7 Weird Things that Turned out to be Contagious

photo: getty images

Psychological -  In all activities there must be effects that can lead to whether another will follow us or not, or the things we do can pass on to others. Without realizing it we do something that turns out to affect the people around us. So, launch of womansday.com, there are some strange things that turned out to be contagious to others, which're as follows:

1. Stress
Talk about sharing the load: Research from the March 2012 issue of Social Neuroscience found that merely seeing an anxious person can up your own cortisol, a stress hormone. In other research from Social Cognitive & Affective Neuroscience, people became more alert when exposed to the undetectable odor of sweat from a stressed-out person. These cues may prepare us for potential danger, says Lilianne R. Mujica-Parodi, PhD, associate professor of biomedical engineering at Stony Brook University School of Medicine in Stony Brook, New York.

2. Goals
Have you ever marveled at how a kid can't care less about toys till other tot reaches for it? There is a reason for that. In a 2012 study, participants rated an object as more desirable when they thought someone else's goal was to own it. Wanting what others have may help us learn "what's good for you without having to try everything yourself, which would be riskier and more time consuming," said Mathias Pessiglione, PhD, clinical psychologist and research team leader at the Brain and Spine Institute at Pitie-Salpatriere Hospital in Paris, France.

3. Loneliness
Sound counterintuitive, but you could catch feeling isolated, based on a recent study. "Loneliness makes people more negative, irritable and defensive," which can protect you if you are in an unsafe setting, said John T Cacioppo, PhD, Professor and director of the Center for Cognitive and Social Neuroscience at the University of Chicago in Illinois. Lonely folks are more likely to treat others badly; those people then do the same to others, and the cycle continues. Be aware of these effects, and when you are with trusted friends, rein in behavior that may alienate people.

4. Fear
You know how dread spread rapidly through a crowd for no apparent reason? Now researchers have a clue as to why it may occur. When participants in one study smelled the sweat of frightened person, they made fearful facial expressions and were more alert, suggesting that they caught the other person's fear. Researchers believe this response may help people survive by communicating info about looming threats.

5. Disgust
Pheromones, chemical signals people unknowingly release, can also communicate disgust, based on to the same study that examined fear. Participants were more likely to make repulsed expressions and sniff less often when they smelled disgusted people's sweat. Researchers say this response may minimize exposure to foul-smelling, potentially toxic chemicals in the air.

6. Joy
It turns out it is not even necessary to have direct contact with someone (or their pheromones!) for their feelings to rub off on you. A study published in 2013 with the Public Library of Science's publications, PLoS ONE, found that people can catch others people's happiness by watching someone else watching the joyful person. "Our emotions could rapidly and subtly be transmitted to another, even if it's unintentional," says Guillaume Dezacache, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of St. Andrews in Fife, Scotland. And they can make a big impact. For example, just one employee's cheerful attitude can spread cooperation and reduce conflict in the workplace.

7. Negative thought patterns
It's not only moods and emotions that can be transmitted but also ways of thinking, like the tendency to perceive situations as worse than they are. Recent research has found that new college students often adopt their roommate's thinking style, for better or worse. "Those assigned to a more positive roommate developed a more positive thinking style themselves," and likewise with the negative roommates, says study co-author Gerald Haeffel. PhD, associate Professor at the University of Notre Dame bear South Bend, IN. This may be due to modeling, inadvertently imitating someone's else's behavior. Keep in mind that your outlook can be swayed by the people you are close to, and since your mentality can affect them, too, take steps to shift it if you're the Debbie Downer in the group. May be useful.