Thermal Imaging of Facial Muscle Activation and Temperature Patterns During Emotional Contagion in Highly Emotionally Intelligent Individuals

Abstract

Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to perceive, understand, regulate, and express emotions effectively whereas emotional contagion is the unconscious process to automatically mimic and synchronize with others’ emotional expressions, leading to shared emotional experiences. Prior research has focused on behavioral aspects of these processes, but their physiological underpinnings, especially thermal facial responses remain underexplored. This study uses thermal imaging to investigate the relationship between emotional intelligence and emotional contagion, along with related facial thermal responses across movement-based facial muscle Regions of Interest (ROIs). Thirty-five healthy participants were initially recruited. However, data from 10 participants were excluded because of inconsistencies. As a result, data from 25 participants with high emotional intelligence were shortlisted for further data analysis. EI was assessed using the Brief Emotional Intelligence Scale, and emotional contagion was measured using the Emotional Contagion Scale. Participants were exposed to video stimuli aimed at inducing happiness and fear, while their facial thermal activity was recorded. Fifteen regions of interest (ROIs), selected based on facial muscle activation during emotional expression, were analysed for temperature changes.The study initially explored the relationship between emotional intelligence and emotional contagion. The study attempts to examine whether facial muscles associated with expressions of happiness and fear exhibit statistically significant differences within movement-based ROI activation. It aims to identify thermal changes linked to facial muscle activity during joy and fearful responses in individuals with high emotional intelligence. Additional¬ly, the research interprets temperature variations across selected ROIs to understand the physiological basis of emotional contagion. A Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to see the relationship between emotional intelligence and emotional contagion. A one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s HSD post hoc analysis was performed on both emotions to examine significant differences between the ROIs. Additionally, a paired-samples t-test was performed to identify significant differences in thermal activity between corresponding ROIs across the two emotions. Pearson correlation revealed a weak and statistically non-significant relationship between emotional intelligence and emotional contagion. One-way ANOVA and Tukey HSD tests showed significant within-emotion ROI differences. However, paired t-tests revealed no significant between-emotion differences. The findings highlight significant thermal variation among ROIs within each emotion, but not between corresponding ROIs across joy and fear. This research attempts to contribute towards the integration of EI theory with physiological evidence, offering implications for emotion-aware systems, mental health assessments, and social interaction research.