Abstract
This study investigated how messaging app Line’s character sticker use may contribute to the perception of intimate experience and enhance relationship satisfaction in both positive and negative emotion situations. A 2 (situation valence: positive emotion and negative emotion) × 3 (response style: text, sticker, and text and sticker) × 3 (scenario: career, romance, and education) mixed design, with situation valence and response style between-subjects variables and scenario a within-subjects variable, was employed. The results revealed the combination of a text and sticker response to a partner’s disclosure can produce the highest level of intimate experience, followed by text- and sticker-only responses. It further suggests that the cartoon-like Line sticker may better convey positive than negative emotions because the detailed illustration is more similar to real-life nonverbal behavior expressing humor and happiness and that may facilitate imagined closeness between communication partners when moving through space. The hyperpersonal affordance of text-based messages to foster relationship may be further distinguished between the cognitive and the affective levels in the messaging app context.
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