Is Emotional Commitment Through Inner Imitation Stronger When Emojis are Emphasized Separately Rather Than Inserted in Sentences?

The decoding process of emojis is automatic. Therefore, complexity increases when emojis are combined with language that requires cognitive interpretation, which can negatively affect interactions through emojis. This study aimed to investigate whether the emotional commitment process induced by emojis varied depending on their application to sentences. Building on previous research regarding emotional commitment through emojis, this study used inner imitation, which refers to the act of imitating the expression or behavior of another person or object, as the independent variable. Emotional empathy served as the mediating variable, and emotional commitment was the dependent variable. The study hypothesized that the emotional commitment process would be moderated by the way emojis are applied to sentences. Specifically, it was expected that the way emojis are applied would affect the path directly reaching emotional commitment (inner imitation → emotional commitment) as the receiver is deeply immersed, rather than the mediating path. The results showed that the relationship between inner imitation and emotional commitment was stronger when emojis were presented separately, rather than when they were inserted into the sentence. This is because emphasizing emojis individually enhances the recipient’s immersion without inducing cognitive complexity, reinforcing inner imitation on a subconscious level.