Good, bad moods may be very contagious

Have you ever noticed that you wanted to yawn if you observed someone else yawning?

Have you ever started laughing just because someone you were watching was laughing? Laughter is contagious and sit-coms used "canned laughter" liberally to provoke audience response.

Elegant, persuasive and mesmerizing speakers often capitalize on their ability to create a certain mood. They suggest certain emotions to their audience by displaying the emotion themselves.

Crowds can be "led" to feel angry, enthusiastic, forgiving, charitable, or even saddened by suggestions given to them by the body language of the speaker.

Mood contagion is being researched by psychologists and other mental health professionals and has been found to be much more prevalent than many had thought. This spread of emotions from one person to another often occurs very subtly through mechanisms below the level of consciousness. Its effects are very important in many situations if life, such as within a family, in a business organization, or simply between tow individuals interacting and responding to one another.

If management and supervisory level personnel display genuine enthusiasm and optimism, others within the organization are more likely to think and feel the same way. Leaders who frequently display pessimism and a negative outlook frequently reap what they sow.

Research has also shown that individuals in conversation often quickly match each other's facial expressions and other elements of body language and posture. Lacking feedback, such as a mirror or a video camera, we are often unaware of the body language that we emit. If we are willing to receive verbal feedback from someone, we can increase awareness of our own behavioral and emotional messages. If we are unwilling for receipt of this feedback, we may not be able to measure our body language.

In families, a chronically unhappy parent creates a mood often mirrored by the child or children. This parent's unhappy outlook becomes the child's outlook on life and the cycle may often repeat itself from one generation to the next.

In certain work settings, like those of the helping professions where the caregiver is frequently exposed to situations involving tragedy, depression or intense stress, the mood and emotions of those being cared for is often transferred to the caregiver. Occupations where high empathy is required often produce difficulties for the person giving the help. It is necessary to remain sensitive and empathetic without letting the troubled person's mood and emotions become your own. Burnout often occurs in the counselor who is unable to detach from the problem of the client.

If you are frequently unhappy, but don't know why, examine the relationships in which you are engaged. Consider making some sort of change--either by changing your response to the situation--by suggesting that the negative situation be changed--or, as a last resort by removing yourself from the situation altogether.

Copyright c 1992 Harold H. LeCrone Jr., Ph.D.