Are emojis processed visuo-spatially or verbally? Evidence for dual codes

Aug 23, 2026

Uploaded by Angel

While some argue that emojis are processed like words, others highlight important differences. This study applies a divided-attention technique to test whether emoji memory relies primarily on verbal or visuo-spatial representations. Participants encoded words or emojis under full attention, then recalled them under dual-task conditions involving concurrent 1-back processing to words, emojis, or nonlinguistic stars. Overall emoji memory exceeded word memory. Word recall declined significantly with dual-task verbal interference, whereas emoji recall showed smaller but reliable decreases across dual-task conditions. Findings indicate that word memory depends mainly on verbal reactivation, while emoji representation and retrieval engage both verbal and visuo-spatial processing.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time35 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Divided attention methodology

Encoding and recall conditions

Main findings and interpretation

Visual Cognition ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: [https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/pvis20](https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/pvis20) Are emojis processed visuo-spatially or verbally? Evidence for dual codes Lauren A. Homann, Brady R. T. Roberts, Sara Ahmed & Myra A. Fernandes To cite this article: Lauren A. Homann, Brady R. T. Roberts, Sara Ahmed & Myra A. Fernandes (2022): Are emojis processed visuo-spatially or verbally? Evidence for dual codes, Visual Cognition, DOI: 10. 1080/13506285 .2022.2050871 To link to this article: [https://doi.org/10.1080/13506285.2022.2050871](https://doi.org/10.1080/13506285.2022.2050871) Published online: 30 Mar 2022. | Submit your article to this journal | | --- | | View related articles | | View Crossmark data | Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at [https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=pvis20](https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=pvis20) Are emojis processed visuo-spatially or verbally? Evidence for dual codes Lauren A. Homann *, Brady R. T. Roberts *, Sara Ahmed and Myra A. Fernandes Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada ABSTRACT While some argue that emojis are processed like words, opponents note dissimilarities. We used a divided attention (DA) technique to examine whether memory for emojis, relative to words, engages primarily verbal or visuo-spatial cognitive representations. We compared the decline in memory output experienced when participants freely recalled a list of studied words or emojis under dual-task conditions with a concurrently performed distracting task. Participants encoded either words or emojis (between-subjects) under full attention (FA), and later recalled them under FA or while concurrently performing a 1-back task to words (DA Words), emojis (DA Emojis), or stars (DA Stars), manipulated within-subject. Emoji memory was higher overall compared to words. Word recall was unaﬀected by the DA Stars condition, but signiﬁcantly worse in the DA Words-and to a lesser degree DA Emojis-condition, relative to FA. Results suggest that memory for words relies primarily on reactivation of verbal representations, which is hampered when the distracting task also requires verbal, but not visuo-spatial, processing. In contrast, small but signiﬁcant declines in recall were observed for emojis across all DA conditions relative to FA. Results suggest that unlike words, representing and retrieving emojis engages both verbal and visuo-spatial processing. ARTICLE HISTORY Received 16 October 2021 Accepted 3 March 2022 KEYWORDS emoji; memory; dual-task; verbal; visuo-spatial Emojis are ideograms (i.e., graphic symbols) used in digital communication to represent both concrete and abstract concepts (Rodrigues et al., 2018) . In the absence of face-to-face interaction, online communicators often use emojis to disambiguate their expressions and convey semantic information (Riordan, 2017) . Some suggest that as our digital society evolves, emojis may be becoming languagelike (Bai et al., 2019), akin to adjectives or modiﬁers of words (Alshenqeeti, 2016). That is, emojis can transform plain texts into expressive and vivid messages, making text-based communication less ambiguous and more eﬃcient (Tauch & Kanjo, 2016) . As is the case with multi-word expressions, emojis also have semantic functionality independent of text; emojis that are often literal in interpretation can be combined to express more subtle semantics (López & Cap, 2017) . For instance, emojis representing a frog and a hot beverage are sometimes combined (i.e., ) and used as a postscript following a passive aggressive statement online, roughly translatable to “but that’s none of my business”, referencing the ﬁctional character Kermit the Frog pictured in a popular ad for tea (López & Cap, 2017) . Furthermore, 89% of emoji strings created to convey semantic information can be

FAQs

What question does the study address about emojis?

The study examines whether emojis are processed primarily through verbal representations or visuo-spatial representations, compared with words.

How did the researchers test these processing routes?

They used a divided-attention (dual-task) method, comparing recall decline when participants performed a concurrent 1-back task to words, emojis, or stars while recalling studied items.

What were the main results for word versus emoji memory?

Word recall was strongly disrupted when the distracting task required verbal processing (1-back to words) and less so for emojis. Emoji recall showed smaller but significant declines across all divided-attention conditions compared with full attention.

Aug 23, 2026

Uploaded by Angel