Exploring the Emotional Experience During Instant Messaging Among Young Adults: An Experimental Study Incorporating Physiological Correlates of Arousal

Abstract

Instant messaging (IM) is a highly diffused form of communication among younger populations, yet little is known about the emotional experience during IM. The present study aimed to investigate the emotional experience during IM by drawing on the Circumplex Model of Affect and measuring heart rate and electrodermal activity as indicators of arousal in addition to self-reported perceived emotional valence. Using an experimental design, we manipulated message latency (i.e., response after 1 min versus 7 min) and message valence (positive versus negative response). Based on data collected from 65 young adults (50% male; M _age = 23.28, SD = 3.75), we observed arousal as participants' electrodermal activity levels increased from the time a fictitious peer started typing a response to the receipt of that response, especially in the delayed condition. Electrodermal activity levels also increased in both the positive and the negative message conditions. No changes were observed for heart rate. Participants' self-report perceived emotional valence revealed that positive messages were evaluated as more pleasant and the peer as more available, while no difference in the self-report was found for message latency. These findings shed light on the emotional experience during IM by adding valuable insights on the physiological processes underlying the anticipation of social reward, but only during delayed IM exchange that can be observed in Human-Computer-Interaction.

Keywords: electrodermal activity; emotional arousal; experiment; heart rate; instant messaging; physiology; young adults.

FIGURE 1

Experimental study procedure. (A) Preparation, (B) pre-questionnaire, (C) instant messaging task with short follow-up assessment after each task, (D) post-questionnnaire.

FIGURE 2

Timeline of experimental task with measurement occasions for Baseline, Waiting time, Typing time, and Reaction time.

FIGURE 3

Repeated measures of heart rate (HR) in beats per minute (BPM) for Waiting time, Typing time, and Reaction time by message latency (delay = 7 min Waiting time; synch = 1 min Waiting time). The y-axis shows the mean peak value calculated as a deviation from the baseline measure (DFB) for the final 30 s of Waiting time, the first 30 s of Typing time, and the first 30 s of Reaction time.

FIGURE 4

Repeated measures of electrodermal activity (EDA) in microSiemens (μS) for Waiting time, Typing time, and Reaction time by message latency (delay = 7 min Waiting time; synch = 1 min Waiting time). The y-axis shows the mean peak value calculated as a deviation from the baseline measure (DFB) for the final 30 s of Waiting time, the first 30 s of Typing time, and the first 30 s of Reaction time.

FIGURE 5

Repeated measures of heart rate (HR) in beats per minute (BPM) for Waiting time, Typing time, and Reaction time by message valence (positive = positive answer from peer; negative = negative answer from peer). The y-axis shows the mean peak value calculated as a deviation from the baseline measure (DFB) for the final 30 s of Waiting time, the first 30 s of Typing time, and the first 30 s of Reaction time.

FIGURE 6

Repeated measures of electrodermal activity (EDA) in microSiemens (μS) for Waiting time, Typing time, and Reaction time by message valence (positive = positive answer from peer; negative = negative answer from peer). The y-axis shows the mean peak value calculated as a deviation from the baseline measure (DFB) for the final 30 s of Waiting time, the first 30 s of Typing time, and the first 30 s of Reaction time.