Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science / Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, Vol 57(4), Oct 2025, 255-265; doi:10.1037/cbs0000443
When we meet new people, we instinctively form a first impression of their characteristics, which can significantly impact interpersonal dynamics. The present study extends previous research examining face-to-face interactions by exploring impression formation in technology-mediated communication, where nonverbal cues are less abundant. Specifically, we examined the extent to which emotional interpretation of text messages influences attributions of dominance and warmth. Participants (N = 399) were shown text messages that conveyed a positive, negative, or neutral emotional signal. Some messages were accompanied by an emoji (happy, angry, or neutral), and others did not contain an emoji. Participants rated their perception of the message sender’s emotional state, as well as how warm or dominant they thought the sender was. Results suggest that emotional cues, even in the absence of face-to-face visual or auditory feedback, played a role in impression formation. These findings shed light on the mechanisms of social cognition in technology-mediated communication and suggest strategies for achieving interpersonal goals in environments where traditional nonverbal cues are limited. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)