Ironic Expression Can Simultaneously Enhance and Dilute Perception of Criticism

In the context of texts that depicted either a minimally confrontational conversation (study 1) or a more confrontational argument (study 2) with a close friend, the use of ironic criticism was rated as being more humorous, polite, and positive, yet also as more sarcastic and mocking than direct criticism. Although our results were consistent with those reported previously, the results of both studies did not support two theoretical explanations of the function ironic criticism. We were unable to demonstrate that participant interpretation of ironic criticism was significantly influenced by the magnitude of the contrast created between criticism and the context in which the criticism is embedded, or by the focus of attention to either speaker's intent or the impression. Two novel findings emerged. First, ironic expression (but not direct expression) caused failed expectations targeted by criticism to appear less negative. Second, we found greater concordance between ratings of speaker intention and social impression for ratings of ironic expression than for directly expressed criticism.