The present study examined whether emoji use would be quantitatively and/or qualitatively altered in alexithymia. 646 individuals (Mean Age = 23.11, SD = 7.03; 424 Female) with varying levels of alexithymia took part in a series of vignettes where they were positioned as senders of hypothetical text messages. Participants were tasked to opt in or out of tagging an emoji onto positive and negative text messages. Emoji use frequency was diminished at the high end of the alexithymic continuum, relative to the middle and low spectrums. However, emoji for positive and negative text messages were used with similar patterns of frequency across alexithymic groups of varying severity, suggesting that emoji use is quantitatively but not qualitatively altered in alexithymia.

本研究检查了表情符号的使用是否会在运动障碍中得到定量和/或定性的改变。646名个体（平均年龄= 23.11，SD = 7.03； 424女性）参加了一系列的小插曲，他们被定位为假想短信的发件人。参与者的任务是选择启用或停用将表情符号标记在正面和负面的短信上。相对于中低频谱，表情符号连续体的高端表情符号的使用频率降低了。但是，表情符号的正面和负面信息在频率各不相同的失眠人群中使用的频率相似，这表明在失眠症中表情符号的使用在数量上没有定性改变。