Let’s put a smile on that scale: Findings from three web survey experiments

Abstract

Graphical symbols such as smileys and other emoticons are prevalent in everyday life. Paralleling their increasing use in private text messaging and even in business communication, smileys and other emoticons also have been used more frequently in surveys. So far, only a few studies have tested the effects of smiley faces as rating scale labels on the response process in web surveys. This study compared smiley face scales with verbally labeled rating scales in three web survey experiments. We found no convincing evidence that using smiley face scales altered response behavior, with the exception that these scales increased response times, which indicates a higher response burden. Based on our findings, we would advise against using smiley face scales when the scales have not been sufficiently tested, and convincing reasons exist for using them.