Researchers examine the 'Dark Side of the Smiley'
Want to make a good impression? Leave that emoji out of your email.
That’s the conclusion of “The Dark Side of the Smiley,” research published by Israeli and Dutch researchers in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.
While senders may think that tacking on a smiley face might make them seem friendly, they actually make the person look incompetent, the researchers found.
“Our findings provide first-time evidence that, contrary to actual smiles, smileys do not increase perception of warmth and actually decrease perceptions of competence,” the authors stated. “Perceptions of low competence in turn undermined information sharing.”
The research was conducted by Ella Glikson at the University of the Negev in Israel, Arik Cheshin at the University of Haifa in Israel and Gerben A. van Kleef of the University of Amsterdam.
