Emotional Contagion: How Stress in One Person Affects the Mood and Behaviour of Others

Emotional contagion refers to the process through which people's emotions may be influenced by the emotional states and expressions of others. This study examined self-reported responses to stress in other people and explored their association with perceived stress. A quantitative, cross-sectional online questionnaire was completed between October 25 and 27, 2026. Of 33 submissions, 32 participants consented and were included in the emotional-response analysis; 31 had sufficient responses for the preliminary perceived-stress analysis. The questionnaire included 15 researcher-developed statements about responses to others' stress and 10 perceived-stress questions resembling the Perceived Stress Scale?10 (PSS-10). Descriptive results showed that 90.6% of participants agreed or strongly agreed that they could sense stress in people around them, while 75.0% reported that stress in family, workplace, or educational settings affected their emotional well-being. An exploratory Spearman correlation indicated a positive association between the emotional-response composite and perceived-stress scores (rs = .526, p = .002, n = 31). This association must be interpreted cautiously because the emotional-response questionnaire was not validated and the exact perceived-stress instrument requires confirmation. Findings provide preliminary descriptive insight but do not establish causation.