Abstract
Verbal irony is when words intend the opposite of their literal meaning. We investigated the emotional function of irony by asking whether irony intensifies or mitigates negative feelings. Experiment 1 used ratings to assess the mental state of a speaker using irony or literal language following a negative event in either a high-or a low-emotional context. We found that regardless of context emotionality, speakers using irony were perceived as being in a less negative and less aroused mental state than speakers using literal language. In Experiment 2, we examined the time course of this process with ERPs. Initially, literal statements elicited a larger N100 than irony, regardless of context emotionality, suggesting that irony mitigates negative feelings overall. Later on, irony elicited a larger LPC than literal statements in high emotion contexts, but not in low emotion contexts. This suggests that irony required more mental state processing or/and more speaker emotion processing than literal language in emotionally loaded situations.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 120-125 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology |
Volume | 75 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2021 |
Keywords
- Emotion
- Erp
- Figurative language
- Lpc
- N100
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Experimental and Cognitive Psychology