The effects of happy and sad emojis on liking of message sender in the context of positive and negative messages

• Main Authors: Lee, Si Hui, Ngaw, Lydia, Ng, Lay Ling, Peh, Jin Chang
• Other Authors: Sonny Ben Rosenthal
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: DRNTU::Humanities
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/69893
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The present study investigates the interaction between emojis and verbal messages in affecting liking of a message sender in computer-mediated communication (CMC). Through a pilot study and main study, we developed an emotion-based taxonomy of 68 emojis and then examined the effects of emoji and verbal message valence on liking of the message sender. A 2 (Positive/Negative Verbal Message) × 3 (Happy/Sad/Absent Emoji) pretest-posttest experiment was conducted among university students (N = 320) in Singapore, where participants rated a hypothetical message sender based on a simulated WhatsApp message. Overall, we find that aligned with prior research on emoticons, message senders who use emojis are more liked. In accordance with the verbal-nonverbal consistency principle, we also find a greater liking for message senders who have consistent emotional cues in their messages. In addition, interpretations of messages with inconsistent cues are discussed and possible avenues for future research are proposed.