Shy children's understanding of irony: Better comprehension does not always mean better socioemotional functioning

Abstract

Childhood shyness is a risk factor for negative socioemotional outcomes including loneliness and depression. Childhood shyness has also been found to relate to various aspects of pragmatic language. For instance, shyer children rate ironic criticisms (i.e., where a speaker's intended meaning is the opposite of what is literally said) as meaner than do less shy children. This study examined whether relations between shyness and socioemotional functioning (i.e., loneliness, depression, and peer experiences) in children (9–12 years old; N = 169) were moderated by irony comprehension ability. Using a series of vignettes and self‐report measures, it was found that shyer children with better irony comprehension skill reported increased loneliness and depression symptoms, as well as fewer prosocial experiences with peers. Similarly, for girls, better comprehension strengthened the relationship between shyness and peer victimization. In contrast, for shy boys, better irony comprehension was associated with a reduction in peer victimization. Thus, for certain vulnerable populations, having better sociocommunicative skills may not be advantageous. Highlights The present work examined whether relations between children's reported shyness and socioemotional functioning were moderated by irony comprehension. Children viewed comic strips of characters interacting and completed measures of shyness, loneliness, depression, and peer victimization. Shy children with better irony comprehension reported increased loneliness and depression. Having greater insight into communicative intentions for others may allow shy children to recognize social shortcomings. For certain vulnerable populations, having better sociocommunicative skills may not be advantageous.

Executive functioning moderates associations between shyness and pragmatic abilities

“…Relatedly, given that a large proportion of variance in children's pragmatic abilities was attributable to demographic factors, in future work it may prove insightful to explore the interplay of shyness and EF in different age and/or gender groups. Regarding the latter, for example, other studies have shown that shyness has a more negative impact on social‐emotional functioning in boys versus girls (Coplan et al., 2007) and that certain language skills (e.g., irony comprehension) differentially affect these relations across genders (Mewhort‐Buist & Nilsen, 2019). Last, our findings must be interpreted within the context of a cross‐sectional research design, which precludes us from exploring directionality or commenting upon possible causal relationships.…”

“…Last, our findings must be interpreted within the context of a cross‐sectional research design, which precludes us from exploring directionality or commenting upon possible causal relationships. Future work could employ longitudinal methodology to clarify how temperamental factors and cognitive processes uniquely and jointly support pragmatic development and to identify potential consequences for social‐emotional functioning—associations shown to be complex and sometimes contradictory based on extant work (e.g., Coplan & Weeks, 2009; Mewhort‐Buist & Nilsen, 2019; White et al., 2011).…”

Social Communication Across the Lifespan: The Influence of Empathy

“…Additionally, when using written materials, Pomareda et al (2019) found the muting function only for younger and not older adults. It is unclear if the muting function of sarcasm occurs in all circumstances (see Mewhort-Buist & Nilsen, 2019), and most studies on the Tinge Hypothesis included written materials (Pomareda et al, 2019;Thompson, Mackenzie, Leuthold & Filik, 2016;Schwoebel et al, 2000), leaving out prosody and nonverbal cues that contribute to the complexity of nonliteral language in everyday communication. The current experiment will test the Tinge Hypothesis using dynamic, audio-visual stimuli.…”

Relationships Between Children’s Shyness, Play Disconnection, and Loneliness: Moderating Effect of Children’s Perceived Child-Teacher Intimate Relationship

“…An alternative explanation of this finding is that children's close relationship with their teacher may help them better understand social conventions required for successful social interactions [70], since they may more easily acquire pragmatic skills from their teachers than those in negative relationships with their teachers. It was found that shy children with weaker pragmatic language skills are at higher risk for increased loneliness [70,71]. Shy children's emotional difficulty may develop when their teachers negatively respond to their shy behavior [70].…”