Experiments on the Development of Irony: Walking Through a Methodological Maze

Research on the development of irony comprehension shows a rather inconsistent acquisition pattern, with some studies pointing to its relatively late emergence and others suggesting its presence from an early age. The heterogeneity of methodological approaches used across studies is an issue that has been greatly overlooked in the literature. However, such heterogeneity may contribute to explaining this developmental puzzle. The main purpose of this chapter is to provide an exhaustive overview of relevant methodological approaches used to study irony comprehension and discuss their cognitive demands on young participants. The chapter includes an outline of the most frequently employed task formats to study the understanding of other figurative or non-literal uses of language as well as the ensuing discussion on whether and how they could be implemented to irony. It addresses other relevant methodological aspects, such as the effects of contextual circumstances and utterance types, and assesses their importance in the design of less cognitively challenging tasks. The chapter makes a plea for the harmonization of testing measures and experimental materials, as well as for a deeper reflection on the challenges related to testing a full-fledged understanding of irony.