Examining the impact of collaboration on emotional reactions and the formation of collaborative emotion

Abstract

The social nature and power of emotions influencing group decisions and memory retrieval have been well studied, but the social influence on an individual’s emotional perception and appraisal process is uncertain. The present study aims to examine the formation and impact of collaborative emotion: the pattern of emotions towards corresponding emotional stimuli constructed through interactions among a group of people. One hundred and one undergraduate students (M = 18.76 years of age, 72.3% of female students) were randomly assigned to either group or individual conditions. They were asked to individually view the 12 video clips for positive, negative, and neutral emotions and complete the Self-Assessment Manikin and Affect Self-report Scale after each video at four stages: (1) Timepoint 1 (Individual), (2) Timepoint 2 (Either group or individual), (3) Timepoint 3 (Individual), and after two weeks, (4) Timepoint 4 (individual). Significant results in paired t-tests and independent t-tests were found in the group condition, suggesting the participants modified and aligned their emotion ratings after group discussion among positive, negative, and neutral emotion-provoking video clips, proving that collaborative emotion was formed, and this affected the participant’s emotional processing on the emotional video clips. Future results should consider cultural factors and a wider range of emotions when selecting the video clips.