Will I feel the way you do, because I like you? The influence of interpersonal attractiveness on affective contagion

The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between sender᾿s interpersonal attractiveness and receiver᾿s susceptibility to affective contagion. The subjects (n = 82) watched emotionally contagious films showing a sender displaying happy or sad emotional expression. Prior to watching the films they rated their mood (on explicit and implicit scales) and read vignettes which presented the sender in a positive or negative light. After the film their mood was rated again. The results indicated that sender᾿s interpersonal attractiveness had an impact on receivers᾿ susceptibility to affective contagion. The subjects who considered the sender attractive, caught his mood, whereas those who perceived him as unattractive, felt opposite to him. However, the effect was observed only when mood was measured in an implicit way. peerReviewed publishedVersion