Verbal irony exploits the ambiguity inherent in language by using the discrepancy between a speaker's intended meaning and the literal meaning of his or her words to achieve social goals. Irony provides a window into children's developing pragmatic competence. Yet, little research exists on individual differences that may disrupt this understanding. For example, verbal irony may challenge shy children, who tend to interpret ambiguous stimuli as being threatening and who have difficulty mentalizing in social contexts. We examined whether shyness is related to the interpretation of ironic statements. Ninety‐nine children (8–12 year olds) listened to stories wherein one character made either a literal or ironic criticism or a literal or ironic compliment. Children appraised the speaker's belief and communicative intention. Shyness was assessed using self‐report measures of social anxiety symptoms and shy negative affect. Shyness was not related to children's comprehension of the counterfactual nature of ironic statements. However, shyness was related to children's ratings of speaker meanness for ironic statements. Thus, although not related to the understanding that speakers intended to communicate their true beliefs, shyness was related to children's construal of the social meaning of irony. Such subtle differences in language interpretation may underlie some of the social difficulties facing shy children. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Childhood shyness is a risk factor for negative socioemotional outcomes including loneliness and depression. Childhood shyness has also been found to relate to various aspects of pragmatic language. For instance, shyer children rate ironic criticisms (i.e., where a speaker's intended meaning is the opposite of what is literally said) as meaner than do less shy children. This study examined whether relations between shyness and socioemotional functioning (i.e., loneliness, depression, and peer experiences) in children (9–12 years old; N = 169) were moderated by irony comprehension ability. Using a series of vignettes and self‐report measures, it was found that shyer children with better irony comprehension skill reported increased loneliness and depression symptoms, as well as fewer prosocial experiences with peers. Similarly, for girls, better comprehension strengthened the relationship between shyness and peer victimization. In contrast, for shy boys, better irony comprehension was associated with a reduction in peer victimization. Thus, for certain vulnerable populations, having better sociocommunicative skills may not be advantageous. Highlights The present work examined whether relations between children's reported shyness and socioemotional functioning were moderated by irony comprehension. Children viewed comic strips of characters interacting and completed measures of shyness, loneliness, depression, and peer victimization. Shy children with better irony comprehension reported increased loneliness and depression. Having greater insight into communicative intentions for others may allow shy children to recognize social shortcomings. For certain vulnerable populations, having better sociocommunicative skills may not be advantageous.
We have developed an antithrombin-heparin covalent complex (ATH) which inhibits coagulation enzymes by two mechanisms: directly, or by catalytic activation of plasma antithrombin (AT). Anticoagulation by ATH was compared to unfractionated heparin (UFH) or low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) using a blood-based, tissue factor (TF)-activated thrombelastography (TEG) assay. Simplified TEG assays with plasma or purified plasma components were used to determine the contribution of the direct and catalytic mechanisms to ATH efficacy. Low anti-Xa concentrations of UFH inhibited clot formation significantly more than equivalent concentrations of ATH or LMWH in blood and plasma. ATH had reduced ability to catalyse AT-mediated thrombin (IIa) inhibition compared to UFH. However, at high anti-Xa concentrations, ATH had similar anticoagulant activity to UFH. ATH and non-covalent AT+UFH directly inhibited clotting to a similar degree in AT-deficient plasma. IIa-ATH complexes, which are limited to catalytic inhibition, displayed impaired anticoagulation compared to free ATH, and the magnitude of this effect increased significantly as anticoagulant concentration increased. Kinetic experiments indicated that the rate of reaction of AT with IIa is lower when catalysed by ATH versus UFH. In conclusion, at low anti-Xa doses catalytic inhibition is the primary mechanism of ATH anticoagulation, and the catalytic potential of ATH is reduced relative to UFH. However, the direct inhibitory activity of ATH is comparable to non-covalent AT+UFH, and at high anti-Xa doses the direct inhibitory activity of ATH may play a larger role in anticoagulation.
Counterfactual verbal irony, an evaluative form of figurative language wherein a speaker's intended meaning is opposite to the literal meaning of his or her words, is used to serve many social goals. Despite recent calls for theoretical accounts to include the factors that influence irony interpretation (Gibbs & Colston, 2012), few studies have examined the individual differences that may impact verbal irony interpretation. The present study examined whether adults with elevated shyness would generate more negative interpretations of ironic statements.University students with varying degrees of shyness listened to stories (accompanied by comics) wherein one character made literal or ironic criticisms or compliments to another character.Participants then appraised each speaker's belief and attitude. Self-reported shyness did not predict comprehension of the counterfactual nature of ironic statements. However, shyer adults rated speakers who made ironic compliments as being meaner than did adults low in shyness.Thus, while understanding that ironic speakers intended to communicate their true beliefs, shyer individuals construed the social meaning of irony more negatively. Such interpretive biases may lead shy individuals to more frequently take offence at ironic compliments and experience more negativity in social interactions.
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