Abstract
Collective gatherings foster group cohesion through providing occasion for emotional sharing among participants. However, prior studies have failed to disentangle two processes that are involved in emotional sharing: 1) focusing shared attention on the same emotion-eliciting event and 2) actively sharing one’s experiences and disclosing one’s feelings to others. To date, it has remained untested if shared attention influences group cohesion independent of active emotional sharing. Our experiment investigated the effect of shared versus individual attention on cohesion in groups of strangers. We predicted that differences in group cohesion as called forth by shared vs. individual attention are most pronounced when experiencing highly arousing negative affect, in that the act of experiencing intensely negative affect with others buffers negative affect’s otherwise detrimental effect on group cohesion. Two-hundred sixteen participants were assembled in groups of 3 to 4 people to either watch an emotion-eliciting film simultaneously on a common screen or to watch the same emotion-eliciting film clip on a laptop in front of each group member using earphones. The film clips were chosen to elicit either highly arousing negative affect or one of three other affective states representing the other poles in Russel’s Circumplex model of affect. We examined self-reported affective and cognitive group cohesion and a behavioral measure of group cohesion. Results support our buffer-hypothesis, in that experiencing intense negative affect in unison leads to higher levels of group cohesion than experiencing this affect individually despite the group setting. The present study demonstrates that shared attention to intense negative emotional stimuli affects group cohesion independently of active emotional sharing.
Highlights
During collective gatherings, ceremonies or political demonstrations group emotions abound
Analyses were based on 198 participants due to the exclusion of 18 participants: Four were excluded because their group consisted of only two participants due to no-shows, nine were excluded because they reported to know at least one of the other participants in their group, and five were excluded because they guessed the hypothesis of the study
To ensure that the potential effects of the manipulation were not due to prior mood differences, we tested if the participants in the eight conditions differed in prefilm mood
Summary
Ceremonies or political demonstrations group emotions abound. Researchers who have investigated the bonding effect of interpersonal synchronization noted that the effects of different forms of synchronization (e.g., behavioral, perceptual, emotional) have remained understudied [2]. Building on the seminal work of Durkheim [7], a recent study revealed that perceived emotional synchrony with others mediates the strengthening of social bonds in collective gatherings [8]. Gaining a better understanding of the social effects of group emotions, and above all of negative emotions, is crucial for effectively coping in times of crisis. It is worth investigating if experiencing negative emotions individually compared to sharing the negative experience with the group makes a difference for social bonding. An example is the practical and sometimes managerial question of how to communicate bad news in groups
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