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The Emotional Contagion Scale: A Measure of Individual Differences

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Abstract

Three studies (N = 1988) describe the development and validation of the Emotional Contagion (EC) Scale, a 15-item unidimensional measure of susceptibility to others' emotions resulting from afferent feedback generated by mimicry. Study 1 assesses the EC Scale's reliability (Cronbach's α = .90). Study 2 finds susceptibility (a) positively related to reactivity, emotionality, sensitivity to others, social functioning, self-esteem, and more associated with emotional than cognitive modes of empathy, (b) negatively related to alienation, self-assertiveness, and emotional stability and, (c) unrelated to masculinity and approval motivation. Study 3, an experiment, finds that EC Scale scores reliably predict biases in participants' evaluations and are correlated with a measure of responsiveness to afferent feedback and self-reports of emotional experience following exposure to emotional expressions.

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  1. Department of Psychology, University of Hawaii, Manoa, Honolulu, HI, 96822

    R. William Doherty

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Doherty, R.W. The Emotional Contagion Scale: A Measure of Individual Differences. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior 21, 131–154 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024956003661

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