Paper Info
Title
Same Same But Different!? The Differential Influence of Smilies and Emoticons on Person Perception.
Abstract
Emoticons (ASCII-based character strings) and smilies (pictograms) are widely used in computer-mediated communication as substitutes to compensate for the absence of nonverbal cues. Although their usage has been investigated in numerous studies, it remains open whether they provoke differential effects and whether they lead to person perception patterns similar to what is known from face-to-face interactions. Based on findings from research about person perception and nonverbal communication, we investigated the differential effects of smilies and emoticons with regard to recipients' mood, message evaluation, and person perception in an experimental online study (n = 127) with a 2(smiley/emoticon) by 2(positive/negative) between-subjects design (with an additional control condition). Results generally support earlier findings, indicating that the valence of the cue (smiley or emoticon) affects the corresponding impression formation. Further, findings concerning the differential influence of both forms of cues show that there are no differences with regard to message interpretation, whereas smiling smilies have a stronger impact on personal mood than smiling emoticons. The perception of a writer's commitment was only altered by smilies, suggesting that they elicit a stronger impact than emoticons.
Year
DOI
Venue
2012
10.1089/cyber.2011.0179
CYBERPSYCHOLOGY BEHAVIOR AND SOCIAL NETWORKING
DocType
Volume
Issue
Journal
15.0
4
ISSN
Citations 
PageRank 
2152-2715
8
0.58
References 
Authors
2
3
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Tina Ganster1263.14
Sabrina C Eimler217711.58
Nicole C. Krämer378872.94