Sarcasm in Written Communication: Emoticons are Efficient Markers of Intention

We present 2 studies that investigate the use of emoticons in clarifying message intent. We examine sarcasm in particular, which can be especially hard to interpret correctly in written communication. In both studies, participants were required to make the intentions of their messages clear. In the first, they clarified the meaning of existing sentences without altering the wording; in the second, they produced their own sentences. Results provided clear evidence that tongue and wink emoticons are the principal indicators of sarcastic intent, and that ellipsis is associated more with criticism, rather than with sarcasm. These findings highlight the significant role emoticons play in clarifying message intention, compensating for the absence of nonverbal cues in written communication.     

A longitudinal study of emoticon use in text messaging from smartphones

Our goal in the present study was to understand how emoticons are used in text messaging and, in particular, how genders differed in the frequency and variety of emoticons used via this medium. Previous research has found small and sundry differences in emotive expression online suggesting that technology has closed the gender gap. However, the data collected in these studies were public. In this study, we collected real portions of private communications data from individuals’ smartphones over a 6-month period. SMS messages, in general, were not used very much overall, with only 4% of all messages containing at least one emoticon. Still, differences between genders manifested in the amount and variety of emoticons used. Females sent more messages with emoticons; however, surprisingly, males used a more diverse range of emoticons.     

An exploration of psychological factors on emoticon usage and implications for judgement accuracy

Given the increasing use of online platforms, the current research comprised two studies examining links between personality and emoticon use: Study 1 explored the psychological factors associated with emoticon usage on different online platforms (N = 92), and Study 2 assessed the accuracy of a group of observers' personality judgements of Facebook users (N = 54). Participants in Study 1 comprised previously unacquainted dyads who each completed measures on their Big-5 personality, self-esteem, social anxiety, self-presentation, and self-reported usage of emoticons on email, text messages and Facebook. Participants provided Facebook data and interacted online with each other for 10-min. Trait analysis revealed that agreeableness was positively related to self-reported emoticon usage on Facebook, but not in texts or emails. In Study 2, observers viewed the Facebook stimuli and made personality assessments of the dyad members. Judgement accuracy was determined by correlating these assessments with targets' own self-reported personality. Analyses revealed the highest level of accuracy for extraversion and openness. Finally, positive correlations were found between objective usage of “happy” emoticons and observers' assessments of targets’ agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness. Taken together, findings indicate the importance of specific online behaviours in self-presentation, and their impact on judgement accuracy.     

ERP correlates of masked affective priming with emoticons

Emoticons seem to enrich computer-mediated communication by improving enjoyment, perceived richness and usefulness of information (Huang, Yen, & Zhang, 2008). Despite their extensive use over the last decades, the way emoticons affect subsequent emotional/cognitive processing is not fully understood. Here we conducted a masked priming experiment that explored the time course of the masked affective priming effect while recording event-related potentials. Type of prime (emoticon vs. word) and prime valence (positive vs. negative) were manipulated to assess their influence in the processing of positive/negative target words. Results showed a masked affective priming effect in early (N2) and late temporal windows (LPC). This effect was observed in early components for negative target words and in later components for positive target words. Furthermore, it was restricted to those targets preceded by emoticon primes. Thus, the processing of emoticons seems to be privileged when compared with the words to which they refer.     

“Turn that frown upside-down”: A contextual account of emoticon usage on different virtual platforms

Evidence highlights the prevalent usage of emoticons within digital forms of textual communication and the impact on the recipient. However, little evidence demonstrates the interpersonal functions for the user and whether this varies as a product of virtual platform. This formed the basis for the current study in which participants (N = 92) provided open-ended accounts of their reasons for using emoticons across three virtual platforms (email, text message, and social networking site), and their general emoticon usage across these. Responses revealed a number of themes on reasons for emoticon usage. The first was; “aiding personal expression”, with sub-themes of; “establishing emotional tone”; and “to lighten the mood”. Other themes were “reducing ambiguity of discourse” and “appropriateness of context”. Overall, there was consistency across platforms, on both the personal and interpersonal functions which emoticons served. However, some disparity was identified as email platforms were deemed inappropriate for emoticon use, regardless of the fact that emoticons were recognised as important emotional aids for communication. Taken together these findings highlight the importance of emoticon usage for the user, through a contextual lens to recognise the influential factors upon these behaviours and the implications this has for digital text-based communication. In this regard, this contributes further conceptualisation of one aspect of hyperpersonal communication within virtual interactions, and how different platforms may permit these self-presentational efforts to a greater or lesser extent.     

The role of emotion in computer-mediated communication: A review

It has been argued that the communication of emotions is more difficult in computer-mediated communication (CMC) than in face-to-face (F2F) communication. The aim of this paper is to review the empirical evidence in order to gain insight in whether emotions are communicated differently in these different modes of communication. We review two types of studies: (1) studies that explicitly examine discrete emotions and emotion expressions, and (2) studies that examine emotions more implicitly, namely as self-disclosure or emotional styles. Our conclusion is that there is no indication that CMC is a less emotional or less personally involving medium than F2F. On the contrary, emotional communication online and offline is surprisingly similar, and if differences are found they show more frequent and explicit emotion communication in CMC than in F2F.     

The effect of emoticons in simplex and complex task-oriented communication: An empirical study of instant messaging

Many studies have shed light on general computer-mediated communication, instant messaging (IM), and emotion or emoticons, but little is known specifically about the impacts of emoticons in task-oriented IM communication in the workplace. Therefore, the current study addresses this issue by conducting an exploratory experiment to (1) categorize workplace IM messages into coherent groups, (2) identify the most commonly used emoticons (emblems) for expressing positive, negative, and neutral emotions in the case company, (3) test the differences in the emotional effects of the received text messages with and without emoticons on the reader/s, and (4) examine the intention to use emoticons in IM in the workplace. The results showed that (1) negative emoticons could cause a negative effect in both simplex and complex task-oriented communication, (2) positive emoticons only created a positive effect in complex communication and for female employees in simplex communication, and (3) there is no significant difference between task-oriented messages with or without neutral emoticon. Furthermore, the intention of using emoticons was not statistically significant in terms of gender, but it has a higher tendency on female employees. The corresponding suggestions provided by this research may help increase our understanding on the effect of emoticon use in IM in the workplace.     

Emoticons and social interaction on the Internet: the importance of social context

The present study examines the influence of social context on the use of emoticons in Internet communication. Secondary school students (N = 158) responded to short internet chats. Social context (task-oriented vs. socio-emotional) and valence of the context (positive vs. negative) were manipulated in these chats. Participants were permitted to respond with text, emoticon or a combination of both. Results showed that participants used more emoticons in socio-emotional than in task-oriented social contexts. Furthermore, students used more positive emoticons in positive contexts and more negative emoticons in negative contexts. An interaction was found between valence and kind of context; in negative, task-oriented contexts subjects used the least emoticons. Results are related to research about the expression of emotions in face-to-face interaction.