Emotional contagion refers to the way emotions spread between people.
For example, if a family member or colleague is particularly happy or sad, everyone in the group will inexplicably feel the same way, sometimes not even knowing what caused the reaction.
Next, let's talk about the topic of "emotional contagion".
The specific mechanism of emotional contagion has been debated, but there is a lot of research on its effects, and its occurrence is seen as something worth documenting.
One of the main theories of the mechanism of emotional contagion is that it is related to the defense mechanisms of ancient animals— most social animals are very sensitive to the emotions and behaviors of other animals in the same group, often for self-preservation. If a group of steppe animals graze together, one of them begins to panic, and the other animals become frightened, and even the whole group of animals will flee at the same time; some animals even have more complex behaviors based on emotions, and the whole group of animals play together or tense together.
Another potential cause of human emotional contagion is empathy. Most people automatically try to understand the feelings of those around them in order to get along better. In order to do this, they tend to try to experience other people's emotions and the same emotions arise as a result. Some also unconsciously imitate the facial expressions and mannerisms of others and have a tendency to stimulate specific emotions.
Emotional contagion is seen as a major factor affecting business productivity, and negative emotions appear to have a greater impact than positive ones. Some business management experts feel that emotional control is important for maintaining a positive work environment, and some even exaggerate emotions as a way to control others.
For example, if there is a person in the room who is depressed, the people around them will also be enveloped by a negative atmosphere, making everyone inefficient.
In addition, emotional contagion also plays an important role in the quality of family life.
Some try to use emotional contagion as a way to influence people's emotions and decisions.
For example, a salesperson will make extremely happy appearances to make the audience feel the same way, which is helpful in persuading them to buy a product. Similar strategies are used in business management to make workers feel more positive.
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Text: Consultant Hong