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Irony Comprehension: Pragmatics Meets Epistemic Vigilance

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Title: Irony Comprehension: Pragmatics Meets Epistemic Vigilance
Language: English
Authors: Ana Milosavljevic (ORCID 0000-0003-1237-5339), Nausicaa Pouscoulous (ORCID 0000-0002-2597-7489), Diana Mazzarella (ORCID 0000-0002-7650-7196)
Source: First Language. 2026 46(3):393-413.
Availability: SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 21
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Figurative Language, Language Usage, Young Children, Comprehension, Credibility, Expectation, Foreign Countries, Cognitive Development, Age Differences
Geographic Terms: Switzerland
DOI: 10.1177/01427237251396783
ISSN: 0142-7237
1740-2344
Abstract: The present study experimentally investigates the role of epistemic vigilance in children's comprehension of verbal irony. We tested 186 children aged from 4/5 to 7/8 using an offline irony comprehension task and an epistemic vigilance task. In the vigilance task, we assessed children's tendency to trust reliable informants and mistrust unreliable ones. The same informants appeared in the irony task as the target of the ironical remarks, allowing us to examine whether prior information about their reliability influenced irony interpretation. Our findings indicate that children's epistemic vigilance significantly predicted irony comprehension when irony was directed at an unreliable target. These results provide empirical support for the hypothesis that epistemic vigilance enhances understanding of the dissociative, critical stance expressed by the ironical speaker.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1507766
Database: ERIC
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  Data: Irony Comprehension: Pragmatics Meets Epistemic Vigilance
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ana+Milosavljevic%22">Ana Milosavljevic</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1237-5339">0000-0003-1237-5339</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Nausicaa+Pouscoulous%22">Nausicaa Pouscoulous</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2597-7489">0000-0002-2597-7489</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Diana+Mazzarella%22">Diana Mazzarella</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7650-7196">0000-0002-7650-7196</externalLink>)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22First+Language%22"><i>First Language</i></searchLink>. 2026 46(3):393-413.
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  Data: SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
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  Data: 10.1177/01427237251396783
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  Data: The present study experimentally investigates the role of epistemic vigilance in children's comprehension of verbal irony. We tested 186 children aged from 4/5 to 7/8 using an offline irony comprehension task and an epistemic vigilance task. In the vigilance task, we assessed children's tendency to trust reliable informants and mistrust unreliable ones. The same informants appeared in the irony task as the target of the ironical remarks, allowing us to examine whether prior information about their reliability influenced irony interpretation. Our findings indicate that children's epistemic vigilance significantly predicted irony comprehension when irony was directed at an unreliable target. These results provide empirical support for the hypothesis that epistemic vigilance enhances understanding of the dissociative, critical stance expressed by the ironical speaker.
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  Data: 2026
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        Value: 10.1177/01427237251396783
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      – Text: English
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      – SubjectFull: Credibility
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      – SubjectFull: Expectation
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      – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries
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      – SubjectFull: Age Differences
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      – TitleFull: Irony Comprehension: Pragmatics Meets Epistemic Vigilance
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