The Role of Social Status in Sarcasm Interpretation: Evidence from the United Kingdom and China

We investigated the effect of culture and social status on sarcasm interpretation. Two hundred U.K. participants and 200 Chinese participants read scenarios in which the final comment could be either literal or sarcastic criticism and the speaker had equal, higher, or lower social status compared to the recipient. Comments were rated on degree of sarcasm, amusement, politeness, and aggression. Results showed that compared to literal criticism, sarcasm was viewed as being more polite and less aggressive in the United Kingdom but more aggressive in China. When the speaker had higher social status, sarcasm was rated less amusing and marginally more aggressive in the United Kingdom but less aggressive and more polite in China. Results have theoretical implications, in that theories designed to explain the emotional impact of sarcasm (such as the Tinge Hypothesis) need to be modified to take cultural differences into account, as well as practical implications for successful cross-cultural communication.