Emotional contagion: We catch/spread feelings

Muse; Ali Pattillo (inverse.com, 2/20/24, originally published 9/5/20); Crystal Quintero, Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Emotional contagion: How humans catch and spread feelings without ever knowing

Oh my gosh, am I responsible for their reactions?

While some people think they are perpetually cool, calm, and collected, they're not. At least, not all the time.

Across the board, human beings are a roller coaster of emotions, feelings, and moods. According to 25 years of data, these emotions spread like wildfire person to person. Often, they influence a group or organization's collective mood in positive or negative ways.

“We're all walking mood inductors.”

This social phenomenon, called "emotional contagion," permeates all human interactions, influencing not only how people feel, but how they think and behave. Emotional contagion is constant and pervasive, yet most of the time we have no idea it's going on.

Sigal Barsade, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business, has studied emotional contagion for more than 25 years.

Neurological benefit to daydreaming at work?

As humans, emotional contagion is one of our "primary delivery systems for emotion," Barsade tells Inverse. "Emotional contagion is the act of person A feeling the emotions that person B is showing, to some extent."

This week, Inverse explores how to understand emotional contagion, prevent your bad moods from negatively impacting others, and leverage the concept to become a more positive force in the world.

"By understanding this phenomenon, that is a form of inoculation against emotional contagion," Barsade says. "It's the first step."

I’m Ali Pattillo and this is Strategy, a series packed with actionable tips to help you make the most out of your life, career, and finances.

Catching feelings — Years before Barsade completed her organizational psychology training, a common office scenario spurred her to investigate how emotions spread.

She was working in an open-office layout close to a particularly negative coworker — the sort who seemed to dampen the entire team's mood whenever she was around.

The negative atmosphere didn't arise from this coworker’s yelling, or even what she said, Barsade recalls. Rather, it was her subtle facial expressions, verbal delivery, and general energy. More: 

• Emotional Contagion: How humans catch and spread feelings without ever knowing