SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Psychol.

Sec. Emotion Science

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1573375

A Scoping Review of Emotional Contagion Research with Human Subjects: Identifying Common Trends of Previous Research & Potential Areas for Future Research

Provisionally accepted
Barret MichalecBarret Michalec1*Chad ForbesChad Forbes1Kevin PardonKevin Pardon2Bella AyalaBella Ayala3Diego Guevara BeltranDiego Guevara Beltran4Clarice DouilleClarice Douille3Kaitlyn FelixKaitlyn Felix5Samantha GnallSamantha Gnall6Michael HoenackMichael Hoenack3Brooke McKeeverBrooke McKeever2Daniel NguyenDaniel Nguyen3Nicole PiemonteNicole Piemonte3Sarah PortleSarah Portle1
  • 1Arizona State University, Edson College, Phoenix, United States
  • 2Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, United States
  • 3Creighton University School of Medicine, Phoenix, United States
  • 4University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States
  • 5Arizona Metabolomics Laboratory, College of Health Solutions, Arizona State University, Scottsdale, Arizona, United States
  • 6Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida, United States

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Emotional contagion (EC) involves the automatic mimicry and synchronization of expressions, vocalizations, and movements, resulting in emotional alignment between individuals. This review examines EC research trends, analyzing 277 articles to identify common conceptualizations, triggers, and measurement methods. Hatfield, Cacioppo, and Rapson's (1994) conceptualization is the most cited.Common triggers include facial expressions in images and videos, and real-time interactions, though many studies did not stimulate EC. While many studies used validated EC scales, about 28% used nonvalidated questions. The research heavily relies on college-aged, predominantly white participants, indicating a need for more diverse samples. Future research should explore EC in older adults, minoritized groups, and diverse contexts, using novel triggers and multiple measurement methods.

Keywords: emotional contagion, Scoping review, Conceptualization, methodology, Emotions

Received: 08 Feb 2025; Accepted: 12 May 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Michalec, Forbes, Pardon, Ayala, Beltran, Douille, Felix, Gnall, Hoenack, McKeever, Nguyen, Piemonte and Portle. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Barret Michalec, Arizona State University, Edson College, Phoenix, United States

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary Material