Emotional Contagion Scale – ECS
Measures individual differences in susceptibility to catching others' emotions, specifically anger, love, depression/sadness, fear, and happiness.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Emotional Contagion Scale – ECS was developed by Robert W. Doherty (1997). It is designed to measure Emotional Contagion. The scale is intended for use with Adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 15 items organized into 5 factors/subscales: Sadness, Happiness, Anger, Love, Fear.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Sadness | 1,4,14 | 3 |
| Happiness | 2,3,11 | 3 |
| Anger | 5,7,10 | 3 |
| Love | 6,9,12 | 3 |
| Fear | 8,13,15 | 3 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Strongly Disagree to 5 = Strongly Agree).
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 15 to 75. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low susceptibility to emotional contagion: 15 – 34
- Moderate susceptibility to emotional contagion: 35 – 55
- High susceptibility to emotional contagion: 56 – 75
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of 0.90.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 5 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.