Individual Differences in Irony Use Depend on Context

Abstract

We investigated individual differences in irony use depending on context. In Study 1, we manipulated contextual factors, including the speaker’s emotion and the listener’s emotion, and assessed the likelihood of irony use. In Study 2, we manipulated the relationship between the speaker and the listener and assessed the rate of irony use with free description. Correlations between participants’ responses to various measures of personality traits and differences in irony use between conditions and mean irony use across conditions were examined. Regulation of interpersonal relationships and preference for supportive humor predicted the differences in irony use between conditions, whereas expressive suppression, self-control, and preference for playful humor predicted irony use regardless of condition. These results confirmed our hypothesis that the speaker’s social abilities about management of interpersonal relationship and tendency toward emotion regulation were associated with individual differences in irony use depending on context and in general, respectively.