Introduction Translated into English from the Japanese form 絵文字, the term “emoji”1 means “picture characters” (Danesi, 2016). Typically, emoji are small, graphic depictions of facial expressions or other phenomena in text-based conversations (Cramer et al., 2016). Since Japanese designer, Shigetaka Kurita, introduced emoji in the 1990s (Negishi, 2014), they have had a vast impact on the world. Now with the celebration of World Emoji Day (Worldemojiday.com, 2014), emoji being selected as word of the Year (Oxford Dictionaries 2015), the release of an Emoji Movie (Sony Pictures, 2017), emoji-only books and restaurant menus (Flood, 2016; Bruner, 2016) and even emoji going so far to be used in court as evidence (Berels, 2017) - these “picture characters” …show more content…
Consequently, emoji have considerably altered the realm of text-based communication. Cramer et al. (2016) found that individuals perceive emoji as a better way to communicate emotion(s) versus text - as a form of nonverbal communication, emoji are useful for expressing nonverbal sentiments or signaling nonverbal cues. They also examined reasonings for using emoji which included wanting to provide additional context to or alter the meaning or tone of a text. Furthermore, research has supported that the use of emoji can impact social relationships (Kelly & Watts, 2015; Zhu 2015; Tigwell & Flata, 2016). Kelly and Watts (2015) conducted individual interviews among 20 participants about how they use technology to communicate with loved ones. Participants stated that using emoji allowed them to maintain a conversational connection, add playfulness and create a shared sense of uniqueness – elements that can offer emotional rewards among relationships. Tigwell and Flata (2016) found similar results when administering an online questionnaire about emoji usage among a sample size of 436 participants. Additionally, Zhu (2015) surveyed 1000 students and faculty from Iowa State University about emoji usage and found that close relationships and casual conversations were typically associated with …show more content…
Participants (N = 47) were undergraduate students from various sections of the 217 psychology course (PSYC 217) offered during the Winter 2017 term at the University of British Columbia located in Vancouver, Canada. Materials. Adobe Experience Design Beta and Microsoft Word were used to create the 5-question survey on a standard 8.5x 11” document. The appearance of the first page depended on the condition. For the control condition, the first page consisted of a screenshot of the message “hi” from the platform Facebook Messenger. We specifically used Facebook Messenger because it is one of the most-used messaging platforms (Shinal, 2017) and offers emoji that look very similar across various devices (Facebook, 2016) (Figure 2). For the experimental condition, the first page was the same as the control condition except the message included the “smiling face with smiling emoji” or “hi ”. We used the textual surrounding “hi” to avoid exogenous content because it is semantically neutral and does not convey any overly negative or positive affect, it is also a common phrase most individuals are familiar with. For both conditions, the second page consisted of five questions. The first question was a Likert Scale for rating emotional intensity of the text message previously seen on the first page. The Likert Scale ranged from (-5) Very Angry to (+5) Very Happy, notably, this scale was based on Miller et al.'s (2016) scale for emoji sentiment ratings with slight adjustments
Schacter, D. L., Gilbert, D. T., & Wegner, D. M. (2010). Psychology. (2nd ed., p. 600). New York: Worth Pub.
The World of Psychology. (2002). A Pearson Education Company. Boston, MA: Samuel Wood & Ellen Green Wood p. 593
When men send instant messages, their messages are blunt and short. This is contrary to Nathan Cobb’s “Gender Wars in Cyberspace!” which declares, “women who go online tend to send fewer messages per capita than do men and that their messages are shorter.” Female’s messages are longer and include more detail because they want to make sure the reader understands and feels what she is feeling. When it comes to showing emotions, men are “prone to firing off missives that are intended as insults or provocations” (Nathan Cobb’s “Gender Wars in Cyberspace!”). Especially on Facebook or Twitter, men can be seen typing abusive language and insulting random people in the comments if someone does not have the same views as they do. This results in an online argument that involves confrontation, high testosterone, and bickering, which appeals to men. However, men sometimes insult others jokingly. It is an absurd way of communicating, but it creates a closer bond among men. Women are not as rude as men are; in fact, they are soft spoken, gentle, and well mannered, usually commenting “cute”, “lovely”, or “beautiful”. The different characteristics in male and female conversation are profound in adults, but they are also noticeable in
Making an emoji the word of the year has devolved society by thousands of years. This includes adding images to the dictionary instead of actual words. Even with the emojis we have now, none of them show what women are capable of or the importance of women in today’s society. This can cause problems or controversy between the peoples of the world today.
While communicating with another human being, one only has to examine the other’s face in order to comprehend what is being said on a much deeper level. It is said that up to 55 percent of a message’s meaning can be derived from facial expression (Subramani, 2010). These facial manipulations allow thoughts to be expressed in ways that are often difficult to articulate verbally, with the face demonstrating “the thoughts of the mind, and the feelings of the heart” (Singla). Many expressions are said to universal, particularly those showing happiness, sadness, fear, anger, disgust, and...
Davis, S. F., & Palladino, J. J. (2003). Psychology. (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Waiten,W., (2007) Seventh Edition Psychology Themes and Variations. University of Nevada, Las Vegas: Thomson Wadsworth.
Corsini, Raymond J. (1994). Encyclopedia of Psychology. John Wiley and Sons, Inc: New York, New York.
The presence of nonverbal messages in our communication is very important. Following the text, researchers have estimated it is up to “65 percent of social meaning we convey in face-to-face interactions is a result of nonverbal behavior” (131). The movie “Mrs. Doubtfire” is a typical example about the interactions among characters, also with audience. Several scenes in this movie show us the effects of nonverbal messages in communication, especially through the character Daniel, who disguises himself as a middle-aged British nanny in order to be near his children.
Gall, S. B., Beins, B., & Feldman, A. (2001). The gale encyclopedia of psychology. (2nd ed., pp. 271-273). Detroit, MI: Gale Group.
Hewstone, M. Fincham, F. and Foster, J (2005). Psychology. Oxford: The British Psychological Society, and Blackwell Publishing. P3-23.
Boyd, D., Wood, E.G., Wood, S.E. (2014, 2011, 2008). Mastering the world of psychology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. 128-129, 329-330, 335-340. Print.
Edited by Raymond J. Corsini. Encyclopedia of Psychology, Second Edition, Volume 1. New York: John Wiley and Sons Inc.
Humans cannot survive physically or emotionally without the support of others (Adler & Proctor, 2011). From the day a person is born, the only way to communicate is nonverbally through facial expressions, and eye contact thus creating relationships with others. As humans grow, they progressively learn verbal skills to better express themselves. The technological advancements, and ease of accessibility to the Internet, Facebook, text messaging, and other social media devices, have become a critical part of life. However, with technological communication being relatively new, it would be important to analyze the positive and negative effects it could bring to children.
In recent years, technology has become the most used and preferred way of communicating, extending across many platforms. All of these programs, such as e-mail, instant messaging, social networking websites in conjunction with text messaging and the ability to access all of these entities on the go, have come into fruition based on the immense and widely found growth made in technological advancements that have occurred in our society. With this, a massive change has developed in regards to referencing how we as humans engage in communication. We have now shifted into a society that relies heavily on the existence of digital communication, whether it be through the means of a mobile device (text messaging) or the Internet (Facebook, Twitter,