Emotional Communication

Emotional communication refers to the process of using messages to exchange information about and to influence each other's emotional states. Messages may be direct verbal and nonverbal expressions of emotion (e.g., smiling and saying, “I'm so happy!”), but more often, the messages are complex and subtle, and emotional states are more elusive (e.g., “He seemed kind of fidgety or [Page 489]worried later in the meeting”). Messages may function to share information (e.g., “I am feeling so sad!” while crying) or to influence the emotions of others, as with warnings (e.g., “Be afraid!”) or advertising (e.g., “Feel good about this product!”). In a sense, all communication is emotional, though by varying degrees.

Being aware of how other people feel and how they are intertwined emotionally is essential to interacting and relating with others effectively. People are more likely to offer support if they see another person in distress or to tread lightly if they know that another is in a bad mood. Mutual emotional attunement is one of the hallmarks of close relationships. In early life, healthy attachment depends on caregivers recognizing and responding to the emotional needs of infants; conversely, unhealthy patterns can develop when infants respond to their caregivers' depression. For older children and adults, intimacy means, at least in part, emotional sharing and concern for each other's emotional needs. This entry discusses a number of topics about emotional communication, including the ways in which emotion and conversation are intertwined, distinctions between emotional expression and emotional communication, the accuracy to which emotion is communicated, and emotional competence in a relational context.