1887
  1. Home
  2. e-Journals
  3. Pragmatics & Cognition
  4. Volume 33, Issue 1
  5. Article
Volume 33, Issue 1
  • ISSN 0929-0907
  • E-ISSN: 1569-9943
USD
Buy:$35.00 + Taxes

Abstract

Studies find that irony comprehension emerges around the ages of 6–7, aligning with second-order theory of mind (ToM) abilities. This study follows up on previous research suggesting that children younger than this age might be to some extent sensitive to irony uttered with a parodic tone of voice. Using picture selection and eye gaze measures, 4–7-year-old children were tested on a parodic irony comprehension task. We also investigated the proposed connection between second-order ToM abilities and parodic irony comprehension. Given that parodic irony has an affinity with pretense we also explored how pretend play skills influenced comprehension. Results corroborate existing evidence that children only reliably pass the irony task by age 6, and that second-order ToM abilities contribute to irony comprehension but only in 6–7-year-olds. Pretend play also positively correlates with comprehension scores, suggesting that this aspect of cognitive and social development might contribute positively to children’s irony understanding.

© 2026 John Benjamins Publishing Company
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/pc.24041.ive
2026-04-16
2026-05-11

  • From This Site

    /content/journals/10.1075/pc.24041.ive
    dcterms_title,dcterms_subject,pub_keyword
    -contentType:Journal -contentType:Contributor -contentType:Concept -contentType:Institution
    10
    5
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Ackerman, Brian P.
    1983 Form and function in children’s understanding of ironic utterances. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology35(3). 487–508. 10.1016/0022‑0965(83)90023‑1
     https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-0965(83)90023-1 [Google Scholar]
  2. Angeleri, Romina & Gabriella Airenti
    2014 The development of joke and irony understanding: A study with 3-to 6-year-old children. Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology/Revue canadienne de psychologie expérimentale68(2). 133–146. 10.1037/cep0000011
     https://doi.org/10.1037/cep0000011 [Google Scholar]
  3. Austin, Jennifer L.
    1979 Pretending. InJames Opie Urmson & Geoffrey James Warnock (eds.), Philosophical papers. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 10.1093/019283021X.003.0011
     https://doi.org/10.1093/019283021X.003.0011 [Google Scholar]
  4. Au-Yeung, Sheena K., Johanna K. Kaakinen, Simon P. Liversedge & Valerie Benson
    2015 Processing of written irony in autism spectrum disorder: An eye-movement study. Autism Research8(6). 749–760. 10.1002/aur.1490
     https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.1490 [Google Scholar]
  5. Banasik-Jemielniak, Natalia, Sandra Bosacki, Anna Mitrowska, Diana Wyrębek Walters, Katarzyna Wisiecka, Natalia Ewelina Copeland, Laura Wieland, Ljiljana Popovic & Alexandra Siemieniuk
    2020 “Wonderful! We’ve just missed the bus”: Parental use of irony and children’s irony comprehension. PLOS One15(2). 10.1371/journal.pone.0228538
     https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0228538 [Google Scholar]
  6. Bosco, Francesca M. & Ilaria Gabbatore
    2017 Sincere, deceitful, and ironic communicative acts and the role of the theory of mind in childhood. Frontiers in Psychology8(21). 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00021
     https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00021 [Google Scholar]
  7. Bryant, Gregory A.
    2010 Prosodic contrasts in ironic speech. Discourse Processes47(7). 545–566. 10.1080/01638530903531972
     https://doi.org/10.1080/01638530903531972 [Google Scholar]
  8. Capelli, Carol A., Noreen Nakagawa & Cary M. Madden
    1990 How children understand sarcasm: The role of context and intonation. Child Development61(6). 1824–1841. 10.2307/1130840
     https://doi.org/10.2307/1130840 [Google Scholar]
  9. Chevalier, Nicolas, Tiffany D. Sheffield, Jennifer Mize Nelson, Caron A. C. Clark, Sandra A. Wiebe & Kimberly A. Espy
    2012 Underpinnings of the costs of flexibility in preschool children: The roles of inhibition and working memory. Developmental Neuropsychology37(2). 99–118. 10.1080/87565641.2011.632458
     https://doi.org/10.1080/87565641.2011.632458 [Google Scholar]
  10. Clark, Herbert H. & Richard R. Gerrig
    1984 On the pretense theory of irony. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General113(1). 121–126. 10.1037/0096‑3445.113.1.121
     https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-3445.113.1.121 [Google Scholar]
  11. Deliens, Gaétane, Fanny Papastamou, Nicolas Ruytenbeek, Philippine Geelhand & Mikhail Kissine
    2018 Selective pragmatic impairment in autism spectrum disorder: Indirect requests versus irony. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders481. 2938–2952. 10.1007/s10803‑018‑3561‑6
     https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3561-6 [Google Scholar]
  12. Demorest, Amy, Christine Meyer, Erin Phelps, Howard Gardner & Ellen Winner
    1984 Words speak louder than actions: Understanding deliberately false remarks. Child Development55(4). 1527–1534. 10.2307/1130022
     https://doi.org/10.2307/1130022 [Google Scholar]
  13. Dews, Shelly, Ellen Winner, Joan Kaplan, Elizabeth Rosenblatt, Malia Hunt, Karen Lim, Angela McGovern, Alion Qualter & Bonnie Smarsh
    1996 Children’s understanding of the meaning and functions of verbal irony. Child Development67(6). 3071–3085. 10.2307/1131767
     https://doi.org/10.2307/1131767 [Google Scholar]
  14. Falkum, Ingrid Lossius
    2022 The development of non-literal uses of language: Sense conventions and pragmatic competence. Journal of Pragmatics1881. 97–107. 10.1016/j.pragma.2021.12.002
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2021.12.002 [Google Scholar]
  15. Falkum, Ingrid Lossius & Franziska Köder
    2024 Investigating irony comprehension in children: Methods, challenges, and ways forward. InNatalia Banasik-Jemielniak, Piotr Kałowski & Maria Zajączkowska (eds.), Studying verbal irony and sarcasm, 145–174. London: Palgrave Macmillan. 10.1007/978‑3‑031‑57172‑5_7
     https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-57172-5_7 [Google Scholar]
  16. Filippova, Eva & Janet Wilde Astington
    2008 Further development in social reasoning revealed in discourse irony understanding. Child Development79(1). 126–138. 10.1111/j.1467‑8624.2007.01115.x
     https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.01115.x [Google Scholar]
  17. 2010 Children’s understanding of social-cognitive and social communicative aspects of discourse irony. Child Development81(3). 913–928. 10.1111/j.1467‑8624.2010.01442.x
     https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01442.x [Google Scholar]
  18. Flobbe, Lisbeth
    2006 Children’s development of reasoning about other people’s minds. Groningen: University of Groningen, PhD dissertation.
  19. Friedman, Ori, Karen R. Neary, Corinna L. Burnstein & Alan M. Leslie
    2010 Is young children’s recognition of pretense metarepresentational or merely behavioral? Evidence from 2-and 3-year-olds’ understanding of pretend sounds and speech. Cognition115(2). 314–319. 10.1016/j.cognition.2010.02.001
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2010.02.001 [Google Scholar]
  20. Fuchs, Julia
    2023 Ironic, isn’t it!? A review on irony comprehension in children and adolescents with ASD. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders1081. 102248. 10.1016/j.rasd.2023.102248
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2023.102248 [Google Scholar]
  21. Gibbs, Raymond
    1994 The poetics of mind: Figurative thought, language, and understanding. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  22. 2000 Irony in talk among friends. Metaphor & Symbol151. 5–27. 10.1080/10926488.2000.9678862
     https://doi.org/10.1080/10926488.2000.9678862 [Google Scholar]
  23. Glenwright, Melanie & Penny M. Pexman
    2010 Development of children’s ability to distinguish sarcasm and verbal irony. Journal of Child Language37(2). 429–451. 10.1017/S0305000909009520
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000909009520 [Google Scholar]
  24. Hancock, Jeffrey T., Phillip J. Dunham & Kelly Purdy
    2000 Children’s comprehension of critical and complimentary forms of verbal irony. Journal of Cognition and Development1(2). 227–248. 10.1207/S15327647JCD010204
     https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327647JCD010204 [Google Scholar]
  25. Happé, Francesca G. E.
    1993 Communicative competence and theory of mind in autism: A test of Relevance theory. Cognition48(2). 101–119. 10.1016/0010‑0277(93)90026‑R
     https://doi.org/10.1016/0010-0277(93)90026-R [Google Scholar]
  26. Harris, Melania & Penny M. Pexman
    2003 Children’s perceptions of the social functions of verbal irony. Discourse Processes36(3). 147–165. 10.1207/S15326950DP3603_1
     https://doi.org/10.1207/S15326950DP3603_1 [Google Scholar]
  27. Honey, Emma, Sue Leekam, Michelle Turner & Helen McConachie
    2007 Repetitive behaviour and play in typically developing children and children with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorder37(6). 1107–1115. 10.1007/s10803‑006‑0253‑4
     https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-006-0253-4 [Google Scholar]
  28. Irving, Elizbeth L., Martin J. Steinbach, Linda Lillakas, Raiju J. Babu & Natalie Hutchings
    2006 Horizontal saccade dynamics across the human life span. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science47(6). 2478–2484. 10.1167/iovs.05‑1311
     https://doi.org/10.1167/iovs.05-1311 [Google Scholar]
  29. Kałowski, Piotr, Maria Zajączkowska, Katarzyna Branowska, Anna Olechowska, Aleksandra Siemieniuk, Ewa Dryll & Natalia Banasik-Jemielniak
    2023 Individual differences in verbal irony use: A systematic review of quantitative psycholinguistic studies. Metaphor & Symbol38(1). 81–111. 10.1080/10926488.2022.2160253
     https://doi.org/10.1080/10926488.2022.2160253 [Google Scholar]
  30. Keenan, Thomas R. & Kathleen Quigley
    1999 Do young children use echoic information in their comprehension of sarcastic speech? A test of echoic mention theory. British Journal of Developmental Psychology17(1). 83–96. 10.1348/026151099165168
     https://doi.org/10.1348/026151099165168 [Google Scholar]
  31. Kissine, Mikhail
    2012 Pragmatics, cognitive flexibility and autism spectrum disorders. Mind & Language271. 1–28. 10.1111/j.1468‑0017.2011.01433.x
     https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0017.2011.01433.x [Google Scholar]
  32. Köder, Franziska & Ingrid Lossius Falkum
    2021 Irony and perspective-taking in children: The roles of norm violations and tone of voice. Frontiers in Psychology121. 624604. 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.624604
     https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.624604 [Google Scholar]
  33. Laval, Virginie & Alain Bert-Erboul
    2005 French-speaking children’s understanding of sarcasm: The role of intonation and context. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research48(3). 610–620. 10.1044/1092‑4388(2005/042)
     https://doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2005/042) [Google Scholar]
  34. Lillard, Angeline S.
    1993 Pretend play skills and the child’s theory of mind. Child Development64(2). 348–371. 10.2307/1131255
     https://doi.org/10.2307/1131255 [Google Scholar]
  35. Lillard, Angeline S. & David C. Witherington
    2004 Mothers’ behavior modifications during pretense and their possible signal value for toddlers. Developmental Psychology40(1). 95–113. 10.1037/0012‑1649.40.1.95
     https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.40.1.95 [Google Scholar]
  36. Massaro, Davide, Annalisa Valle & Antonella Marcetti
    2013 Do social norms, false belief understanding, and metacognitive vocabulary influence irony comprehension? A study of five- and seven-year-old children. European Journal of Developmental Psychology. 11(3). 1–13.
     [Google Scholar]
  37. Mazzarella, Diana & Nausicaa Pouscoulous
    2021 Pragmatics and epistemic vigilance: A developmental perspective. Mind & Language36(3). 355–376. 10.1111/mila.12287
     https://doi.org/10.1111/mila.12287 [Google Scholar]
  38. 2023 Ironic speakers, vigilant hearers. Intercultural Pragmatics20(2). 111–132. 10.1515/ip‑2023‑2001
     https://doi.org/10.1515/ip-2023-2001 [Google Scholar]
  39. Milosky, Linda M. & Janet A. Ford
    1997 The role of prosody in children’s inferences of ironic intent. Discourse Processes23(1). 47–61. 10.1080/01638539709544981
     https://doi.org/10.1080/01638539709544981 [Google Scholar]
  40. Nakassis, Constantine & Jesse Snedeker
    2002 Beyond sarcasm: Intonation and context as relational cues in children’s recognition of irony. InBarbora Skarabela, Sara Fish & Anna H. J. Do (eds.), Proceedings of the 26th Boston University conference on language development, 429–440. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  41. Neff, Mary Beth
    2025 Challenging the metaphor deficit: Unpacking children’s ‘literally biased’ communicative development. Oslo: University of Oslo, PhD dissertation.
  42. Perner, Josef & Heinz Wimmer
    1985 “John thinks that Mary thinks that…”: Attribution of second-order beliefs by 5-to 10-year-old children. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology39(3). 437–471. 10.1016/0022‑0965(85)90051‑7
     https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-0965(85)90051-7 [Google Scholar]
  43. Pexman, Penny M.
    2008 It’s fascinating research: The cognition of verbal irony. Current Directions in Psychological Science: A Journal of the American Psychological Society17(4). 286–290. 10.1111/j.1467‑8721.2008.00591.x
     https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8721.2008.00591.x [Google Scholar]
  44. Pexman, Penny M., Lorraine Reggin & Kate Lee
    2019 Addressing the challenge of verbal irony: Getting serious about sarcasm training. Languages4(2). 23. 10.3390/languages4020023
     https://doi.org/10.3390/languages4020023 [Google Scholar]
  45. Ray, Dee C.
    2023 Play and development. InDee C. Ray (ed) Playful education, 25–38. New York: Routledge. 10.4324/9781003285618‑5
     https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003285618-5 [Google Scholar]
  46. Richert, Rebekah A. & Angeline S. Lillard
    2004 Observers’ proficiency at identifying pretense acts based on behavioral cues. Cognitive Development19(2). 223–240. 10.1016/j.cogdev.2004.01.001
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2004.01.001 [Google Scholar]
  47. Sperber, Dan, Fabrice Clément, Christophe Heintz, Olivier Mascaro, Hugo Mercier, Gloria Origgi & Deidre Wilson
    2010 Epistemic vigilance. Mind & Language25(4). 359–393. 10.1111/j.1468‑0017.2010.01394.x
     https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0017.2010.01394.x [Google Scholar]
  48. Sullivan, Kate, Ellen Winner & Natalie Hopfield
    1995 How children tell a lie from a joke: The role of second-order mental state attributions. British Journal of Developmental Psychology13(2). 191–204. 10.1111/j.2044‑835X.1995.tb00673.x
     https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-835X.1995.tb00673.x [Google Scholar]
  49. Szücs, Márta & Anna Babarczy
    2017 The role of theory of mind, grammatical competence and metapragmatic awareness in irony comprehension. InStavros Assimakopoulos (eds.), Pragmatics at its interfaces, 129–148. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. 10.1515/9781501505089‑008
     https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501505089-008 [Google Scholar]
  50. Tonini, Elisabetta, Luca Bischetti, Paola Del Sette, Eleonora Tosi, Serena Lecce & Valentina Bambini
    2023 The relationship between metaphor skills and theory of mind in middle childhood: Task and developmental effects. Cognition2381. 105504. 10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105504
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105504 [Google Scholar]
  51. Wellman, Henry M., Susan Carey, Lila Gleitman, Elissa L. Newport & Elizabeth S. Spelke
    1990 The child’s theory of mind. Boston: MIT Press. 10.7551/mitpress/1811.001.0001
     https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/1811.001.0001 [Google Scholar]
  52. Wilson, Deidre
    2009 Irony and metarepresentation. UCL working papers in linguistics211. 183–226.
     [Google Scholar]
  53. 2013 Irony comprehension: A developmental perspective. Journal of Pragmatics591. 40–56. 10.1016/j.pragma.2012.09.016
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2012.09.016 [Google Scholar]
  54. Wilson, Deirdre & Dan Sperber
    2012 Explaining irony. InDeirdre Wilson & Dan Sperber (eds.), Meaning and relevance, 123–146. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/CBO9781139028370.008
     https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139028370.008 [Google Scholar]
  55. Wimmer, Heinz, Silvia Gruber & Josef Perner
    1984 Young children’s conception of lying: Lexical realism-moral subjectivism. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology37(1). 1–30. 10.1016/0022‑0965(84)90055‑9
     https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-0965(84)90055-9 [Google Scholar]
  56. Wimmer, Heinz & Josef Perner
    1983 Beliefs about beliefs: Representation and constraining function of wrong beliefs in young children’s understanding of deception. Cognition131. 103–128. 10.1016/0010‑0277(83)90004‑5
     https://doi.org/10.1016/0010-0277(83)90004-5 [Google Scholar]
  57. Winner, Ellen
    1988 The point of words: Children’s understanding of metaphor and irony. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  58. Winner, Ellen & Sue Leekam
    1991 Distinguishing irony from deception: Understanding the speaker’s second-order intention. British Journal of Developmental Psychology9(2). 257–270. 10.1111/j.2044‑835X.1991.tb00875.x
     https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-835X.1991.tb00875.x [Google Scholar]
  59. Zajączkowska, Maria & Kirsten Abbot-Smith
    2020 “Sure I’ll help — I’ve just been sitting around doing nothing at school all day”: Cognitive flexibility and child irony interpretation. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology1991. 104942. 10.1016/j.jecp.2020.104942
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2020.104942 [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/pc.24041.ive
Loading
Parodic irony comprehension
Pragmatics & Cognition 33, 161 (2026); https://doi.org/10.1075/pc.24041.ive
/content/journals/10.1075/pc.24041.ive
/content/journals/10.1075/pc.24041.ive
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): irony; parody; pragmatic development; pretend play; theory of mind

Most Cited

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error