顔文字の表示形態および中途での改行がメールの印象評定および受信者の感情に与える影響

抄録

To examine whether emoticons are a proposition, as in language, or an image, such as a facial expression, 134 University students responded to a questionnaire to the effect of the typeface of an emoticon (two-byte Mincho vs. one-byte Gothic) and a line feed in an emoticon on the impact of the e-mail and receiver's emotion. The intensity of emotion when each script was read (sad, anxious, anger), and the intensity of their emotion after receiving messages with emoticons from a familiar friend was examined. Results suggested that the emoticon in two-byte Mincho typeface was related to a reported reduction of anxiety, as compared to one-byte Gothic typeface or a line feed in an emoticon, although the typeface of the emoticon or a line feed in the emoticon has no effect on the message relayed in the e-mail. Thus suggests that an emoticon is (1) neither an image but simply a proposition at the impact level, while at the same time (2) nor simply a proposition but instead an image at the emotion level.