Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40924738›Full record

ArticlePloS one2025

Validation of the German Emotional Contagion Scale and development of a mimicry brief version.

Tobias Janelt, Tobias Altmann, Danièle Anne Gubler, Marcus Roth

Abstract readValidation Study
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Tobias JaneltDepartment of Psychology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-3138-5818
Tobias AltmannDepartment of Psychology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-7294-7808
Danièle Anne GublerDepartment of Psychology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0003-4317-9939
Marcus RothDepartment of Psychology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The susceptibility to emotional contagion has been psychometrically addressed by the self-reported Emotional Contagion Scale. With the present research, we validated a German adaptation of this scale and developed a mimicry brief version by selecting only the four items explicitly addressing the overt subprocess of mimicry. Across three studies (N1 = 195, N2 = 442, N3 = 180), involving various external measures of empathy, general personality domains, emotion recognition, and other constructs, the total German Emotional Contagion Scale demonstrated sound convergent and discriminant validity. A bi-factor model provided acceptable fit, suggesting the factorial validity of the total scale, which is aimed to measure a general factor, representing the susceptibility to emotional contagion. Longitudinal analyses across four measurement occasions revealed high temporal stabilities for the total scale across periods of up to 1 year as well as longitudinal measurement invariance of the factor loadings and partial invariance of the intercepts and residuals. The correlation pattern of the mimicry short version was comparable to the total Emotional Contagion Scale's correlation pattern, the unidimensional factor structure was confirmed, and it also demonstrated high temporal stabilities and longitudinal invariance. The present research underscores the relevance of susceptibility to emotional contagion and mimicry as personality constructs and provides valid measurement tools for assessing them in future research and practical contexts (e.g., assessment in the clinical or work context).

Indexed as

EmotionsPsychometricsAdolescentAdultEmpathyFemaleGermanyHumansMaleMiddle AgedPersonalityReproducibility of ResultsSurveys and QuestionnairesYoung Adult

Identifiers

PMID40924738
PMCPMC12419621

What OpenQuestion holds

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.