Catching Emotional Contagion

It is well known that emotions can spread to other people of the group (called emotional contagion), but what is the role of emotional recognition in this process? There is certainly a long history of research and casual observations as to how other people’s emotions can impact our own, but the exact causal mechanism is…

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Not All Smiles Are the Same

While we tend to associate smiling almost exclusively with joy or happiness, this may lead us pretty far astray. In fact, there are many different types of smiles and only a few can really be classified as happy smiles. As a recent article in the BBC outlines, of the perhaps 19 different types of smiles,…

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Emotions: What are Their Functions?

function of emotions

Emotions are surely important in our lives, but it is amazing to see just how foundational they really are in how we experience the world. Humintell’s own Drs.  David Matsumoto and Hyisung Hwang put together a comprehensive book chapter exploring that very question. They emphasize the crucial role that emotions have in intrapersonal, interpersonal, and…

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