A Look at Social Energy through Emotional Contagion.

The dynamic duo make us smile!

The UEFA 2024 Soccer Championship was taking place in Europe as we composed this article. Those watching on TV, in the comfort of their own home, experienced the magic of a crowd feeling connected without knowing each other, without ever having practiced singing together. And yet, it worked.

Their common denominator is their passion for soccer and the particular team they support with their motivational songs. There is no conductor. Rather, there might be a person with a huge drum, occasionally helping the group find their rhythm. Sometimes it is one section of fans taking the lead and starting the “La Ola”. And then, as if by magic, it flows as a wave around the bleachers of the stadium, seemingly choreographed.

Why and how do these soccer episodes relate to our topics of Social Energy and Emotional Contagion? Well, these relatable stadium eruptions allow you to feel how something is ‘carried over’ from one person to the next. A single ticket holder can start the la ola movement and many others are inspired to follow. The drummer provides the beat and the audience becomes the chorus. It just takes one person to start; it takes more than one to spread emotions.

This large group phenomenon illustrates what also happens in many of our daily interactions. One person’s emotions can affect (dare we say infect) another’s with that same kind of ripple effect. This is known as Emotional Contagion. Perhaps at odds with the idea of contagion, these infectious emotions can be positive and uplifting, or agitating and disruptive. Scientists have other names for other forms of this interpersonal spread, like social contagion and moral contagion. All of this illustrates how humans are built to connect, and how important it is to be mindful of whether our interactions are supporting or depleting our Social Energy.

 Here’s another relatable example. Think back to the last time you took a walk with someone. After a few steps, did you fall into stride with your walking partner? Walking synchrony (or lack of) and other forms of interpersonal coordination are the focuses of numerous scientific studies!

A third example of this type of synchronizing happens in the presence of music. This is why live concerts are so much richer than listening to music alone. The music seems to gain dimension with the energy of others moving to the rhythm. Again, scientists are researching the physiology behind this easy to recognize human experience. Beyond the visible synchrony of walking together, we can now measure this responsiveness in our hearts and brains.

The phenomenon of synchronicity can be witnessed, and felt, when the chemistry in the room is right. For example, The HeartMath®️ Institute’s research reveals when heartbeats of group members are synchronized or start beating in coherence, the group begins feeling more aligned.

Consider this quote from the HeartMath(R)’s publication “..each group member’s heart coherence contributes to the group’s collective coherence…”. We appreciate how this reinforces the scientific grounding of what each of us has probably experienced at some point. Consequently, these groups can experience a greater sense of safety. They may begin to feel they are in a trusted and trusting environment where it seems that more is possible and can be achieved together. This all sounds like good news, and it is indeed. AND it comes with a responsibility carried by each and every one of us: Be aware of what you are sending into the social field! A thought, either positive or negative, can influence what others detect. There is no need to say it out loud; it can be sensed.

But wait, there’s more! We each house mirror mechanisms in our nervous systems. Have you ever noticed that when someone on a web conference begins to yawn, you feel a reflex to yawn, too? Yawning has a social dimension and its contagion can be a signal of stress, boredom or, of course, fatigue. Yawning can also be triggered when our brain’s temperature needs regulating, and to provide our system with an extra dose of oxygen. None of these theories is undisputed, so it’s safe to say that yawning still remains a mystery.

 In order to unravel that mystery we spoke to our dear colleague Dr. Debra Pearce McCall. Debra widened our lens by sharing that researchers differentiate spontaneous yawning from social or contagious yawning. Observed in lots of other social mammals, this automatic sharing of yawns may be a way of signaling “we all need to pay attention”.

What all these examples cumulatively show is that we are physiologically and emotionally influencing each other in various ways that we are usually not even aware of. Also, we can learn to become more aware and choose to use this natural process to create positive ripples.

You can begin sending positive ripples right now!

Because what is undisputed is that a smile is absolutely contagious; when you see someone else smile, you are inspired to smile. This is the most joyful and energizing example of mirror mechanisms in action!

With all of this in mind, imagine how powerful it could be when you choose to contribute in a positive way to Social Energy. That’s just what we’ll be exploring in our next article!