Brian and Kate are both watching a movie as part of a psychology experiment. Brian is instructed to keep his facial expressions neutral, whereas Kate is told to mimic or "act out" the expressions displayed in the movie. When monitored for changes in emotional arousal, Kate showed greater responses corresponding to emotional scenes in the movie. What is the best explanation for this result?
A) Brian's neutral facial expressions led to a non-emotional attitude about the content of the show; which, in turn, negatively influenced his level of physiological arousal.
B) Brian felt more dissonance at not being able to respond to the movie, and suppressed his emotional arousal more than Kate.
C) Kate experienced a form of emotional contagion due to the fact that imitating others' expressions influences our own feelings.
D) Kate is more emotional than Brian, independent of facial expressions, because of gender differences in emotional expression.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Kate's greater response to emotional scenes in the movie is likely due to emotional contagion, in which mimicking or "acting out" the expressions displayed in the movie influenced and amplified her own feelings of emotional arousal. This effect is supported by research in social psychology.

Brian and Kate Are Both Watching a Movie as Part