Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 15, 2025

Author Spotlight: Deciphering the Cognitive and Neural Mechanisms of Gesture in Communication
Published on: January 26, 2024
Emoji use validates the potential for meaning standardization among ideographic symbols
1Department of Psychology, The University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY, USA lfeldman@albany.edu.
Abstract:
Technological innovations for online communication reduce the impact of signal transience on meaning standardization while boosting access to reliable patterning across multiple linguistic and nonlinguistic contexts - both asynchronous and synchronous. We classify emojis as ideographic symbols, examine their interdependence with surrounding words when reading/writing, and argue that emoji use validates the potential for meaning standardization in ideographs.
Related Concept Videos
Chemical Symbols
Some symbols are derived from the common name of the element; others are abbreviations of the name in another language. Most symbols have one or two letters, but three-letter symbols have been used...
Elements: Chemical Symbols and Isotopes
Some symbols are derived from the common English name of the element; others are abbreviations of the name in another language — Latin, Greek or German. For example, the symbol for aluminum (common...
Sign Convention
The normal force acts perpendicular to the beam's cross-section and can...
Encoding
Automatic processing involves the encoding of details like time, space, frequency, and the meaning of words, usually done without conscious...
Emotional Expression
Universal Facial Expressions
Psychologist Paul Ekman identified seven basic...
International System of Units
Prefixes are used to define both larger and smaller quantities in the SI system. For example, milli, micro, and nano define smaller quantities, while kilo, mega, and giga are used to define...

