Collective emotion: an experimental framework

A bustling literature spanning philosophy, psychology and social sciences aims for a better understanding of the collective patterns of emotions stirring human society. To date, however, this endeavour is still in need of a unifying conceptual framework and empirical evidence regarding the characteristics, antecedents and consequences of collective emotion remains sparse. To foster progress in the field, we examine existing accounts and identify three characteristics of collective emotion: emotion alignment, feeling of social connectedness and mutual awareness. We then propose a typology of collective emotion that accounts for the dynamic interplay of social and cognitive processes. Crucially, this typology allows for integrating different accounts and research traditions into an experimental framework that generates testable predictions regarding the mechanisms and consequences of collective emotion. Finally, we review available empirical evidence in social and cognitive sciences and we discuss future directions for an evidence-based approach to collective emotion