Perceptual Attributes of Human-Like Animal Stickers as Nonverbal Cues Encoding Social Expressions in Virtual Communication

Communicative expression is a cross-species phenomenon. We investigated the perceptual attributes of social expressions encoded in human-like animal stickers commonly used as nonverbal communicative tools on social media (e.g. WeChat). One hundred and twenty animal stickers which varied in 12 categories of social expressions (serving pragmatic or emotional functions), 5 animal kinds (cats, dogs, ducks, rabbits, pigs) and 2 presented forms (real animal vs. cartoon animal) were presented to social media users, who were asked to rate on the human likeness, the cuteness, the expressiveness and the matchness of each intended expression against the given label. The data shows that the kind of animal that is expected to best encode a certain expression is modulated by its presented forms. The “cuteness” stereotype towards a certain kind of animal is sometimes violated as a function of the presented forms. Moreover, user’s gender, interpersonal sensitivity and attitudes towards the ethic use of animals modulated various perceptual attributes. These findings highlight the factors underlying the decoding of social meanings in human-like animal stickers as nonverbal cues in virtual communication.