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Scientists Prove Emoticons Are Not Universally Understood (qz.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Quartz: The most recent such study, published Oct. 24 in the Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, examined how emotions expressed in symbols and pictures are understood in three nations with varying degrees of internet connectivity and access: Japan, Cameroon, and Tanzania. Psychologists from the University of Tokyo tested subjects on how well they recognized emotions in emoticons and photographs. Participants across cultures could read emotion accurately in images of real people regardless of race -- but symbolic tech expression was not universally comprehensible. The study subjects were shown photographs of happy, neutral, and sad Caucasians, Asians, and Africans and told to describe the emotions expressed in the images. Generally, participants accurately assessed the feelings expressed across the board. The researchers noted one difference: African participants tended to confuse Asian neutral and sad faces, "perhaps due to lack of exposure to the out-group [Asian] faces," they suggest.
When it came to symbols, however, the scientists found clear cultural differences in emotion recognition. Subjects from all three countries were given a tablet, on which they were asked to scroll through a series of emoticons. They were shown emoticons in the Japanese style, with happiness, sadness, and neutrality expressed in the eyes; in a western style with emotion expressed in the mouth; and "smiley face" emoticons (pictured above). The Japanese subjects fluently read emotion in emoticons, whereas subjects from Cameroon and Tanzania found emoticons utterly mystifying at similar rates. This was true both for urban and rural dwellers in both African nations. The researchers believe this is due to the varying levels of internet exposure in the three countries.
When it came to symbols, however, the scientists found clear cultural differences in emotion recognition. Subjects from all three countries were given a tablet, on which they were asked to scroll through a series of emoticons. They were shown emoticons in the Japanese style, with happiness, sadness, and neutrality expressed in the eyes; in a western style with emotion expressed in the mouth; and "smiley face" emoticons (pictured above). The Japanese subjects fluently read emotion in emoticons, whereas subjects from Cameroon and Tanzania found emoticons utterly mystifying at similar rates. This was true both for urban and rural dwellers in both African nations. The researchers believe this is due to the varying levels of internet exposure in the three countries.
is the pile of smiling pudding. Yum!
Can I have my college tuition fees back now? I think I can put it to better use in my bathroom.
(.)(.)
Help! help!, the termites are eating my DRAM!!!
I mislabeled both. :-|
wide eyed (0_0) looks far from a deadpan face
And (T_T) looks more like a whoosh face than a crying rivers face.
wish i had thought of it
:)
Will $CURRENT_YEAR be the year of the Linux Desktop?
...for using the correct term, "emoticon", and not that stupid term "emo-jumanji" or whatever the kids are saying these days. /my lawn
You don't have to go to other countries to check these results. I have gotten the most confusing emoticons while texting with my girlfriend and when I have asked her what they mean it turns out they aren't even the same as what she is seeing. I'll ask 'what is this one with the frowny face winking at me and tears flying out to the sides?' and she'll say 'what?! That isn't what it looks like.' Being an Android guy dating an iPhone girl is downright confusing.
Liberals call everyone Nazis yet they are the closest thing to it.
Me: "Why did you send me a message that says, blob blob blob blob blob?"
I wonder if any historians may actually be concerned about this.
Thinking back to my college days, there is much of antiquity that is not well understood due to the inability to understand its written languages. The Rosetta Stone was an as incredible as it was rare. So much history is locked away in written language that will likely never be understood. (See this page for some examples.) A culture's language is its bridge to understanding the culture itself.
If emoticons are linguistically ambiguous, we run a risk that our culture will not be understood in the future, either.
a) The study subjects were shown photographs of [expressions the study designers? thought looked like] happy, neutral, and sad Caucasians, Asians, and Africans and told to describe the emotions expressed in the images.
b) Were the subjects of the photos genuinely experiencing the emotions which were [according to the study designers?] being portrayed and if not, does this measure the an ability to read a simulated emotion?
Requiem for the American Dream
No, they were more busy pondering what kind of crap we waste money on when there are people who have actual problems.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
You're right, dammit!
I propose a study to determine which studies are necessary.
Requiem for the American Dream
Economists everywhere cry a little inside.
Requiem for the American Dream
I don't know, I think usability research is important. Remember when Microsoft used to do it? Seems they must have stopped at some point, given that Windows 8 was ever conceived.
...heiroglyphs understood only by ancient Egyptians and modern Egyptologists. Well... like... dohhhh...
I'm not repeating myself
I'm an X window user; I'm an ex-Windows user
I don't understand why some people think there's something wrong with studying humanity and its components. Why can we study the behavior of other animals but not humans? There's so many unique and interesting aspects of human cultures out there, and how they interact with each other, that there's no end to what we might uncover and understand. That understanding has made possible advances in how we work, how we play, how we socialize, and what we respond to. It shapes our entertainment, our advertising, our work conditions, our housing and building designs, social media, etc. Just because it's not a hard science doesn't mean we don't feel benefits from discoveries in the field.
Words aren't "universally understood" either, not even amongst native speakers of a language. Heck, a large part of the English speaking population doesn't understand the meaning of "no".
Of course news about a fake are Fake News.
Use Lucifer's emoji message for your next study and see if _anybody_ who hasn't see this scene can understand what it means.
"Everybody's naked underneath" -- The Doctor
At least when the PHBs or uxtards decide to build something with an interface consisting entirely of emocrap you'll have something to point to.
They'll ignore it, of course, but there you go.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
I don't think it's just Microsoft. There's Gnome 3, and then there's this.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."