Emotional contagion is the tendency to catch and feel emotions that are similar to and associated with those of others. One view developed by Elaine Hatfield, John Cacioppo, and Richard Rapson of the underlying mechanism is that it represents a tendency to mimic and synchronize facial expressions, vocalizations, postures, and movements with those of another person automatically and, consequently, to converge emotionally. A broader definition of the phenomenon was suggested by Schoenewolf—"a process in which a person or group influences the emotions or behavior of another person or group through the conscious or unconscious induction of emotion states and behavioral attitudes".
Read more about Emotional Contagion: Research, Married Couples, Heritability, Children, Neurological Mechanisms, Amygdala, Insulation and Inoculation
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