The secret to how emotion drives sharing is that people not only tend to estimate the emotions they’ll feel after an experience, but they’ll also try to estimate the emotions others will feel. Before we share a joke we estimate whether the other person will like the joke, feel joy and laugh. If we expect the emotion from the other person will be positive, then we’ll share it. If we think the emotion the other person will feel will be negative, or ambivalent, then we likely won’t share it. When that person feels good we shared something that makes them feel good, that person feels grateful. When someone feels grateful it makes us feel good.
An estimation of how someone might react when sharing content is a powerful driver of decisions to share.
- "Going Viral", Brent Coker
