Researchers at the University of Milan investigated how people interpret emotions shown in emoji versus those expressed through facial cues. Their findings were published in the journal Behavioral Science, revealing notable differences in how men and women perceive emotions across these two media. The study sought to understand whether digital symbols or real faces provide clearer emotional signals, especially when quick judgments are required.
The study recruited ninety six university volunteers who were asked to observe images of male and female faces displaying a range of expressions for a brief moment, capped at two seconds. After viewing each image, participants described the emotion they believed was being conveyed. The same procedure was then applied to a set of emoji representations, with the goal of comparing interpretation accuracy between human faces and digital icons.
The results indicated a gendered pattern in emotion interpretation. Men demonstrated higher accuracy when evaluating emotions from emoji compared to facial expressions, with particular improvement in recognizing negative states such as anger, sadness, and disgust. In contrast, women showed greater accuracy when judging emotions from facial expressions, suggesting a stronger sensitivity to real facial cues in this context.
Experts explained that the clearer signals provided by digital images may reduce ambiguity, making emoji easier to interpret correctly for some observers. They also noted that differences in emotional intelligence between sexes could influence how people identify others moods. Women often report higher levels of emotional attunement, a factor that could contribute to their performance with human faces, while emoji provide standardized cues that may align more closely with how some individuals process emotions automatically. These findings contribute to a broader discussion about how digital media shapes social perception and emotional communication in everyday interactions.