Like the flu or yawning, emotions can also be contagious; stress can be spread to people around us, as well as a good or bad mood.

Interestingly, negative emotions are more contagious than positive ones. Research has shown that people usually react more strongly to pain, fear, sadness and disgust than pleasure and serenity.

Emotions are transmitted from person to person and often from an individual to a group. You can notice this in your office or at school. In one study, the participants surveyed were, for thirty seconds, presented with photographs of people making the basic emotional expressions of happiness, anger and neutral expression. It was confirmed that if a participant watched for example a happy expression he/she slowly began to smile and feel happy. However, looking at the angry expression provoked growing tension, which could be observed in the participants’ facial expressions.

Studies have shown that emotional expressions, such as a smile or an expression of sadness, trigger reactions that cause ourselves to begin to perceive the emotions of another person as our own emotions. Although we feel in control of our emotions, our unconscious is dramatically influenced by people around us and their feelings.

The next time you start to notice changes in your mood, look around at people whose emotions you might have caught. Your mood and behaviour reflect their mood and behaviour. Observe what emotions/people you are surrounded with.

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