Emotional Contagion Review

By Elaine Hatfield, John T. Caccioppo, and Richard Rapson

Have you ever noticed that some people are able to “infect” others with their emotions? Some can make a whole room melancholy, others have a catching laugh. People can be uplifting by just being present and others can extremely dispiriting.

Emotional Contagion explores the scientific explanations as to why these events happen. Through experimentation, anecdotal evidence, and brain imaging/study the authors are able to compile interesting theories involving group behavior and emotion in the masses.

Although it sounds like a dry take on an interesting subject, this book is well written and very easy to read. Some sections get technical and if you aren’t hip to the psychological jargon it will be tough to slog through but those moments/sections are few, however.

Theatrically this book is a true gem for our understanding of how the audience reacts to the material we are presenting. It highlights how an audience member may influence others around them or how/from where the audience gets its primary information.

Being able to anticipate where, when, and how an audience will react will greatly empower you to present the most effective material possible. This book gives information towards figuring those things out. It will also illuminate how you ate influenced emotionally in your own life and may provide personal benefits you weren’t expecting.