Processing of Irony in Text: A Systematic Review of Eye-Tracking Studies

Theoretical models of irony comprehension pose different hypotheses about the time course of resolving ironic interpretation of an utterance, and they propose several context-, phrase-, and reader-related factors that influence the ease or difficulty of processing irony. In recent years, these facto...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian journal of experimental psychology 2021-06, Vol.75 (2), p.99-106
Main Authors: Olkoniemi, Henri, Kaakinen, Johanna K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cognitive ability
Comprehension
Eye Movements
Figurative Language
Human
Hypotheses
Irony
Keywords
Meta-analysis
Reading
Systematic review
Visual Tracking
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Summary:Theoretical models of irony comprehension pose different hypotheses about the time course of resolving ironic interpretation of an utterance, and they propose several context-, phrase-, and reader-related factors that influence the ease or difficulty of processing irony. In recent years, these factors have been examined using eye tracking, which allows a detailed analysis of time course of reading processes. In this article, we present a meta-analysis of the eye-tracking studies on irony and then present a systematic review of the factors that have been shown to influence the time course of irony processing. The review will point to future directions in how eye tracking could best be applied to further develop the current theoretical views. Les modèles théoriques de compréhension de l'ironie posent différentes hypothèses sur le temps nécessaire à la résolution de l'interprétation ironique d'un énoncé, et ils proposent plusieurs facteurs liés au contexte, à la phrase et au lecteur qui influencent la facilité ou la difficulté du traitement de l'ironie. Au cours des dernières années, ces facteurs ont été examinés à l'aide du suivi oculaire, ce qui permet une analyse détaillée des processus de lecture. Dans cet article, nous présentons une méta-analyse des études de suivi oculaire sur l'ironie, puis un examen systématique des facteurs qui ont influencé le déroulement temporel du traitement de l'ironie. L'examen portera sur les orientations futures de la meilleure façon d'appliquer le suivi oculaire pour développer davantage les points de vue théoriques actuels. Public Significance Statement Understanding ironic criticism is often hard and requires more time than understanding literal phrases. Recent research suggests that some phrases are harder to comprehend as ironic than others, and the context in which the ironic phrase is used and readers' cognitive and emotional capacities play a significant role in how easy it is to resolve its meaning. Current theories of irony comprehension should be developed further to accommodate the findings from these recent studies.
ISSN:1196-1961
1878-7290
DOI:10.1037/cep0000216