Mad or mad-mad: conveying subtle emotion with face emoji.

Unlabelled: To compensate for the lack of pragmatic information available when communicating via text message, texters make frequent use of texting-specific cues, or , to convey meaning that would otherwise be apparent in spoken conversation. Here, we explore how one such cue, face emoji, can impact the interpretation of text messages.

Methods: In Experiment 1, we paired neutral text messages with valenced face emoji to determine whether the emoji can alter the meaning of the text.

Embodiment during reading: Simulating a story character's linguistic actions.

According to theories of embodied cognition, a critical element in language comprehension is the formation of sensorimotor simulations of the actions and events described in a text. Although much of the embodied cognition research has focused on simulations of motor actions, we ask whether readers form simulations of story characters' linguistic actions. For example, when a character is described as speaking, do readers form an auditory image of the character's words? Furthermore, if a character is described as reading, do readers form a visual image of the words on the page? In 4 experiments, a character was described as either reading or speaking, quickly or slowly.