Keywords
Emoticons, communication, lmx, positive affective presence, professionalism, positivity, affect
Abstract
Emoticons have been shown to be the nonverbal cues of computer-mediated communication and could therefore be a rich source of information, but they are not used in the workplace because they are considered unprofessional. This study aimed to look at the effects of emoticons on relationships, specifically between a leader and member. Participants were asked to read a fake email from a fake boss and answer several questions in regard to leader-member exchange, affective presence, perceived message positivity, perceived masculinity/femininity of the fake boss, and perceived professionalism. This study found that the use of a positive emoticon in an email message increased leader-member exchange, mediated by positive affective presence (though the use of the emoticon and positive affective presence were not linked). This study also found that when participants received a message with an emoticon, they found the sender to be both more feminine and less professional.
Notes
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Graduation Date
2013
Semester
Fall
Advisor
Bowers, Clint
Degree
Master of Science (M.S.)
College
College of Sciences
Department
Psychology
Degree Program
Industrial Organizational Psychology
Format
application/pdf
Identifier
CFE0005028
URL
http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0005028
Language
English
Release Date
December 2013
Length of Campus-only Access
None
Access Status
Masters Thesis (Open Access)
Subjects
Dissertations, Academic -- Sciences, Sciences -- Dissertations, Academic
STARS Citation
Loglia, Jennifer, "How Emoticons Affect Leader-member Exchange" (2013). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2765.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd/2765