Emoticons convey emotions without cognition of faces: an fMRI study

In this paper, we describe the brain activities that are associated with emoticons by using functional MRI (fMRI). In communication over a computer network, we use faces such as computer graphics (CG) avatars and emoticons. These faces convey users' emotions and enrich their communications. In particular, when we see tract faces, we feel that they are more vivid and lively than photorealistic faces. However, the manner in which these faces influence the mental process is as yet unknown. In this research, we conducted an experiment fMRI for the most abstract facesemoticons. The experimental results show that emoticons convey emotions without the cognition of faces. This result is very important in order to promote an understanding of ract faces affect our behaviors. Keywords Functional MRI, facial expression, brain activity, emoticon, face mark, nonverbal communication, life-like character, personified agent ACM Classification Keywords

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2006
• Where: CHI
• Authors: Masahide Yuasa, Keiichi Saito, Naoki Mukawa
• Keywords: CHI 2006, Emoticons Convey Emotions, Faces Convey Users, Human Computer Interaction, Photorealistic Faces