The effects of emotional icons on remote communication

Krisela Rivera, Nancy J. Cooke. and JeffA. Bauhs New Mexico State Universi~ Department of Psychology Las Cruces, NM 88003 Tel: 1-505-646-1991 E-mail: krivera@crl.nmsu. edu ABSTRACT As technology advances, we are shifting from direct face-toface or voice to voice interactions to computer-mediated communication (CMC). As a result of this shift the nature of communication has changed; in particular the ability to convey emotion is less straight forward. Twenty three subjects participated in a simulated, remote-CMC, groupdecision making session. Twelve subjects had emoticons available, although use of these icons was optional. The remaining eleven did not have emoticons available. Dependent measures included user satisfaction, user frustration, conformity, length and focus of message, satisfaction with CMC system, and recall of communication events. The results indicated that subjects with emoticons used them and were more satisfied with the system than those subjects without emoticons. Thus it appears that users respond to emoticons and interpret them as intended.