Convergence of emotions: Correlational and experimental evidence for emotional contagion and egocentricity

Convergence of emotions between people is ascribed in one area of research to the transfer of others’ emotions to oneself (emotional contagion), and in another as a projection of one’s own emotions onto others (emotional egocentricity). The current research sought to reconcile these two accounts by testing them simultaneously in a correlational study that measured these processes (Study 1, N = 88), and an experiment that manipulated both (Study 2, N = 329). Findings replicate the phenomenon that participants’ emotions tended to converge with the emotional expressions displayed by others. We found evidence for both emotional contagion—where others’ emotional expressions influenced that of participants—and evidence for emotional egocentricity—where participants projected their own emotions onto others. The latter occurs when others’ emotional expressions are ambiguous. These findings break new ground in the important area of emotional contagion by showing, for the first time, the cumulative effects of these processes.