Emotions in the spotlight Interpersonal consequences of social media influencers' emotional expressions

Social media platforms have become prominent arenas for sharing personal experiences and emotional expressions. Within these digital spaces, social media influencers occupy a distinctive position. They differ from ordinary users due to their large followings, domain-specific expertise, and ability to monetize their online presence through brand-sponsored promotions. Despite the central role of emotion in human communication, however, the social consequences of influencers’ emotional expressions remain relatively underexplored.
The present dissertation offers a systematic and theory-driven investigation into the interpersonal effects of influencers’ emotional expressions. Reflecting the multifaceted career trajectories of influencers—as entertainers, brand promoters, and opinion leaders—this dissertation comprises three empirical chapters that investigate the interpersonal consequences of influencers’ emotional expressions in three key domains: popularity (Chapter 2), promotional effectiveness (Chapter 3), and viewers’ attitude certainty regarding societal topics (Chapter 4). This investigation draws extensively on the social psychology toolbox, integrating correlational analyses involving individuals’ responses to actual influencers, well-controlled experiments with standardized manipulations, and quasi-experimental designs involving real-world interactions.
By integrating diverse approaches across ecologically valid contexts, we demonstrate that influencers’ emotional expressions meaningfully shape their popularity and that emotional similarity with audiences enhances audiences’ attitude certainty regarding societal issues. In contrast, promotional effectiveness appears relatively unaffected by the distinction between happy and neutral expressions. Overall, the interpersonal effects of influencers’ emotional expressions cannot be captured by simple prescriptions such as “smile more.” Instead, their impact is context-dependent, shaped by the dynamic interplay among perceived appropriateness, authenticity, and emotional similarity between influencers and their audiences.