The Information in Emotion Communication

Abstract: How much information is transmitted when animals use emotions to communicate? It is clear that emotions are used as communication systems in humans and other species. The quantitative theory of emotion information presented here is based on Shannon's mathematical theory of information in communication systems. The theory explains myriad aspects of emotion communication and offers dozens of new directions for research. It is superior to the "contagion" theory of emotion spreading, which is currently dominant. One important application of the information theory of emotion communication is that it permits the development of emotion security systems for social networks to guard against the widespread emotion manipulation we see online today.