Emoji-Dis: A dataset of emojis characterised in 13 discrete emotions

Abstract

Emojis are widely used in digital communication. A key function of these symbols is to convey affective meaning. In order to study emojis scientifically, it is necessary to have normative data characterising them on a number of relevant variables. So far, however, resources in this area are scarce. This article presents subjective norms for 112 emojis in 13 affective dimensions that refer to discrete emotions: anger, disgust, fear, sadness, anxiety, happiness, awe, contentment, amusement, excitement, serenity, relief, and pleasure. This data was collected from 763 Spanish speakers and validated using standard methods applied to existing affective datasets of emojis and words. This is the first normative emoji study to provide data on a large number of positive emotions. Given that most emojis are used to communicate positive emotions, these norms will be of particular value to researchers interested in these graphic icons from a variety of academic fields. The dataset has been made freely available.

Fig. 1

Histograms with the distribution of the ratings of the variables.

Fig. 2

Correlogram showing bivariate correlations between the variables. Positive correlations are shown in blue, with darker shades indicating stronger relationships, while negative correlations are shown in red. The “X” in the matrix indicates correlations where the p-value is greater than 0.05. All other correlations have p-values less than 0.05.