Smiling of groups most contagious

Quantity of cheerful ones beats intensity of one-on-one

 

 

 

 

Laughing is contagious – that´s common sense meanwhile. How a cheerful group evokes affective reaction in contrast to a smiling individual was analysed by a British scientist just recently, though. Three findings are remarkable: 1. The smiling group transfers its positive emotions distinctly stronger than the smiling single person. 2. It does not matter if one is focussed on the smiling group or gets their emotions only by the way. 3. A mourning group can evoke sadness in others, too, but by far not to that extent as the smiling one joy.

Qureshi/Monk/Quinn/Gannon/McNally/Heim, “Catching a smile from individuals and crowds: Evidence for distinct emotional contagion”, in Journals of Personality & Social Psychology, vol. 127(1), Jul 2024, 132 – 152.

 

From the practise:

Why is the smiling of a group that contagious? Because you may think: yeah, I want to join them? Or: Great, that there is something making an entire group smile is apparently awesome? Or: hey, fantastic, here I can forget my own sorrows for a moment?

In any case can these findings influence prospective social media-appearances of managers or politicians: instead of a single smiling, confident top capacity employees, customers or voters could face the entire squad on TikTok, WhatsApp etc. in the near future. My reco as a coach: Please have an eye on your authenticity! People recognize faster and clearer than you would believe if your smilies are note intrinsic and true.