The use of periods in messages triggered negative emotions among recipients.

“Okay. — The killer of dialogue,” “Hello. Buddy,” “Darling, are you upset? — No.” The internet is filled with such memes. While some believe that periods at the end of sentences or individual words can indeed convey emotion, often with a negative impact on the recipient, others dismiss this notion, claiming that “there's nothing wrong with it.” Likely, those who dismiss it are the same ones who use the notorious periods. At least now, the doubts of the former group have been confirmed by psychologists.

This question puzzled researchers from Binghamton University (USA), who presented their findings in the journal Frontiers in Psychology. The scientists conducted a series of experiments. In the first, which took place online, 80 university students participated. They were asked to evaluate text messages where a period was added after each word. For example: “Yuck. get. an. exterminator.”

In the second experiment, 60 participants — students from the same university — also evaluated text blocks online, where each word was sent as a separate message: “No_Just_Go.” The messages were generated using an application. Participants received them in a messenger under the name of a specific user. Volunteers rated their emotions from the received messages on a seven-point scale, focusing only on negative expressions: disappointment, disgust, anger.

It turned out that users indeed rated messages with periods and individual words as more emotionally charged compared to regular messages. Interestingly, the word messages were rated as slightly more expressive than the ones with periods.

In the third experiment, involving 78 students, the same texts were delivered to them not as separate messages but in a single line, without punctuation. Readers did not perceive such messages as particularly emotional.

Psychologists suggested that since, in verbal conversations, people expect meaningful rather than random speech from their interlocutor, they transfer the same expectation to text messages. This makes sense, as it is more challenging to express and understand the emotions of the opponent in written communication. A period or a separate message is perceived by readers as a dramatic pause, mimicking expression.