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Animals
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Emotional Contagion in Animals
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Emotional Contagion in Animals

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Human-Animal Interactions, Animal Behaviour and Emotion".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2024) | Viewed by 19172

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Andrew C. Gallup

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences Program, The State University of New York Polytechnic Institute, Utica, NY, USA
Interests: brain thermoregulation; contagious behavior; laterality; threat detection; yawning

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The automatic and reflexive tendency to match the emotional states of others, i.e., emotional contagion, has been documented across a wide range of species, both in the field and in the laboratory. Depending on the context, emotional contagion can result in different behavioral reactions and neurophysiological changes that serve to align the affective states of the observer with the demonstrator. As a building block of empathy, understanding the mechanisms of emotional contagion has been of considerable interest to researchers in the fields of comparative cognition and neuroscience. Moreover, from an evolutionary perspective, the propagation of emotions likely holds important functions in promoting behavioral synchrony and affiliation in groups, and thus is of general interest in the study of animal behavior and evolutionary psychology.

Researchers are invited to contribute to this Special Issue that aims to bring together the latest advances in our understanding of emotional contagion in animals. This Special Issue welcomes literature reviews, empirical papers, and opinion pieces, especially ones regarding (but not limited to):

  • Psychological and behavioral correlates of emotional contagion in humans and animals;
  • Proximate mechanisms and physiological markers of emotional contagion;
  • Adaptive/functional significance of emotional contagion in social aggregates;
  • New techniques and methodologies for assessing emotional contagion in animals;
  • Challenges and future directions in the study of emotional contagion in animals.

Dr. Andrew C. Gallup
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • affective science
  • arousal
  • collective behavior
  • empathy
  • mimicry

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research, Review

2 pages, 152 KiB  
Editorial
Emotional Contagion in Animals: Connections and Applications
by Andrew C. Gallup
Animals 2024, 14(20), 2970; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14202970 - 15 Oct 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 965
Abstract
The automatic spreading of emotions, i [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emotional Contagion in Animals)

Research

Jump to: Editorial, Review

13 pages, 738 KiB  
Article
Beware of Strangers: Dogs’ Empathetic Response to Unknown Humans
by Micael M. Rivera and Julia E. Meyers-Manor
Animals 2024, 14(14), 2130; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14142130 - 22 Jul 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2245
Abstract
Empathy is a complex cognitive ability that has been studied in many social animals, including dogs. Previous studies have found that dogs would rescue their distressed owner more quickly than a calm owner and that dogs respond physiologically and behaviorally to the sound [...] Read more.
Empathy is a complex cognitive ability that has been studied in many social animals, including dogs. Previous studies have found that dogs would rescue their distressed owner more quickly than a calm owner and that dogs respond physiologically and behaviorally to the sound of crying strangers. However, no studies have explored the empathetic and emotional contagion capabilities of dogs towards strangers in rescue paradigms. In the present study, a stranger was placed behind a clear door and was told to cry (distress) or hum (neutral). The dogs’ door opening, stress behaviors, tone of approach, and physiological responses were measured. Dogs did not open more frequently or more quickly for the stranger in the distressed condition compared to the neutral condition. Additionally, there was no significant difference between the behavioral or physiological indicators of stress across conditions. It was also found that non-openers were reported by owners to have more fear and, in the empathy test, were more aggressive and fearful in their tone of approach. These results suggest that dogs may be less likely to exhibit empathy-like behaviors to unknown humans in an unfamiliar environment and that owners may be necessary to moderate a dog’s stress to show empathetic behaviors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emotional Contagion in Animals)
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11 pages, 1981 KiB  
Article
Emotional “Contagion” in Piglets after Sensory Avoidance of Rewarding and Punishing Treatment
by Ye Zhang, Xuesong Yang, Fang Sun, Yaqian Zhang, Yuhan Yao, Ziyu Bai, Jiaqi Yu, Xiangyu Liu, Qian Zhao, Xiang Li and Jun Bao
Animals 2024, 14(7), 1110; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14071110 - 4 Apr 2024
Viewed by 1777
Abstract
In the pig farming industry, it is recommended to avoid groups when treating individuals to reduce adverse reactions in the group. However, can this eliminate the adverse effects effectively? Piglets were assigned to the Rewarding Group (RG), the Punishing Group (PG), and the [...] Read more.
In the pig farming industry, it is recommended to avoid groups when treating individuals to reduce adverse reactions in the group. However, can this eliminate the adverse effects effectively? Piglets were assigned to the Rewarding Group (RG), the Punishing Group (PG), and the Paired Control Group (PCG). There were six replicates in each group, with two paired piglets per replicate. One piglet of the RG and PG was randomly selected as the Treated pig (TP), treated with food rewards or electric shock, and the other as the Naive pig (NP). The NPs in the RG and PG were unaware of the treatment process, and piglets in the PCG were not treated. The behavior and heart rate changes of all piglets were recorded. Compared to the RG, the NPs in the PG showed longer proximity but less contact behavior, and the TPs in the PG showed more freezing behavior. The percentage change in heart rate of the NPs was synchronized with the TPs. This shows that after sensory avoidance, the untreated pigs could also feel the emotions of their peers and their emotional state was affected by their peers, and the negative emotions in the pigs lasted longer than the positive emotions. The avoidance process does not prevent the transfer of negative emotions to peers via emotional contagion from the stimulated pig. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emotional Contagion in Animals)
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12 pages, 1445 KiB  
Article
The Role of Empathic Concern and Gender on Interspecific Contagious Yawning in Humans
by Andrew C. Gallup and Sabina M. Wozny
Animals 2023, 13(10), 1700; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13101700 - 20 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2893
Abstract
Interspecific contagious yawning (CY), whereby yawns from one species trigger yawning in different species, has now been reported across various taxa. This response to human yawning appears common among animals in captivity and has been interpreted as an empathic response towards human handlers/caregivers. [...] Read more.
Interspecific contagious yawning (CY), whereby yawns from one species trigger yawning in different species, has now been reported across various taxa. This response to human yawning appears common among animals in captivity and has been interpreted as an empathic response towards human handlers/caregivers. A recent study found that humans also display interspecific CY, though this response was not modulated by proxies of empathic processing (i.e., phylogenetic relatedness or social closeness to the animals). Here, we explored this relationship more explicitly by assessing how interspecific CY to yawns from common household pets relates to self-reported empathic concern. Participants (N = 103) completed a survey measuring empathic concern and then reported on their yawning behavior following exposure to a control condition or yawning images either from domesticated cats or domesticated dogs. The results provide further evidence for interspecific CY in humans, but empathic concern was negatively predictive of this response. There was also no sex difference in interspecific CY, though when comparing the sexes across CY conditions, women reported a higher frequency of yawning in response to dog yawns, and men reported a higher frequency of yawning in response to cat yawns. Overall, these findings do not support a strong connection between interspecific CY and empathy or emotional contagion. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emotional Contagion in Animals)
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14 pages, 2918 KiB  
Article
Electroencephalogram and Physiological Responses as Affected by Slaughter Empathy in Goats
by Pavan Kumar, Ahmed Abubakar Abubakar, Muideen Adewale Ahmed, Muhammad Nizam Hayat, Mokrish Ajat, Ubedullah Kaka, Yong Meng Goh and Awis Qurni Sazili
Animals 2023, 13(6), 1100; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13061100 - 20 Mar 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3913
Abstract
Recent advances in emotions and cognitive science make it imperative to assess the emotional stress in goats at the time of slaughter. The present study was envisaged to study the electroencephalogram and physiological responses as affected by slaughter empathy in goats. A total [...] Read more.
Recent advances in emotions and cognitive science make it imperative to assess the emotional stress in goats at the time of slaughter. The present study was envisaged to study the electroencephalogram and physiological responses as affected by slaughter empathy in goats. A total of 12 goats were divided into two groups viz., E-group (goats exposed to slaughter environment, n = 6) and S-group (goat slaughtered in front of E-group, n = 6). The electroencephalogram and physiological responses in male Boer cross goats (E-group) were recorded in a slaughterhouse in two stages viz., control (C) without exposure to the slaughter of conspecifics and treatment (T) while visualizing the slaughter of conspecifics (S—slaughter group). The exposure of the goat to the slaughter of a conspecific resulted in a heightened emotional state. It caused significant alterations in neurobiological activity as recorded with the significant changes in the EEG spectrum (beta waves (p = 0.000491), theta waves (p = 0.017), and median frequency MF or F50 (p = 0.002)). Emotional stress was also observed to significantly increase blood glucose (p = 0.031) and a non-significant (p = 0.225) increase in heart rate in goats. Thus, slaughter empathy was observed to exert a significant effect on the electric activity of neurons in the cerebrocortical area of the brain and an increase in blood glucose content. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emotional Contagion in Animals)
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12 pages, 510 KiB  
Article
“It Almost Makes Her Human”: How Female Animal Guardians Construct Experiences of Cat and Dog Empathy
by Karen M. Hiestand, Karen McComb and Robin Banerjee
Animals 2022, 12(23), 3434; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12233434 - 6 Dec 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 4184
Abstract
Understanding how humans perceive and construct experiences of non-human animal empathy (hereafter, ‘animal/s’) can provide important information to aid our understanding of how companion animals contribute to social support. This study investigates the phenomenology of animal empathy by examining how humans construct sense-making [...] Read more.
Understanding how humans perceive and construct experiences of non-human animal empathy (hereafter, ‘animal/s’) can provide important information to aid our understanding of how companion animals contribute to social support. This study investigates the phenomenology of animal empathy by examining how humans construct sense-making narratives of these experiences, with the hypothesis that anthropomorphic attributions would play a key role in these constructions. Comprehensive, semi-structured interviews were conducted with six participants, using established interpretative phenomenological analysis methodology to facilitate deep examination of how they interpreted and reacted emotionally. Participants were consistent in reporting changes to their companion animals’ normal behaviour as the key to the identification of animal empathy experiences, yet they were highly paradoxical in their constructions of perceived internal drivers within their dogs and cats. Explanations were highly dichotomous, from highly anthropomorphic to highly anthropocentric, and these extremes were combined both within individual participant narratives and within some thematic constructs. This research demonstrates that experiences of companion animal empathy can be powerful and meaningful for humans, but the inconsistent mixture of anthropomorphic and anthropocentric reasoning illustrates the confused nature of human understanding of animals’ internal states. Insight into how humans construct animal empathy has implications for the moral status of these animals and an application for companion animals used explicitly for social support, such as in animal-assisted therapy and emotional support animals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emotional Contagion in Animals)
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Review

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17 pages, 3042 KiB  
Review
Nuancing ‘Emotional’ Social Play: Does Play Behaviour Always Underlie a Positive Emotional State?
by Giada Cordoni and Ivan Norscia
Animals 2024, 14(19), 2769; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14192769 - 25 Sep 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1519
Abstract
This review focuses on social play, a complex behaviour that is often difficult to categorize. Although play has been typically associated with positive emotional states, a thorough examination of the literature indicates that it may relate to different emotional systems, from attachment to [...] Read more.
This review focuses on social play, a complex behaviour that is often difficult to categorize. Although play has been typically associated with positive emotional states, a thorough examination of the literature indicates that it may relate to different emotional systems, from attachment to conflict. Play oscillates between competition and cooperation, and includes a spectrum in between; thus, quantitatively identifying and demonstrating the emotional nature of play remains challenging. We considered examples from human and non-human animal studies and explored the emotional and neuro-hormonal systems involved in play. We assessed ethological data possibly indicating the emotional states underlying play, and we focused on the cooperative and competitive elements of play. We investigated the relationship between play and affiliative/aggressive behaviours, the communicative meaning of play signals (especially primate play faces), and the motor and possibly emotional contagion function of rapid motor mimicry during play. From all the literature on play, this review selects and combines studies in an innovative way to present the methods (e.g., play indices and social network analysis), tools (e.g., sequential analysis and facial coding software), and evidence indicative of the emotional states underlying play, which is much more complex than previously thought. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emotional Contagion in Animals)
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