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Emojis influence emotional communication, social attributions, and information processing

Published: 01 June 2021 Publication History

Abstract

Many emojis symbolize nonverbal cues that are used during face-to-face communication. Despite their popularity, few studies have examined how emojis influence digital interactions. The present study addresses this gap by measuring the impact of emojis on emotion interpretation, social attributions, and information processing. Participants read messages that are typical of social exchanges in instant text messaging (IM) accompanied by emojis that mimic negative, positive and neutral facial expressions. Sentence valence and emoji valence were paired in a fully crossed design such that verbal and nonverbal messages were either congruent or incongruent. Perceived emotional state of the sender, perceived warmth, and patterns of eye movements that reflect information processing were measured. A negativity effect was observed whereby the sender's mood was perceived as negative when a negative emoji and/or a negative sentence were presented. Moreover, the presence of a negative emoji intensified the perceived negativity of negative sentences. Adding a positive emoji to a message increased the perceived warmth of the sender. Finally, processing speed and understanding of verbal messages was enhanced by the presence of congruent emojis. Our results therefore support the use of emojis, and in particular positive emojis, to improve communication, express feelings, and make a positive impression during socially-driven digital interactions.

Highlights

Emojis convey information about the sender's affect.
Senders that use positive emojis are perceived as being warmer.
Congruent emojis enhance comprehension of text messages.
Users should favor positive emojis in their digital communications.

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      cover image Computers in Human Behavior
      Computers in Human Behavior  Volume 119, Issue C
      Jun 2021
      290 pages

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      Elsevier Science Publishers B. V.

      Netherlands

      Publication History

      Published: 01 June 2021

      Author Tags

      1. Emojis
      2. Emotions
      3. First impressions
      4. Information processing
      5. Nonverbal
      6. Digital communication

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