How emotional contagion shapes spiritual care competence: Insights from a cross-sectional study on intensive care nurses.

BACKGROUND: Intensive care units (ICUs) are environments where nurses are open to emotional interactions because of complex structures and dynamic relationships. Nurses' susceptibility to emotional contagion and their spiritual care competence may affect the quality of care by influencing their ability to manage and respond to the emotional dynamics present in these environments. AIM: This study aimed to determine the level of emotional contagion and spiritual care competence in intensive care nurses. STUDY DESIGN: This study is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted with 199 nurses working in the ICUs of a training and research hospital in Turkey. The data were collected between December 2021 and June 2022 using the Emotional Contagion Scale (ECS) and the Spiritual Care Competence Scale (SCCS). RESULTS: The mean score of the nurses was 50.29 ± 15.36 on the ECS and 90.29 ± 29.53 on the SCCS. A statistically significant difference was found between the ECS and SCCS and gender, marital status, weekly working hours and some approaches about spiritual care (p < .05). It was determined that there was a statistically significant positive correlation between the total scales and sub-dimensions of the ECS and SCCS (p < .05). In this study, it was found that intensive care nurses' susceptibility to emotional contagion was high, and that their spiritual care competence was at a moderate level. The results show that gender, marital status, weekly working hours, type of ICU and some approaches about spiritual care are crucial factors in nurses' emotional contagion and spiritual care competence. In addition, as the intensive care nurses' susceptibility to emotional contagion increased, their spiritual care competence also increased. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study will guide the planning of interventions to protect intensive care nurses from the negative effects of emotional contagion and increase their spiritual care competence. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: It is necessary to protect intensive care nurses from the negative effects of emotional contagion and to increase their competences in spiritual care.

Adolescent vaping behaviours: Exploring the dynamics of a social contagion model.

Vaping, or the use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), is an ongoing issue for public health. The rapid increase in e-cigarette usage, particularly among adolescents, has often been referred to as an epidemic. Drawing upon this epidemiological analogy between vaping and infectious diseases as a theoretical framework, we present a deterministic compartmental model of adolescent e-cigarette smoking which accounts for social influences on initiation, relapse, and cessation behaviours. We use results from a sensitivity analysis of the model's parameters on various response variables to identify key influences on system dynamics and simplify the model into one that can be analysed more thoroughly. We identify a single feasible endemic equilibrium for the proportion of smokers that decreases as social influence on cessation increases. Through steady state and stability analyses, as well as simulations of the model, we conclude that social influences from and on temporary quitters are not important in overall model dynamics, and that social influences from permanent quitters can have a significant impact on long-term system dynamics. In particular, we show that social influence on cessation can induce persistent recurrent smoking outbreaks.

Fine-scale tracking reveals visual field use for predator detection and escape in collective foraging of pigeon flocks.

During collective vigilance, it is commonly assumed that individual animals compromise their feeding time to be vigilant against predators, benefiting the entire group. One notable issue with this assumption concerns the unclear nature of predator 'detection', particularly in terms of vision. It remains uncertain how a vigilant individual utilizes its high-acuity vision (such as the fovea) to detect a predator cue and subsequently guide individual and collective escape responses. Using fine-scale motion-capture technologies, we tracked the head and body orientations of pigeons (hence reconstructed their visual fields and foveal projections) foraging in a flock during simulated predator attacks. Pigeons used their fovea to inspect predator cues. Earlier foveation on a predator cue was linked to preceding behaviors related to vigilance and feeding, such as head-up or down positions, head-scanning, and food-pecking. Moreover, earlier foveation predicted earlier evasion flights at both the individual and collective levels. However, we also found that relatively long delay between their foveation and escape responses in individuals obscured the relationship between these two responses. While our results largely support the existing assumptions about vigilance, they also underscore the importance of considering vision and addressing the disparity between detection and escape responses in future research.

Most animals have to compromise between spending time foraging for food and other resources and keeping careful watch for approaching predators or other threats. Many are thought to address this trade-off by living in a group where they rely on the vigilance of others to free up more time for foraging. If one individual animal detects a threat, they alert the whole group so that every individual can respond. However, it remains unclear how individuals use vision to detect a threat and how they communicate the threat to the rest of the group. Pigeons are a useful animal model to address this question because they tend to live in groups and their vision is well understood. A pit at the back of their eye called the fovea is responsible for building clear, detailed images of the centre of the field of vision. When pigeons attend to something of interest, they typically direct their gaze by moving their whole head instead of moving their eyes, making head orientation a good proxy for researchers to track where they are looking. To better understand how pigeons detect potential threats and communicate them to the rest of the flock, Delacoux and Kano used motion capture technology to track the head movements of groups of pigeons. To encourage the pigeons to forage, grain was scattered in the centre of an enclosed room. A plastic sparrowhawk (representing a potential predator) would then emerge and move across the room before disappearing again. Analysis of the imaging data revealed that pigeons use their fovea to spot predators. Individuals that were looking around before the potential predator emerged directed their fovea towards it more quickly than pigeons that were eating. These pigeons also took flight more quickly, and this likely triggered the rest of the group to follow. Due to improvements in the tracking technologies, these findings may help scientists understand in finer detail how animals in a group detect and respond to threats and other cues in their environment. Therefore, the experimental approach used by Delacoux and Kano could also be used to investigate how information is passed among groups of other animal species.

Causal inference over stochastic networks.

Claiming causal inferences in network settings necessitates careful consideration of the often complex dependency between outcomes for actors. Of particular importance are treatment spillover or outcome interference effects. We consider causal inference when the actors are connected via an underlying network structure. Our key contribution is a model for causality when the underlying network is endogenous; where the ties between actors and the actor covariates are statistically dependent. We develop a joint model for the relational and covariate generating process that avoids restrictive separability and fixed network assumptions, as these rarely hold in realistic social settings. While our framework can be used with general models, we develop the highly expressive class of Exponential-family Random Network models (ERNM) of which Markov random fields and Exponential-family Random Graph models are special cases. We present potential outcome-based inference within a Bayesian framework and propose a modification to the exchange algorithm to allow for sampling from ERNM posteriors. We present results of a simulation study demonstrating the validity of the approach. Finally, we demonstrate the value of the framework in a case study of smoking in the context of adolescent friendship networks.

Effects of Cohabitation on Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Rats Discordant for Neonatal Exposure to Sevoflurane.

Background: Having a sibling with autism spectrum disorder is a risk factor for autism spectrum disorder. We used a rat model in which the general anesthetic sevoflurane (SEVO) induces autism spectrum disorder-like neurodevelopmental abnormalities to test whether they can be transmitted via cohabitation. Methods: Male rat pups from several litters were mixed and randomized to 3 new litter types: SEVO-exposed (SEVO), SEVO-unexposed (control), and equal numbers of SEVO-exposed and SEVO-unexposed (MIXED). After weaning, rats in experiment 1 were housed with littermates in SEVO, control, and MIXED (MIXED-exposed and MIXED-unexposed) pairs. In experiment 2, MIXED-exposed and MIXED-unexposed rats were paired with an unfamiliar naïve cagemate. Corticosterone levels, gene expression, central inflammatory markers (experiment 1), and behavior and corticosterone levels (experiment 2) were assessed in adulthood. Results: In experiment 1, compared with control rats, SEVO rats exhibited abnormalities in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, inflammatory markers, oxytocin, arginine vasopressin, and DNA methylation systems. Almost all these measures in MIXED-exposed and MIXED-unexposed rats were statistically indistinguishable from and similar to those in SEVO or control rats, with most measures in MIXED rats being similar to those in SEVO rats. Experiment 2 showed that pairing with unfamiliar, naïve rats after weaning caused MIXED-unexposed and MIXED-exposed rats' behavior to be no different from that of control and SEVO rats, respectively; however, the 2 groups of MIXED rats also did not differ from each other. Conclusions: These findings suggest that neurodevelopmental abnormalities can be transmitted to otherwise healthy individuals through interactions during cohabitation; however, subsequent pairing with unfamiliar, naïve cohabitants may weaken this interaction effect.

This study was driven by the results of human studies that found poorer neurocognitive performance than expected in both twins, even though only one of the twins had early-life exposure to general anesthesia. We evaluated whether rats housed together in the same cage but discordant for neonatal exposure to the general anesthetic sevoflurane share similar neurodevelopmental abnormalities in adulthood. The gene expression, neuroendocrine, neuroinflammatory marker, and behavioral measurements revealed that cohoused neonatally sevoflurane-exposed and sevoflurane-unexposed cagemates exhibited similar deficiencies. These findings suggest that in studies of anesthesia-induced neurodevelopmental abnormalities in particular, and neurocognitive development in general, interactions between cohabitants should be considered as a factor that may influence outcomes.

'A System Only to Be Defended on the Principle of Positive and Ascertained Necessity': Quarantine and Thomas Maitland's Contribution to the Medical Debates of 1819 and 1824.

This article focusses on the 'plague debates' which took place in the British parliament in 1819 and 1824, where the opinions of non-medical experts were also taken into account; particularly those of officials who had acquired relevant practical experience. Such opinions were crucial in politicising the medical debate from one of the nature of plagues, towards an evaluation of the impact of quarantine more broadly. Paying closer attention at the correspondence between the colonial governor of Malta and the Ionian Islands, and the colonial secretary, it reveals a different aspect of the contagion inquiry in Britain-one considering medical knowledge about plagues that was highly speculative. While most historical works illuminate the establishment of what was considered to be medical evidence, there is less work about the political, economic or even personal motives which underlined interventions in these debates.

Early affective empathy, emotion contagion, and empathic concern in borderline personality disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) are theorized to experience lower cognitive empathy but heightened affective empathy. Despite meta-analyses addressing cognitive empathy, affective empathy remains unexplored. This pre-registered systematic review and meta-analysis investigated affective empathy in individuals with BPD or high BPD traits relative to healthy comparisons, using a multidimensional approach including, early affective empathy, emotion contagion, and empathic concern. METHODS: Systematic search of SCOPUS, PubMed, Medline COMPLETE, and PsycINFO (June 27, 2022, May 14, 2023, and July 1, 2024) was completed. Included studies compared affective empathy in those with BPD/high BPD traits with healthy comparisons, utilized experimental or self-report designs, and were peer-reviewed or PhD theses. Risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. RESULTS: Among 22 eligible studies identified, results revealed individuals with BPD/high BPD traits showed significantly higher emotion contagion (Npooled = 1797, g = -1.10, 95 % CI [-1.57, -0.62]). No significant differences were found in empathic concern (Npooled = 1545, g = 0.06, 95 % CI [-0.10, 0.22]), or early affective empathy for anger (Npooled = 245, g = 0.28, 95 % CI [-0.0.53, 1.09]) and happiness, (Npooled = 189, g = 0.34, 95 % CI [-0.1.50, 2.18]). LIMITATIONS: Few included studies for early affective empathy, methodological shortcomings in the broader literature and study heterogeneity suggest caution when interpreting these effects, emphasizing the need for targeted research. CONCLUSIONS: While individuals with BPD/high BPD traits are more likely to subjectively experience others' distress through emotion contagion, no differences were found in early affective empathy or ability to direct sympathy and concern towards others.

The contribution of movement to social network structure and spreading dynamics under simple and complex transmission.

The structure of social networks fundamentally influences spreading dynamics. In general, the more contact between individuals, the more opportunity there is for the transmission of information or disease to take place. Yet, contact between individuals, and any resulting transmission events, are determined by a combination of spatial (where individuals choose to move) and social rules (who they choose to interact with or learn from). Here, we examine the effect of the social-spatial interface on spreading dynamics using a simulation model. We quantify the relative effects of different movement rules (localized, semi-localized, nomadic and resource-based movement) and social transmission rules (simple transmission, anti-conformity, proportional, conformity and threshold rules) to both the structure of social networks and spread of a novel behaviour. Localized movement created weakly connected sparse networks, nomadic movement created weakly connected dense networks, and resource-based movement generated strongly connected modular networks. The resulting rate of spreading varied with different combinations of movement and transmission rules, but-importantly-the relative rankings of transmission rules changed when running simulations on static versus dynamic representations of networks. Our results emphasize that individual-level social and spatial behaviours influence emergent network structure, and are of particular consequence for the spread of information under complex transmission rules.This article is part of the theme issue 'The spatial-social interface: a theoretical and empirical integration'.

Contagious Vibrations: Sympathetic Resonance as a Model for Disease Transmission in the Writings of Ficino, Fracastoro, and Cardano.

Contagious diseases were among the most vexing problems in ancient theories of health, which could not easily account for how a corruption of one person's humors could cause a similar corruption in another's. One useful explanatory concept for Renaissance doctors tackling this theoretical gap was the phenomenon of resonance or "sympathetic vibration" - where one stationary string begins to vibrate spontaneously when a similarly tuned string is plucked nearby - as both resonance and contagion involved some mysterious, insensible action at a distance between an agent and a patient. Tracing the writings of Marsilio Ficino, Girolamo Fracastoro, and Girolamo Cardano, this essay explores the relationships between the writers' accounts of sympathetic vibrations and their contagion theories. It argues that different conceptions of the acoustic phenomenon - either as a manifestation of a Neo-Platonic World-Soul that underpinned the universe or else as a physical effect - revealed the writers' cosmological views that, in turn, informed their accounts of the human body and disease.

Oxytocin receptor control social information about fear expression of others in mice.

The social functions of oxytocin are diverse, and the specific aspects of information processing involved in emotional contagion remain unclear. We compared some fear-related behaviors among oxytocin receptor knockout mice and oxytocin-receptor-reduced mice with that of wild-type mice. In the observational fear assay, which reflects fear emotional contagion, mice that observed other individuals receiving electric shocks exhibited vicarious freezing. Mice with reduced or knockout oxytocin receptor expression showed reduced vicarious freezing. In the emotional discrimination assay, which reflects the ability to perceive others' emotional cues, we compared approach and scent-sniffing behaviors toward fear and emotionally neutral individuals. While wild-type mice were able to detect the fear emotion of others, mice with reduced or knocked-out oxytocin receptors showed reduced discrimination ability. In the fear behavior assays, which do not present social cues, we did not find these differences in oxytocin receptor expression in the brain. These findings indicate that oxytocin plays a role in emotional contagion by perceiving the emotions of others.

Empathic stress is decreased by prior stressor experience and increased in a position of power.

The observation of a stressed individual can trigger a stress response in a passive observer. Little is known about the mechanisms of this so-termed empathic stress, including the observer's empathic involvement with the stressful situation. In 108 opposite-sex stranger dyads, we expected to increase the observer's empathic involvement with a stressed target performing a standardized laboratory stressor (Trier Social Stress Test, TSST; Kirschbaum et al., 1993) by exposing observers themselves to the TSST one week earlier. Conversely, we intended to decrease empathic involvement by granting observers a powerful position over the targets (by asking them to evaluate the targets' TSST performance and allegedly decide on their financial compensation). A control group without any manipulation was also included. In the preregistered data analysis, two types of empathic stress were investigated: vicarious stress, which evolves irrespective of the target's stress response, and stress resonance, which is proportional to the target's stress response. Irrespective of manipulation, observers exhibited vicarious stress in subjective and high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV), and synchronized with the targets' stress reactivity in cortisol release. Prior TSST experience unexpectedly decreased observers' self-reported empathy and vicarious cortisol stress reactivity. The power manipulation, conversely, led to stronger observer vicarious stress in overall heart rate and HF-HRV reactivity. Based on Wondra and Ellsworth's (2015) appraisal theory, we propose that, due to their prior stressor exposure, observers habituated to said stressor, and consequently changed their evaluation of the target's stressful situation. In contrast, observers in the powerful position may have felt responsible for the targets, triggering a stronger vicarious stressful experience.

Play contagion in African elephants: The closest, the better.

Behavioural contagion is an automatic process through which a behaviour performed by an individual (trigger) is reproduced by an observer (responder) without necessarily replicating the exact motor sequence. It has been linked to inter-individual synchronisation and possibly emotional contagion. Play can convey emotions and enhance social bonding, although its contagiousness is understudied. To verify social play contagion presence and modulating factors, we gathered audio-video data on social play, distance and affiliation on a group of savannah African elephants (15 individuals) at Parque de la Naturaleza de Cabarceno (Cantabria, Spain). Social play was contagious as it was more likely started by uninvolved elephants (within 3-min) in Post-Play Condition (PP) - after that other elephants had started playing - than in Matched-control Condition (MC; no previous play). Social play contagion mostly occurred within 30 m - probably due to elephants' limited visual acuity - and it was highest between individuals that affiliated the most, with the distance-affiliation interaction having no effect. The most prominent individuals in the social play network were also the most influential in the play contagion network (Eigenvector-centrality measure). Play contagion was socially modulated, thus suggesting it may extend from motor replication to the replication of the underlying affective state.

COVID-19 Pandemic: What We Have Learned on Stress, Technology Use, and Psychological Health Among University Students.

Nowadays, the medical COVID-19 emergency is ending worldwide, whereas there is an increasing need to understand the marks and the lessons learned from over two years of unprecedented changes in all life domains. Recent research has highlighted growing rates of psychological suffering among the general population as well as among university students, who were yet well-recognized as a vulnerable population even before the pandemic. The present work drives from university students' experience, and it aims to provide an overview of the key dimensions to take into account, in terms of main risks, changes, challenges, and resources, to develop updated tailored research and interventions promoting psychological health conditions in the current time within and beyond the educational context/university students' population. Implications for research and interventions are highlighted and discussed.

Grasp and remember: the impact of human and robotic actions on object preference and memory.

Goal contagion, the tendency to adopt others' goals, significantly impacts cognitive processes, which gains particular importance in the emerging field of human-robot interactions. The present study explored how observing human versus robotic actions affects preference and memory. Series of objects undergoing either human or robotic grasping actions together with static (no action) objects were presented, while participants indicated their preference for each object. After a short delay, their memory for grasped, static and new (unstudied) stimuli was tested. Human actions enhanced preference and subsequent recollection of objects, more than robotic actions. In the context of human action, static objects were also perceived as more familiar at recognition. The goal contagion's influence on memory was found to be independent from its impact on preference. These findings highlight the critical role of human interaction in eliciting the impact of goal contagion on cognitive evaluations, memory engagement and the creation of detailed associative memories.

Beware! Different methods lead to divergent results on yawn contagion modulation in bonobos.

Contagious yawning (CY)-linked to physiological synchronization and possibly emotional contagion-occurs when one individual's yawn induces yawning in others. CY was investigated over different time windows (minutes from the triggering stimulus) via naturalistic or experimental studies (using real and video yawns, respectively) with contrasting results, especially in bonobos. We verified whether in bonobos result divergences may derive from different methods. We gathered yawning data on 13 bonobos at Twycross Zoo (UK) via a naturalistic (all-occurrences observations) and experimental approach (by showing yawn/control video stimuli). Based on literature, we used 1- and 3-min windows to detect CY. Due to fission-fusion management, individuals could form permanent or non-permanent associations (more/less familiar subjects under naturalistic setting). Video yawn stimuli may come from group mates/stranger models (more/less familiar subjects under the experimental setting). Stimulus type and time window affected CY modulating factors but not CY detection. Familiarity and age effect on CY showed opposite trends in 3-min trials and 1-min observations. CY was highest in oldest, non-permanently (rather than permanently) associated subjects in the naturalistic setting, but in the youngest subjects and with ingroup (rather than outgroup) models in trials. The age effect differences on CY might be due to decontextualized yawns and immature subject curiosity toward videos. The reversed familiarity effect suggests CY's context-dependent function in promoting social synchronization with socially distant group mates, as failing to coordinate as a group may lead to social disruption. Complementary methods are needed to fully understand motor replication phenomena.

Emerging Adults Mirror Infants' Emotions and Yawns.

Infants' nonverbal expressions-a broad smile or a sharp cry-are powerful at eliciting reactions. Although parents' reactions to their own infants' expressions are relatively well understood, here we studied whether adults more generally exhibit behavioral and physiological reactions to unfamiliar infants producing various expressions. We recruited U.S. emerging adults (N = 84) prior to parenthood, 18-25 years old, 68% women, ethnically (20% Hispanic/Latino) and racially (7% Asian, 13% Black, 1% Middle Eastern, 70% White, 8% multiracial) diverse. They observed four 80-s audio-video clips of unfamiliar 2- to 6-month-olds crying, smiling, yawning, and sitting calmly (emotionally neutral control). Each compilation video depicted 9 different infants (36 clips total). We found adults mirrored behaviorally and physiologically: more positive facial expressions to infants smiling, and more negative facial expressions and pupil dilation-indicating increases in arousal-to infants crying. Adults also yawned more and had more pupil dilation when observing infants yawning. Together, these findings suggest that even nonparent emerging adults are highly sensitive to unfamiliar infants' expressions, which they naturally "catch" (i.e., behaviorally and physiologically mirror), even without instructions. Such sensitivity may have-over the course of humans' evolutionary history-been selected for, to facilitate adults' processing of preverbal infants' expressions to meet their needs.

Once in Contact, Forever Contaminated! Introducing a Clinically Validated Imagery- and Video-Based Chain of Contagion Task for the Measurement of Disgust and Contamination Change in Experimental Research and Clinical Practice.

Tolin et al. (2004) developed the Chain of Contagion Task (CCT) to experimentally test the law of contagion and looming vulnerability (LV). In the CCT, contaminated pencils are brought into contact with clean pencils. The degree of contamination transferred to further new pencils refers to the level of biased contagious beliefs. Although this could be an important transdiagnostic tool, the usability of the original paradigm has been very laborious. Therefore, an imagery- and video-based CCT is introduced and validated in Study 1 in a nonclinical sample with 85 participants. In Study 2, the imagery-based CCT was validated in a clinical study with 15 participants diagnosed with contamination-related obsessive-compulsive disorder (C-OCD), 15 participants suffering from an anxiety disorder, and 15 nonclinical controls. The number of participants is consistent with those in Tolin's original sample and the statistical evaluation of Study 2 was preregistered. Both CCT could be validated and the results could be replicated. In the imagery-based CCT, the C-OCD group displayed significantly higher contamination ratings, avoidance tendencies and LV than the two control groups. We argue that this open access diagnostic instrument can be applied in research as well as in therapeutic practice (Download CCT videos and imagery: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7730459).

Air pollution, viral spread and health outcomes evidence from strikes in France.

To evidence the impact of air pollution on the health of urban populations, several studies use natural experiments that shift commuting from public transport to cars (or vice-versa). However, as public transport use declines, reduced interpersonal contact may lead to slower virus spread and thus lower respiratory morbidity. Using a difference-in-differences strategy, we show that respiratory hospitalisations are both positively affected by air pollution and negatively affected by viral spread following partial unavailability of public transport due to strikes in the ten most populated French cities during the period 2010-2015. Our results are in line with studies in other countries that have found a significant increase in urgent respiratory hospitalisations following a public transport strike, most likely due to car pollution, but we also find a detectable interaction with viral spread, which should not be overlooked when interpreting these studies.

Fractured Understandings of Leprosy in Bombay City, 1867-1933.

Between 1867 and 1933, the understanding of leprosy within the colonial medical establishment in Bombay city was fractured on two issues: whether leprosy was contagious and whether individuals with leprosy should be segregated. This article explores how legislation paved the way for resolving these issues in Bombay between 1867 and 1933. Furthermore, the article seeks to problematize the notion of "diseased bodies" or "lepers" through legislation to protect healthy individuals from possible degeneration. Leprosy in Bombay reflected the anxieties of the city's business elite who were averse to accommodating patients from other parts of British India. In addition, the article studies leprosy and "lepers" by analyzing archival documents and public health reports within the context of Bombay city.

Entre 1867 et 1933, la lèpre au sein de l'institution médicale coloniale de la ville de Bombay a été débattue autour de deux questions : était-elle contagieuse et les personnes atteintes devaient-elles faire l'objet d'une ségrégation? Cet article explore la manière dont la législation a ouvert la voie à la résolution de ces questions à Bombay pour la période étudiée. En outre, l'article cherche à problématiser la notion de « corps malades ¼ ou de « lépreux ¼ au sein d'une législation qui visait à protéger les individus sains d'une éventuelle dégénérescence. La lèpre à Bombay reflétait les inquiétudes de l'élite économique de la ville, peu encline à accueillir des patients originaires d'autres régions de l'Inde britannique. L'article se penche également sur la lèpre et les « lépreux ¼ en analysant des documents d'archives et des rapports de santé publique portant sur la ville de Bombay.

The relationship between social odour awareness and emotional contagion susceptibility in females.

Previous research has shown a strong link between our sense of smell and emotion. More recently, the importance we attach to olfaction has been found to relate to our susceptibility to 'catch' the emotions of others. We explore this further by examining the relation between a newly developed measure of olfaction (social odour scale, SOS), which measures awareness of social odours, and emotional contagion susceptibility in female participants. The study therefore aimed to test the strength of this relationship and also help validate the English language version of the SOS. Female (n = 148) participants completed an online study that measured odour awareness [SOS; important of odour questionnaire, IOQ] and emotional contagion (EC). We found that the English version of the SOS yielded high reliability and supported the previous factor structure of the scale; additionally, we demonstrated a strong association between the SOS and IOQ which provides criterion validity for its usage. The study also revealed that whilst both the SOS and IOQ were positively associated with EC, the SOS was the more accurate predictor. These findings provide further validation for the use of the SOS and suggest that our subjective awareness of olfaction, especially concerning 'social odours' is an accurate predictor of emotional contagion.