Want to send the right message? Don’t punctuate your texts — period.
A new Binghamton University study of 126 undergrads reveals that texts
ending with a period were seen as less sincere than those that left the
full-stop punctuation mark off.
The research team led by Celia Klin, an associate professor of
psychology at the SUNY school, showed the subjects text messages
featuring an invitation to an event — such as “Dave gave me his extra
tickets. Wanna come?” — followed by a receiver’s one-word affirmative
response.
The responses without a period were seen as more sincere than those
that used punctuation because the additional character suggested less
spontaneity and enthusiasm.
“Texting is lacking many of the social cues used in actual face-to-face
conversations ... eye gaze, facial expressions, tone of voice, pauses,
and so on,” said Klin in her report, “Texting insincerely: The role of
the period in text messaging.”
“Thus, it makes sense that texters rely on what they have available to
them -- emoticons, deliberate misspellings that mimic speech sounds and,
according to our data, punctuation,” she adds.
The disparity between punctuated and unpunctuated text responses did not carry over to handwritten notes, the study said. And even though an exclamation point is a mark of punctuation, using a slammer in a text message shows sincerity.
“That’s not surprising, but it broadens our claim,” Klin writes.
“Punctuation is used and understood by texters to convey emotions and
other social and pragmatic information.”
And what better way to show genuine excitement than with an exclamation point?!
Nothing
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