New Perspectives on Emotional Contagion: A Review of Classic and Recent Research on Facial Mimicry and Contagion

Recently, scholars from a wide variety of disciplines, using a variety of scientific techniques, have begun to study the influence of attention, facial mimicry, and social context on emotional contagion. In this paper we will review the classic evidence documenting the role of attention, facial mimi...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Elaine Hatfield, Lisamarie Bensman, Paul D. Thornton, Richard L. Rapson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: PsychOpen GOLD/ Leibniz Institute for Psychology 2014-12-01
Series:Interpersona: An International Journal on Personal Relationships
Subjects:
Online Access:http://ijpr.psychopen.eu/article/view/162
Description
Summary:Recently, scholars from a wide variety of disciplines, using a variety of scientific techniques, have begun to study the influence of attention, facial mimicry, and social context on emotional contagion. In this paper we will review the classic evidence documenting the role of attention, facial mimicry, and feedback in sparking primitive emotional contagion. Then we will discuss the new evidence which scholars have amassed to help us better understand the role of facial mimicry in fostering contagion and the ability to “read” others’ thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Finally, we will briefly speculate as to where future research might be headed.
ISSN:1981-6472