Irony comprehension requires complex inferences about a speaker’s mind. Behavioural data indicates that while children between ages 6-10 begin to show some appreciation of the communicative intent in an ironic remark, full appreciation of speaker attitude might be developing beyond middle childhood and into adolescence. Additionally, recent findings suggest that the online use of Theory of Mind (ToM) shows a prolonged development through late childhood and adolescence. We provide ERP evidence that suggests that the two age-groups process irony differently and engage different cognitive mechanisms. This is the first study to investigate figurative language comprehension in adolescents through ERPs.
Irony processing in Adolescents: an ERP study
