Abstract
This study examined the effect of emoticon use in a work setting. Three hundred and ninety three undergraduate students were asked to imagine that an e-mail was sent by a coworker and a supervisor and asked to rate the tone of the message. Participants received either a neutral or positive message that may or may not have included an emoticon. Results determined that there were no significant differences in perceptions of the tone for e-mail messages sent by a supervisor compared to messages sent by a coworker. A between-subjects ANOVA, however, found a significant interaction between the presence of an emoticon and the tone of the message, F(1, 389) = 48.89, p < .001, partial η2 = .11. Specifically, that when no emoticon was present, the message tone had a significant effect on perceived tone, F(1, 196) = 113.99, p < .001, partial η2 = .37.