Examining the emotional impact of sarcasm using a virtual environment
This study aimed to investigate the emotional impact of sarcasm. Previous research in this area has mainly required participants to answer questions based on written materials, and results have been mixed. With the aim of instead examining the emotional impact of sarcasm when used in a more conversa...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis
2018
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/51455/ |
| _version_ | 1848798501294571520 |
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| author | Pickering, Bethany Thompson, Dominic Filik, Ruth |
| author_facet | Pickering, Bethany Thompson, Dominic Filik, Ruth |
| author_sort | Pickering, Bethany |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | This study aimed to investigate the emotional impact of sarcasm. Previous research in this area has mainly required participants to answer questions based on written materials, and results have been mixed. With the aim of instead examining the emotional impact of sarcasm when used in a more conversational setting, the current study utilised animated video clips as stimuli. In each clip, one individual answered general knowledge questions while the other provided feedback that could be delivered either literally or sarcastically, and either complimented or criticised the question answerer’s performance. Participants rated the feedback based on (1) the anticipated emotional impact on the recipient, (2) how the speaker intended the recipient to feel, and (3) whether the speaker intended to be humorous. Results overall supported the Tinge Hypothesis (Dews & Winner, 1995), showing that sarcastic criticism was rated as less negative than literal criticism, and sarcastic compliments (also termed “ironic praise”) were rated as less positive than literal compliments, when judged from both the perspective of the recipient and of the speaker. The speaker was also perceived to be intending to be more humorous when sarcastic feedback was given. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:20:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-51455 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:20:46Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-514552019-04-30T04:30:11Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/51455/ Examining the emotional impact of sarcasm using a virtual environment Pickering, Bethany Thompson, Dominic Filik, Ruth This study aimed to investigate the emotional impact of sarcasm. Previous research in this area has mainly required participants to answer questions based on written materials, and results have been mixed. With the aim of instead examining the emotional impact of sarcasm when used in a more conversational setting, the current study utilised animated video clips as stimuli. In each clip, one individual answered general knowledge questions while the other provided feedback that could be delivered either literally or sarcastically, and either complimented or criticised the question answerer’s performance. Participants rated the feedback based on (1) the anticipated emotional impact on the recipient, (2) how the speaker intended the recipient to feel, and (3) whether the speaker intended to be humorous. Results overall supported the Tinge Hypothesis (Dews & Winner, 1995), showing that sarcastic criticism was rated as less negative than literal criticism, and sarcastic compliments (also termed “ironic praise”) were rated as less positive than literal compliments, when judged from both the perspective of the recipient and of the speaker. The speaker was also perceived to be intending to be more humorous when sarcastic feedback was given. Taylor & Francis 2018-03-02 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/51455/1/Pickering%20et%20al.pdf Pickering, Bethany, Thompson, Dominic and Filik, Ruth (2018) Examining the emotional impact of sarcasm using a virtual environment. Metaphor and Symbol . ISSN 1092-6488 (In Press) |
| spellingShingle | Pickering, Bethany Thompson, Dominic Filik, Ruth Examining the emotional impact of sarcasm using a virtual environment |
| title | Examining the emotional impact of sarcasm using a virtual environment |
| title_full | Examining the emotional impact of sarcasm using a virtual environment |
| title_fullStr | Examining the emotional impact of sarcasm using a virtual environment |
| title_full_unstemmed | Examining the emotional impact of sarcasm using a virtual environment |
| title_short | Examining the emotional impact of sarcasm using a virtual environment |
| title_sort | examining the emotional impact of sarcasm using a virtual environment |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/51455/ |