Exploring collective emotion transmission in face-to-face interactions

Collective emotion is the synchronous convergence of an effective response across individuals toward a specific event or object. Previous studies have focused on the transmission of cyber collective emotion; however, little attention has been paid to the transmission of collective emotion in face-to-face interactions. Using an experimental design, we examined how emotions are transmitted from some members to the whole group in face-to-face situations. We used a news report of a social event as an emotion stimulus to induce anger and disgust in 158 middle school students aged 12 to 15, with an average age of 13.20 years ( SD = 0.651) We randomly assigned one-third of the participants to be “transmitters,” while the others were “receivers.” Transmitters shared their feelings with receivers; then, receivers communicated with other group members. The results indicated that negative collective emotions were transmitted from high- to low-intensity members, which converged through the effect of emotional contagion. It accumulated through the effect of an emotional circle, during which the feedback reinforced emotion intensity. The collective emotion transmission model comprised emotion diffusion, contagion, and accumulation. This model elucidates the intrinsic features of collective emotion transmission, enriches the research on collective emotion, and provides theoretical references for monitoring and managing future public events.