Emotional Contagion Test

This test is inspired by the Emotional Contagion Scale (ECS), a self-report measure developed by R. William Doherty at the University of Hawaii and published in the Journal of Nonverbal Behavior in 1997. Emotional contagion is the tendency to automatically mimic and synchronize with the expressions, voices, postures, and movements of other people — and, through that mimicry, to converge with their emotions. The concept was developed in depth by Elaine Hatfield, John Cacioppo, and Richard Rapson, whose work showed that moods pass between people rapidly and largely outside awareness. This test uses its own items, modeled on the same five-emotion framework, and is not identical to the original instrument.

The test measures susceptibility to catching five distinct emotions: happiness, love, fear, anger, and sadness. Each is assessed by four statements describing everyday situations — a friend crying, an angry quarrel within earshot, a warm smile — and the result is a profile rather than a single verdict: many people catch positive emotions far more readily than negative ones, or absorb others' anxiety while remaining immune to their cheerfulness. In published research with comparable measures, susceptibility to happiness and love typically runs higher than susceptibility to fear, anger, or sadness — the comparison markers on your result chart are estimates carried over from such samples, not standardized norms for this exact test.

Research on emotional contagion has found that susceptibility tends to be higher in people who are more attentive to others and more emotionally reactive, and that it plays a role in empathy, close relationships, and emotionally demanding work. Women score somewhat higher than men on average in most published samples. High susceptibility can be a social gift — quick attunement to the feelings of others — and a burden, when other people's stress or sadness becomes your own. Low susceptibility is not coldness: it can reflect a stable emotional boundary between self and others.

This test is provided for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not psychological advice, and it is not affiliated with the original author or his institution. If absorbing other people's emotions is causing you distress, consider speaking with a qualified mental health professional.

References

• Doherty, R. W. (1997). The Emotional Contagion Scale: A measure of individual differences. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 21(2), 131-154.
• Hatfield, E., Cacioppo, J. T., & Rapson, R. L. (1993). Emotional contagion. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 2(3), 96-100.