Catching and Emotion: Why are emotions contagious?
Why are Emotions Contagious?
Are you affected by other people’s emotions?
I put together a short video to explain one reason why emotions are so contagious.
Video Transcript
We all know that when we feel an emotion, we show it through our facial expression. But did you know that the reverse is also true?
Facial Feedback Hypothesis
Our expression affects the way we feel. We call this facial feedback hypothesis. So if we express an emotion, we start to feel that emotion.
This is why emotions are so contagious, it’s all down to our mirror neurons. We mirror peoples expression, over and over again, for a fraction of a second each time. Eventually, this triggers the same emotion within ourself. And that’s why we love hanging out with happy people!