preview

Sarcasm Study

Better Essays

Abstract: Sarcasm is the use of irony to mean the opposite of what is being said. Adults are able to identify sarcasm using two distinct cue; context and intonation (change in tone of an individual’s voice). However, are children able to identify these cues and used them to determine sarcasm? And at what age do children have the ability to distinguish sarcasm from everyday speech? Children 8-12 years of age were put through two experiments to determine whether they are able to use context and intonation to identify sarcasm. At the end of the experiment it was determined that the children relied on intonation to identify sarcasm and when intonation was not present they were unable to determine whether or not the character was being sarcastic. …show more content…

This article states that adults use two cues to allow themselves to recognize sarcasm. These cues are context as well as intonation (change in tone of an individual voice when speaking). In this study two experiments where conducted. The first consisted of 32 third graders ranging from the ages of 8 to 10, and 32 sixth graders ranging from the age of 10 to 12. The participants in this experiment were presented with eight stories, in which each story had four different versions based on combination of two alternative story bodies and two alternative endings. For example, one of the stories used states, “Dick and Wendy were playing catch with a football at recess. Wendy threw out a long pass, and Dick was running full speed for it, when he slipped in the mud. His feet flew out from under him and he landed flat on his bottom. The ball bounced off his head and landed next to him in the mud. “Oooh, nice catch,” said Wendy.” (Capelli,1990) Another story used consisted of the same story body but an alternative ending. The alternative ending was stated as follows, “Wendy threw out a long pass, and Dick went running for it. He jumped in the air and then had to fall over backwards to catch it. “Oooh, nice catch,” said Wendy.” …show more content…

Pexman in the article “How Do Typically Developing Children Grasp The Meaning Of Verbal Irony?” designed an experiment that allowed individuals to understand the age range in which children are able to distinguish and understand the concept of sarcasm. The experiment consisted of 70 participants (36 male, 34 female) ranging from the ages of 6-10 years. In this experiment twenty-four puppets, who were dressed to resemble children, were used as characters in a puppet show. Twelve puppet shows were presented each ending with either an ironic, literal, ironic compliment, or literal compliment. The puppet show went as follows: “This is Sam, and this is John. They play on the same soccer team. It is the last few minutes of a game. Outcome 1: John kicks the ball, scoring a goal. Sam says: “That was a great play!” (Literal compliment) or Sam says: “That was a terrible play!” (Ironic compliment) Outcome 2: John kicks the ball, missing a goal. Sam says: “That was a great play!” (Ironic criticism) or Sam says: “That was a terrible play!” (Literal criticism).” (Pexman, 2006) These shows were set up in a way where the main character did not participate in any of the actions (ex: playing soccer) but always complimented/criticized the characters who did. The narratives of the puppet show were also prerecorded in order to ensure that the criticism made were done in a mocking/insincere tone. After watching the plays the children were asked to rate the main character/speakers

Get Access