Tiny tots able to understand irony, says study

TORONTO - Tiny tots as young as four are able to understand and use irony, says a new study.

“Previous studies concluded that irony wasn’t understood before the age of eight or 10,” says Stephanie Alexander, postdoctoral student in social and preventive medicine at the University of Montreal and a senior study author.

“However, these studies were mostly done in a laboratory setting and mostly focused on sarcasm.

“We examined children at home and took into consideration four types of non-literal language: hyperbole, euphemism, sarcasm and rhetorical questions.

“Children’s understanding of complex communication is more sophisticated than we believed in the past.

“If parents are conscious that by four years of age a child can take a remark literally, especially in situations of conflict, using appropriate language can help defuse a potentially explosive situation,” says Alexander, according to a Montreal release.

The study, done in collaboration with Holly Recchia from the Concordia University, Canada, revealed that the children understood at least one ironic remark made by one of the parents.

Although children can fully comprehend this language by the age of six, certain forms of irony such as hyperbole were understood at four years of age. In 22 of the 39 families studied, it was sarcasm that was best understood overall by the children.

Overall, hyperbole and sarcasm were most often used during positive interactions with children, while euphemisms and rhetorical questions were mostly used in situations of conflict.

Also, mothers and fathers did not use irony in the same way. Mothers were more inclined to use rhetorical questions and fathers preferred sarcasm.