imitationemotion
nounUK /ˌɪmɪˈteɪʃən ɪˈməʊʃən/
US /ˌɪmɪˈteɪʃən ɪˈmoʊʃən/
A feeling you copy from someone else instead of feeling it yourself.
When the baby saw her mother laughing, she showed imitationemotion and laughed too.
RELATED WORDS
OTHER MEANINGS
2. A pretend feeling that is shown to match other people rather than truly felt.
He smiled with imitationemotion, hiding that he was actually sad.
3. The way emotions spread from person to person in a group.
The crowd's excitement was pure imitationemotion, passing from one fan to the next.
4. A learned emotional response copied from watching others.
Children often pick up imitationemotion by watching how their parents react to news.