Using shared knowledge to determine ironic intent; a conversational response paradigm

Datos Bibliográficos

ID20366267
AutoresMaria Zajączkowska (0000-0002-9328-2638, University of Kent), Kirsten Abbot-Smith (0000-0001-8623-0664, University of Kent, autor de correspondencia), Christina S Kim (0000-0003-0537-8347, University of Kent)
Año2020
Volumen47
Número6
Páginas1170-1188
Fecha de publicación2020-11-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Child Language (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0305-0009 • E-ISSN: 1469-7602
EditorialCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0305000920000045
PMID32336298
OpenAlexW3019804122
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas1
Referencias citadas39

Mentalising has long been suggested to play an important role in irony interpretation. We hypothesised that another important cognitive underpinning of irony interpretation is likely to be children's capacity for mental set switching – the ability to switch flexibly between different approaches to the same task. We experimentally manipulated mentalising and set switching to investigate their effects on the ability of 7-year-olds to determine if an utterance is intended ironically or literally. The component of mentalising examined was whether the speaker and listener shared requisite knowledge. We developed a paradigm in which children had to select how a listener might reply, depending on whether the listener shared knowledge needed to interpret the utterance as ironic. Our manipulation of requisite set switching found null results. However, we are the first to show experimentally that children as young as seven years use mentalising to determine whether an utterance is intended ironically or literally

Cognition · Cognitive psychology · Irony · Linguistics · Psycholinguistics · Theory of mind · Utterance · Child and Animal Learning Development · Computer Science · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition · Neuroscience · Psychology · Reading and Literacy Development