Emotions, or a more general affect component, can emanate from other people even without their purposely or openly expressing emotion. It is as if they radiate this component automatically as a type of energy that just seems to radiate outward from their body even if they are quiet or still. There is actually movement in the stillness, a movement caused by vibrations or emotions stirring in their body. The body’s movements ae not always visible. Not all people radiate this energy outward and not all people can pick it up or sense it. It may be able to be picked up when people are quieter, and you are positioned fairly close by to the other person and are also quiet. And, of course, a second way of expressing emotional energy is that people can also express emotions directly, openly, outwardly, loudly, not necessarily consciously or with a conscious purpose to express emotions. Maybe that is just their way to express a point or get a message across and they may or may not be aware that it involves expressing an emotion. Often it is just spontaneous. Emotional expression often comes attached to a behavioral or verbal expression, as a kind of tag-along, often expressed subconsciously. The person may not be aware that they are expressing this emotion as they are talking. This is, however, an active expression, often accompanied by gestures, whereas when the emotion or affect emanates, as described above, by a quiet or still person, it is done passively, again almost always subconsciously. Many extraverts are outwardly expressive and demonstrative, laughing, crying, smiling, moving about spontaneously, expressing their emotion and expression quickly in accordance with the content of their statement.
When either of these types of expression of affect is made in the presence of others, some of those people who are potentially receivers of this expression tend to avoid direct contact with that full emotional expression coming from the person, either emanating from someone naturally, without being expressed overtly, or actually being expressed by someone else emotionally by gestures or open non-verbal expression of affect. People may avoid this because within themselves it may bring about a full emotional experience that they are not ready for, that they may not be able to endure, so they close themselves off or avoid interaction with the person. They may not be ready within themselves to allow a full emotional experience to occur at that moment, or in the case of some people, not at any moment.
This likely occurs because some people are emotion-avoidant or even emotion-phobic. They are likely to have avoidant attachment styles. This develops when a parent or major adult caregiver doesn’t reciprocate emotional care or respond to a child’s emotional needs in ongoing moments during childhood. (This is not the same as neglect, which comes if the main necessities of life are not provided). The child is then likely to develop the tendency to avoid emotions when they enter adulthood, because they have not had the experience of tolerating or feeling emotions and feeling safe about it as a child, and they bring this expectation into adulthood. About 30% of adults have this issue of being emotion-avoidant. (WebMD, 2021)
Others are emotionally phobic. People who are emotion-phobic may not be able to allow themselves to experience their own true emotion. Research has consistently show us that the more we “run away, suppress, or avoid” an emotion, not only the more frequently we’ll experience them but also their intensity will increase. (Eastbay Behavior Therapy Centre, 2022). So, if people more frequently experience them, with an increase in intensity, it is likely that they are unwanted by the conscious mind but desired by the unconscious mind. It is probable that people who consciously avoid direct exposure to emotions expressed or emanated by others will be prone to pick them up indirectly through emotional contagion, by observing others who are experiencing emotion, although not interacting with them directly, or perhaps seen on video. This way they can subconsciously strive to give themselves a sought-after emotional experience although much milder than the real thing.
Logically, this doesn’t make much sense, but the unconscious operates outside of the realm of logic. The need is still present for an emotional experience, even if it is denied or blocked by the person consciously. So, then some people will likely be prone to absorb it through other means, such as through emotional contagion, without being directly aware that they are absorbing an emotion. It is subconscious or subliminal. There are unconsciously absorbing a contagious emotion. It may come through other social sources, or related activities, too many to name, including observing or emulating others involved in sports, music, art, stories, cheering, painting, debating, etc. It enters oneself through emotional contagion when it comes from observing another person and is recreated within oneself through mirror neurons. The actual emotion is not transferred as such, but the person still has an emotional experience.
Many such people who are emotion-avoidant or emotion-phobic are then susceptible to the effects of emotional contagion. It is an automatic experience when it is rendered to the subconscious as a task. It is like they turn off the switch at the conscious level when they decide to avoid the emotion consciously, but through unawareness or inability are unable to turn off the switch at the subconscious level, so the emotion enters at a lower level, such as when an activity is undertaken, and others are observed. The emotion may be created by the person themselves because of the effects of the activity they are doing, such as enjoying doing a painting, or it may enter via contagion from the emotion emanating from or being expressed by another person. People may model a famous painter, debater, actor or musician and through this means have a similar emotional experience through a version of mimicking the modelled hero and absorbing their emotion.
The need for people to experience an emotion internally is a normal human experience, almost universal. Hence most people who are emotionally phobic or emotionally avoidant are likely to seek the internal emotional experience subconsciously or unconsciously. This is why the emotion is likely to enter the person at an unconscious or subconscious level, usually with an impersonal method, such as when the emotion comes from a social, as opposed to a personal or intimate source. A social source would involve others such as in an audience, whether at a gathering of others in an audience such as at a political gathering, an athletic event, a concert or many other types of audiences. Those who lean towards a more personal source of emotion, such as in small, close families or friendship, relationship groupings, are less likely to depend on the social source, although they are also welcoming of emotions from the social source. It is not all-or-nothing. Even if it is milder or a weaker effect, it can still be present.
But those who are more likely to lean toward being phobic or avoidant of emotion from a personal source are more likely to absorb contagious emotions from an impersonal source which is more likely to be distant, in a crowd, or on video. We have heard about people being very emotional around sports heroes, famous singers or politicians or have a populist program, attracting people based on an emotional gratification. In this way, absorbing contagious emotions is likely to be a replacement or a substitute for the genuine emotional experience as emotional contagion involves emotional experiences through the mirror neurons rather than, for example, through touch or through the voice where the effect is likely to be more direct, substantial or personal, directed toward the recipient as a message for that person only.
The emotional experiences that gather in politically oriented situations, such as riots, convoys, protests or insurrection attempts are susceptible to these effects we are talking about. It is up to us when we find ourselves in these situations to ensure that we are agreeing with the various points being made and the emotions that are being expressed by others, because it may be that we are subconsciously absorbing emotions that are being expressed or emanated by others. People who are shown in videos, or on TV, in these various social or political situations that are controversial, such as protests regarding abortion, shootings, elections or any number of controversial topics on either end of the political spectrum may be mirrored by others who do so without realizing it. They subconsciously absorb the emotions they express or emanate and the simple messages that go with them. Although this does not happen to those who are not suggestible or not mildly comfortable with the message, this phenomenon can increase their hold on to the message and firm up their belief. As a result, it will influence their votes on candidates whose platforms include topics that coincide with the message. So, as a result, it may be that their emotional experience gleaned from absorbing contagious emotions subconsciously can influence their vote on important issues. For this reason, emotion is speculated to be the hidden, invisible, powerful factor that influences election results.
- https://www.webmd.com/parenting/what-is-avoidant-attachment#:~:text=Refusing%20help%20or%20emotional%20support,their%20partner%20rely%20on%20them. 2021
- https://eastbaybehaviortherapycenter.com/emotion-phobia-what-is-it-what-to-do-about-it/#:~:text=Emotion%20phobia%20is%20not%20an,have%20at%20a%20given%20moment.%E2%80%9D. 2022.