The Recognition of Emotions Conveyed by Emoticons and Emojis: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

The growing interest for emoticons and emojis has recently led to research examining their use and impact on various behaviors. As emoticons and emojis may lead to misinterpretations and misunderstandings between senders and recipients in online communication, it is necessary to examine whether emotions conveyed by these symbols are well recognized by individuals. In this perspective, a systematic review from 2001 to 2021 using the Preferred Reporting of Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) method was conducted to determine which emoticons and emojis can help individuals to recognize emotions, and how the recognition of emotions based on emoticons and emojis is studied. A total of 501 articles were screened from three major databases in psychology, and 23 articles met the predefined inclusion criteria. The results suggest that the recognition of emotions should be examined before using emoticons in larger studies. They also revealed that the recognition varied according to the methods used to assess the valence of emoticons or to attribute a specific emotion to them (self-report, free expression, or categorization). Finally, a summary Table of the emotions conveyed by emoticons and emojis is proposed in this review.