Consumer responses toward symmetric versus asymmetric facial expression emojis

Facial expression emojis are commonly used in digital communications and marketing campaigns. However, it is less known how the design of emojis may affect consumer responses. To address this gap, this research examines the impact of emojis' facial asymmetry levels on consumer judgments. Findings across four studies demonstrate that compared with their symmetric counterparts, asymmetric facial expression emojis are more likely to receive favorable consumer evaluations. This effect is driven by perceptions of human expression resemblance and emotional expression strength and tends to be more prominent among consumers with a higher level of emotional sensitivity. Moreover, marketing messages including an asymmetric (vs. a symmetric) emoji are more likely to generate positive consumer responses.

Automated summary

Research shows that asymmetric facial expression emojis are more likely to receive favorable consumer evaluations, especially among consumers with higher emotional sensitivity. Using asymmetric emojis in marketing messages is also more likely to generate positive consumer responses.