, certain neurons in the brain become active when one observes another doing something.

The observer then imitates what they see. Regarding emotions, it means that if you see other people crying, laughing, laughing, or smiling, you "mimitor" what they do. And their emotions are contagious.

Most people want to manage negative things and take advantage of positive aspects of emotional transmission. Good or bad, there are several steps to manage your reactions.

Life is filled with moments of transmitting emotions. The key is to know how to overcome it and use it for you.