Table_1_How Do Induced Affective States Bias Emotional Contagion to Faces? A Three-Dimensional Model.docx

Affective states can propagate in a group of people and influence their ability to judge others’ affective states. In the present paper, we present a simple mathematical model to describe this process in a three-dimensional affective space. We obtained data from 67 participants randomly assigned to two experimental groups. Participants watched either an upsetting or uplifting video previously calibrated for this goal. Immediately, participants reported their baseline subjective affect in three dimensions: (1) positivity, (2) negativity, and (3) arousal. In a second phase, participants rated the affect they subjectively judged from 10 target angry faces and ten target happy faces in the same three-dimensional scales. These judgments were used as an index of participant’s affective state after observing the faces. Participants’ affective responses were subsequently mapped onto a simple three-dimensional model of emotional contagion, in which the shortest distance between the baseline self-reported affect and the target judgment was calculated. The results display a double dissociation: negatively induced participants show more emotional contagion to angry than happy faces, while positively induced participants show more emotional contagion to happy than angry faces. In sum, emotional contagion exerted by the videos selectively affected judgments of the affective state of others’ faces. We discuss the directionality of emotional contagion to faces, considering whether negative emotions are more easily propagated than positive ones. Additionally, we comment on the lack of significant correlations between our model and standardized tests of empathy and emotional contagion.

情感状态能够在人群之间传播并影响他们对他人类情感状态的判断能力。在本文中，我们提出了一种简单的数学模型，用以描述在三维情感空间中这一过程。我们从随机分配到两个实验组的67名参与者中获取数据。参与者观看了先前为此目的校准的令人沮丧或振奋的视频。随后，参与者立即报告了他们在三个维度上的基线主观情感：（1）积极度，（2）消极度，以及（3）唤醒度。在第二阶段，参与者对10个目标愤怒面孔和10个目标快乐面孔的主观情感进行了评价，同样采用三个维度的尺度。这些评价被用作观察面孔后参与者情感状态的指标。随后，参与者的情感反应被映射到一个简单的三维情感传染模型中，计算基线自我报告的情感与目标评价之间的最短距离。结果显示了一种双重分离现象：负面诱导的参与者对愤怒面孔比快乐面孔表现出更多的情感传染，而正面诱导的参与者对快乐面孔比愤怒面孔表现出更多的情感传染。总之，视频产生的情感传染有选择性地影响了他人面部情感状态的判断。我们讨论了情感传染在面部上的方向性，考虑了负面情绪是否比正面情绪更容易传播。此外，我们还评论了我们模型与标准化同理心及情感传染测试之间缺乏显著的相关性。