Is an Emoji Worth a Thousand Words? The Effect of Emoji Usage on Nonprofessional Investors’ Perceptions

Author(s):  
Hilda E. Carrillo ◽  
Robin Pennington ◽  
Yibo (James) Zhang

Emojis act as non-verbal cues to disambiguate and communicate affect and are increasingly used in online corporate disclosures. Emotion work, a concept founded in social psychology, suggests that individuals adjust their behavior as emotions are evoked or suppressed. Despite the growing evidence that emojis may influence judgments and decisions due to their deliberate expression of context and affect, the accounting research community has yet to investigate emojis’ impact. We experimentally explore whether emojis can soften nonprofessional investors’ perceptions of bad news or enhance perceptions of good news. We find that emojis modestly suppress participants’ positive emotions on positive news, influencing their investment-related judgments and decision-making. Subsequent data collection fails to replicate the initial findings in a less experienced participant pool, suggesting that investing experience may play a role. Our study enhances our understanding of the unintended consequences of emojis and introduces a sociology-based principle into the accounting literature.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell Golman ◽  
George Loewenstein ◽  
Andras Molnar ◽  
Silvia Saccardo

Management scientists recognize that decision making depends on the information people have but lack a unified behavioral theory of the demand for (and avoidance of) information. Drawing on an existing theoretical framework in which utility depends on beliefs and the attention paid to them, we develop and test a theory of the demand for information encompassing instrumental considerations, curiosity, and desire to direct attention to beliefs one feels good about. We decompose an individual’s demand for information into the desire to refine beliefs, holding attention constant, and the desire to focus attention on anticipated beliefs, holding these beliefs constant. Because the utility of resolving uncertainty (i.e., refining beliefs) depends on the attention paid to it and more important or salient questions capture more attention, demand for information depends on the importance and salience of the question(s) it addresses. In addition, because getting new information focuses attention on one’s beliefs and people want to savor good news and ignore bad news, the desire to obtain or avoid information depends on the valence (i.e., goodness or badness) of anticipated beliefs. Five experiments (n = 2,361) test and find support for these hypotheses, looking at neutrally valenced as well as ego-relevant information. People are indeed more inclined to acquire information (a) when it feels more important, even if it cannot aid decision making (Experiments 1A and 2A); (b) when a question is more salient, manipulated through time lag (Experiments 1B and 2B); and (c) when anticipated beliefs have higher valence (Experiment 2C). This paper was accepted by Yan Chen, behavioral economics and decision analysis.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Taufan Hanafi

This study aims to find out the effect of belief-adjustment model and framing effect on non-professional investor’s investment decision making. The designs of experiment used in  this study are the presentation pattern of 2x2x2, disclosure pattern (step-by-step and end-of-sequence), disclosure evidence of information order (good news followed by bad news and  bad news followed by good news), and framing effect (framing condition according to the information and framing condition with the reversed information). The research hypotheses in this study are tested using parametric test. The dependent variable used in this study is investment decision making, while, the independent variables used in this study are belief-adjustment model and framing effect. The number of participants involved in this study is 80 undergraduate students of STIE Perbanas Surabaya majoring in Accounting or Management. The results indicate that there are significant differences in decision making and recency effect occurs between the investors who receive good news followed by bad news and the investors who receive bad news followed by good news in the step-by-step disclosure pattern with framing condition according to the information. The results of this study also show that primacy effect occurs between the investors who receive good news followed by bad news and the investors who receive bad news followed by good news in the step-by-step disclosure pattern with framing condition in reversed information.


2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 149
Author(s):  
Anita Anggraeni ◽  
Luciana Spica Almilia

<p><em>The purpose of this study is to examine is there any difference on investment decision making among participant that received good news information followed by bad news compared with participant that received bad news information followed by good news on the SbS and EoS information disclosure pattern, also long and short information series. The experiment design in this study is 2x2x2 mix design subject, which is the information disclosure pattern (step by Step and End of Sequence), information order (good news followed by bad news), and information series (long and short infomation series). The Independent Sample t-test used to examined the research hypothesis. The amount of participant involved on this study are 96 college students in STIE Perbanas Surabaya in Accountant and Management major. The result show that there were difference on investment decision making among participant that received good news information followed by bad news compared with participant that received bad news information followed by good news on the SbS information disclosure pattern and long information series and also occurs recency effect.</em></p><p align="center"><strong>Abstrak <br /></strong></p><p>Tujuan penelitian ini adalah menguji perbedaan keputusan investasi antara partisipan yang menerima informasi good news diikuti bad news dibandingkan dengan partisipan yang menerima informasi bad news diikuti good news, baik pada pola penyajian SbS maupun EoS dan seri informasi panjang dan pendek. Penelitian ini menggunakan metoda eksperimen 2x2x2 mix design, yaitu pola penyajian (step by step dan end of sequence) dan urutan informasi (good news diikuti bad news dan bad news diikuti good news) dan seri informasi (informasi panjang dan informasi pendek). Independent Sample t test digunakan untuk menguji hipotesis penelitian. Jumlah partisipan dalam penelitian ini adalah 96 mahasiswa Akuntansi dan Manajemen STIE Perbanas Surabaya. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa terdapat perbedaan dalam pengambilan keputusan investasi dan terjadi recency effect bagi partisipan yang menerima good news diikuti bad news dibandingkan dengan partisipan yang menerima informasi bad news diikuti bad news pada pola penyajian SbS dan seri informasi panjang.<em><br /></em></p>


2021 ◽  
pp. 014616722110378
Author(s):  
Kyla Rankin ◽  
Kate Sweeny

Waiting for important news is stressful. In four studies, we assess the utility of preemptive benefit finding, a coping strategy in which people seek silver linings in bad news before receiving news, for emotional well-being across several waiting periods (waiting for bar exam results, the outcome of political elections, and results of a fictitious health risk assessment). Our findings support the effectiveness of preemptive benefit finding while waiting, such that identifying benefits in bad news while waiting predicts more positive emotions during the wait (Studies 3 and 4) and buffers people against the emotional consequences of bad news by boosting post-news positive emotions (Studies 2–4). Importantly, engaging in preemptive benefit finding does not backfire if a person ultimately receives good news (Studies 1, 3, and 4). We discuss results from a mini meta-analysis and consider implications of our findings for interventions to improve well-being while waiting and after news arrives.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Farita Dewi Rofiyah ◽  
Luciana Spica Almilia

This study tested the model of belief adjustment in investment decision. This study aims to examine the difference in the final judgement given by investors using belief adjustment considering on the pattern of presentation (Step by Step and End of Sequence), order of information, series information and the level of overconfidence againts investment decision making. Design of Experiments in this study is that pattern of presentation 2x2x2x2 , Step by Step and End of Sequence, order of information (good news followed by bad news and bad news followed by good news), series information (long series dan short series) and the level of overconfidence. The research hypothesis of research in this study were tested by Independent Sample t-test. The result in this study showed the recency effect on the pattern of presentation of the Step by Step for information long series and short series. This is also reflected in the End of Sequence showed no effects occur on the order of a long series and recency effects occur in a short series.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 136
Author(s):  
Auravita Astania ◽  
Luciana Spica Almilia

This study attests the belief-adjustment model to examine whether there are differences in investment decision making between the participants who obtain good news fol-lowed by bad news and those who obtain bad news followed by good news on the in-formation pattern which is processed based on end-of-sequence and long series infor-mation. The experiment design in this study is the pattern of presentation 1x1x2 end-of-Sequence, a long series information and directions of evidence (good news followed by bad news and bad news followed by good news). The research hypotheses were tested using Mann Whitney test. The variables used in this research are investment decision, pattern of presentation in end-of-sequence, length of the series of information, and order of evidence. The participants involved in this research are 47 students (ba-chelor program) of STIE Perbanas Surabaya majoring in Accounting and Manage-ment who are taking or have taken courses of Financial Statement Analysis and/or Investment Management and Capital Markets. The results show that there is no sig-nificant difference in the judgment between the participants who obtain good news followed by bad news and those who obtain bad news followed by good news. In addi-tion, there is no order-effect occurring in investment decision making.


Author(s):  
Clara Xiaoling Chen ◽  
Ryan Hudgins ◽  
William F. Wright

We use an experiment to examine how advice valence (i.e. whether the advice suggests good news or bad news) affects the perceived source credibility of data analytics compared to human experts as a result of motivated reasoning. We predict that individuals will perceive data analytics as less credible than human experts, but only when the advice suggests bad news. Using a forecasting task in which individuals are seeking advice from either a human expert or data analytics, we find evidence consistent with our prediction. Furthermore, we find that this effect is mediated by the perceived competence of the advice source. We contribute to the nascent accounting literature on data analytics by providing evidence on a potential impediment to successfully transitioning to the use of analytics for decision-making in organizations.


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