Are Emojis Worth a Thousand Words? An Iconic Tool for Emotion Assessment

Abstract

Assessments of emotional states are plagued with challenges in both the quantitative and qualitative realms. There is a lack of a definitive guide to making objective assessments based on physiological responses and qualitative methods lean heavily on subjective interpretation using self-assessments, both of which are hampered by individual differences. Self-assessment tools have largely used words or phrases to describe feelings however, iconic or visual tools are also gaining popularity. A significant number of such tools are based on the dimensional models of emotion and may not always suit the needs of studies on the role of emotions on cognitive abilities such as decision making. The tool described in this paper is developed based on two key requirements: 1) use in studying emotion and decision making, and 2) can easily be integrated into a context with a demanding primary task, such as driving, to be used concurrently with the task. A survey was conducted to identify emojis that are most commonly associated with basic emotions. Emojis were weighted and ranked for inclusion in the tool. The tool developed is called the Iconic Communication of Emotions (ICE).