Ruth Filik | University of Nottingham (original) (raw)

Papers by Ruth Filik

Cognition and Emotion, 2024

Figurative expressions are commonly used in everyday language as a device for conveying emotion. ... more Figurative expressions are commonly used in everyday language as a device for conveying emotion. Hyperbole (e.g. “It took ages for him to arrive”) specifically can provide linguistic emphasis; especially when speakers wish to convey emotional evaluations of negative situations. In sexual crime cases, the victim’s behavioural emotionality often enhances credibility, however, some research suggests that hyperbole-induced linguistic emotionality can be perceived negatively. In this study, we examined whether hyperbole impacts perceived emotionality and assessed the extent of this impact on measures of valence, intensity, and appropriateness. Participants were professionals (police officers) or jury-eligible laypersons who rated testimonies containing either hyperbolic or non-hyperbolic expressions. Results suggested that the use of hyperbole increased the perceived emotional intensity of the testimony, but made testimonies appear less emotionally appropriate than non-hyperbolic counterparts. In addition, regardless of the presence of hyperbole, laypersons judged the scenarios to be more unpleasant, and more emotionally intense compared to professionals. Findings suggest discrepancies between hyperbole usage and discourse goals, versus its perception. That is, hyperbole effectively enhances emotionality, but its role in victim speech may come with more caveats than anticipated, particularly when considering the proposed importance of victim emotionality in establishing credibility.

American Journal of Men's Health, 2024

This study is the first to examine the utility of body mass index (BMI) as an indicator of eating... more This study is the first to examine the utility of body mass index (BMI) as an indicator of eating disorder (ED) pathology and fitness for employment for professional male fashion models. We assessed the relationship between experimenter-measured BMI, muscle mass, body fat percentage, and ED severity (EDE-Q score) in male models and nonmodels. Except for higher eating concern, the two groups displayed similar EDE-Q scores after controlling for age. Models relative to nonmodels endorsed significantly greater frequency of compulsive exercise and self-induced vomiting as a means of controlling shape or weight. BMI was a poor indicator of body fat percentage in models. Lower BMI in models, and higher BMI in nonmodels, was associated with higher EDE-Q scores. Interestingly, all the male models with clinically significant EDE-Q scores (greater than or equal to 4.0) had >18.5 experimenter-measured BMI. Higher muscle mass in models, and lower muscle mass in nonmodels, was associated with higher EDE-Q scores. Inversely, lower percentage body fat in models, and higher percentage body fat in nonmodels, was associated with higher EDE-Q scores. BMI, muscle mass, and percentage body fat were associated with ED tendencies in male models and nonmodels. Findings also suggest males with clinical ED symptoms would be overlooked if only low BMI (<18.5) was considered. These results may guide the development of more effective mandates to safeguard models’ wellbeing, and men generally.

Journal of Memory and Language, 2024

This novel experiment investigates the relationship between readers' eye movements and their use ... more This novel experiment investigates the relationship between readers' eye movements and their use of "noisy channel" inferences when reading implausible sentences, and how this might be affected by cognitive aging. Young (18-26 years) and older (65-87 years) adult participants read sentences which were either plausible or implausible. Crucially, readers could assign a plausible interpretation to the implausible sentences by inferring that a preposition (i.e., "to") had been unintentionally omitted or included. Our results reveal that readers' fixation locations within such sentences are associated with the likelihood of them inferring the presence or absence of this critical preposition to reach a plausible interpretation. Moreover, our older adults were more likely to make these noisy-channel inferences than the younger adults, potentially because their poorer visual processing and greater linguistic experience promote such inference-making. We propose that the present findings provide novel experimental evidence for a perceptual contribution to noisy-channel inference-making during reading.

The Cambridge handbook of irony and thought , 2023

Filik, R. (2023). Emotional responses to sarcasm. In R. W. Gibbs Jr. & H. L. Colston (Eds.), The ... more Filik, R. (2023). Emotional responses to sarcasm. In R. W. Gibbs Jr. & H. L. Colston (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of irony and thought (pp. 255–271). Cambridge University Press.

Discourse Processes, 2023

Corpus evidence suggests that in contexts in which the presence of multiple antecedents might fav... more Corpus evidence suggests that in contexts in which the presence of multiple antecedents might favor plural reference, the disadvantage observed for singular reference may disappear if the potential antecedents are combined in a group-like plural entity. We examined the relative salience of antecedents in conditions where the context either made a group interpretation available (i.e., mereological entity) (e.g., "The engineer hooked up the engine to the boxcar . . .", where group = "train"), or not (e.g., "The engineer detached the engine from the boxcar . . ."). Results from three experiments in which participants were asked to identify referents for singular versus plural pronouns (Experiment 1), to confirm the referents of pronouns in a sentence completion task (Experiment 2), and to provide paraphrases for given texts (Experiment 3), collectively provided evidence that the creation of a group makes that entity (i) a possible referent for singular anaphoric reference and (ii) more salient than its constituents.

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 2023

Sarcasm is commonly used in everyday language; however, little is currently known about cultural ... more Sarcasm is commonly used in everyday language; however, little is currently known about cultural and individual differences in sarcasm interpretation and use, particularly across Western and Eastern cultures. To address these gaps in the literature, the present study investigated individual differences in sarcasm interpretation and use in the UK and China. Participants first rated literal and sarcastic comments regarding degree of perceived sarcasm, aggression, amusement, and politeness. They then completed tasks which assessed their theory of mind (ToM) ability, perspective taking ability, and sarcasm use tendency. The results showed that UK participants were more sarcastic than Chinese participants. In terms of interpretation, UK participants rated sarcasm as being more amusing and polite than literal criticism, whereas the Chinese data showed that sarcasm was rated as being more amusing but also more aggressive than literal criticism. ToM ability and perspective taking ability positively predicted sarcasm perception in both cultural groups, while the effects of ToM on other rating dimensions varied across cultures. Sarcasm use tendency negatively predicted perception of sarcasm and aggression in UK participants, whereas the opposite was found for Chinese participants. The decomposition of individual difference effects showed that different facets of interpretation and socio-emotional impact of sarcasm are differentially associated with different cultural and individual differences factors. From this, we propose that both cultural and individual differences factors modulate sarcasm interpretation and use: Participants from different cultures and with different traits may view sarcasm differently, which, in turn, affects their interpretation and use of sarcastic language.

International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 2022

Emoji are often misinterpreted. This study investigated whether individual differences known to i... more Emoji are often misinterpreted. This study investigated whether individual differences known to impact facial emotion recognition would also affect emoji recognition. Participants completed an online emoji classification task, and then completed questionnaires assessing their autistic traits, attachment style, and alexithymia score. Results showed that Autism Quotient (AQ) scores influenced classification accuracy, but only when considered in conjunction with alexithymia and attachment anxiety. Accuracy was poorer when AQ scores and alexithymia scores were both high, whereas high attachment anxiety boosted emotion recognition in participants with high AQ scores. Results highlight the importance of studying individual differences factors concomitantly, allowing for more accurate identification of individuals who may be at risk of emotional miscommunication online, and are therefore suitable targets for support or intervention. Furthermore, findings will be informative for designers of digital tools that are used to convey emotion.

British Journal of Psychology, 2023

Controversy exists as to whether, compared to young adults, older adults are more, equally or les... more Controversy exists as to whether, compared to young adults, older adults are more, equally or less likely to make linguistic predictions while reading. While previous studies have examined age effects on the prediction of upcoming words, the prediction of upcoming syntactic structures has been largely unexplored. We compared the benefit that young and older readers gain when the syntactic structure is made predictable, as well as potential age differences in the costs involved in making predictions. In a self-paced reading study, 60 young and 60 older adults read sentences in which noun-phrase co-ordination (e.g. "large pizza or tasty calzone") is made predictable through the inclusion of the word "either" earlier in the sentence. Results showed a benefit of the presence of "either" in the second half of the coordination phrase, and a cost of the presence of "either" in the first half. We observed no age differences in the benefit or costs of making these predictions; Bayes factor analyses offered strong evidence that these effects are age invariant. Together, these findings suggest that both older and younger adults make similar strength syntactic predictions with a similar level of difficulty. We relate this age invariance in syntactic prediction to specific aspects of the ageing process.

Psychology, Crime & Law, 2022

Victim emotionality is one of the most influential factors in sexual crime cases. Traditionally, ... more Victim emotionality is one of the most influential factors in sexual crime cases. Traditionally, the study of emotionality has been limited to behaviour-descriptors such as conveying panic or appearing shaken, however, such studies must also be extended to the content of the victim’s testimony. Factors that affect emotionality within victim speech have not been suffciently explored. Figurative language – such as metaphor, hyperbole, and simile – has been viewed historically as a tool to enhance persuasion, source credibility, and influence attitude changes within listeners. Thus, the use of figurative language may be the quickest and most effective way for victims to communicate the impact of sexual abuse. The present research focused on the intentional meta-linguistic content of victim testimony such as the use of figurative language; specifcally, hyperbole. We investigated whether professionals and laypersons preferred a hyperbolic phrase, or a literal phrase in victim testimony, when asked to assume the role of the speaker, using a ‘fill-in-the-blank’ task. The results showed that professionals preferred the literal phrase, whereas laypersons preferred the hyperbolic. This would suggest that the pragmatic functions of hyperbole are different for laypersons (who could become complainants or jury members) and law enforcement; the implications of this difference are discussed.

Journal of Memory and Language, 2022

We present a replication of Levy, Bicknell, Slattery, and Rayner (2009). In this prior study part... more We present a replication of Levy, Bicknell, Slattery, and Rayner (2009). In this prior study participants read sentences in which a perceptually confusable preposition (at; confusable with as) or non-confusable preposition (toward) was followed by a verb more likely to appear in the syntactic structure formed by replacing at with as (e. g. tossed) or a verb that was not more likely to appear in this structure (e.g. thrown). Readers experienced processing difficulty upon fixating verbs like tossed following at, but not toward. Levy et al. argued that this suggests readers maintained uncertainty about previously fixated words' identities. We argue that this finding has wideranging implications for language processing theories, and that a replication is required. On the basis of a Bayes Factor Design Analysis we conducted a replication study with 56 items and 72 participants in order to determine whether Levy et al.'s effects are replicable. Using Bayesian statistical techniques we show that in our dataset there is evidence against the existence of the interaction Levy et al. found, and thus conclude that this study is non-replicable.

Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 2022

In a self-paced reading study, we investigated whether older adults maintain a greater level of u... more In a self-paced reading study, we investigated whether older adults maintain a greater level of uncertainty about the identity of words in a sentence than younger adults, potentially due to deficits in visuo-perceptual processing of highspatial frequencies associated with normal aging. In the experiment, 60 older adults and 60 younger adults read sentences in which an early preposition was either perceptually confusable with another word (at; confusable with as) or not (toward), and in which the reading of a subsequent ambiguous verb (e.g., tossed) should be affected by the confusability of the preposition, while the reading of an unambiguous verb (e.g., thrown) should not be. This design replicated that of an earlier study conducted by Levy et al. (2009) that found evidence in favour of participants maintaining uncertainty about the confusable preposition in go-past times during natural reading. However, in our study, there was no evidence that either younger or older adults maintained uncertainty about the identity of the perceptually confusable preposition, such that there was no interaction between the preposition's form and subsequent verb ambiguity in self-paced reading times, although we did observe a main effect of verb ambiguity. This represents a failure to replicate the effect observed by Levy et al. when using a different experimental paradigm, and we consider potential causes of our findings at both a methodological and theoretical level.

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2022

We investigated ASD-diagnosed adults' and neurotypical (NT) controls' processing of emoji and emo... more We investigated ASD-diagnosed adults' and neurotypical (NT) controls' processing of emoji and emoji influence on the emotionality of otherwise-neutral sentences. Study 1 participants categorised emoji representing the six basic emotions using a fixed-set of emotional adjectives. Results showed that ASD-diagnosed participants' classifications of fearful, sad, and surprised emoji were more diverse and less 'typical' than NT controls' responses. Study 2 participants read emotionally-neutral sentences; half paired with sentence-final happy emoji, half with sad emoji. Participants rated sentence + emoji stimuli for emotional valence. ASD-diagnosed and NT participants rated sentences + happy emoji as equally-positive, however, ASDdiagnosed participants rated sentences + sad emoji as more-negative than NT participants. We must acknowledge differential perceptions and effects of emoji, and emoji-text interrelationships , when working with neurodiverse stakeholders.

Cognition and Emotion, 2021

Eating disorder prevalence is increasing in males, perhaps more rapidly than in females. Theorist... more Eating disorder prevalence is increasing in males, perhaps more rapidly than in females. Theorists have proposed that cognitive biases are important factors underpinning disordered eating, especially those related to food, body, and perfectionism. We investigated these factors in relation to males’ eating disorder symptomatology in the general population by using eye-tracking during reading as a novel and implicit measure. 180 males’ eye movements were monitored while they read scenarios (third-person in Experiment 1 (n = 90, 18-38(Mage = 21.50, SD = 3.65)); second-person in Experiment 2 (n = 90, 18–35(Mage = 20.50, SD = 2.22))) describing characters’ emotional responses (e.g. upset) to food-, body image-, and perfectionism-related events. Participants’ eating disorder symptomatology was then assessed, and body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Results showed processing of characters’ emotional responses (detected via eye-tracking) to body- and perfectionism-related events for third-person scenarios was related to eating disorder symptomatology. Processing of characters’ emotional responses to body- related events for second-person scenarios was related to males’ BMI. The moment-to-moment processing of characters’ emotional responses to food-related scenarios was not related to eating disorder symptomatology or BMI. Findings support theories that include body- and perfectionism-related cognitive biases as underlying mechanisms of eating disorder symptomatology and the use of implicit measures of cognitive processes underlying males’ eating disorder symptomatology.

Computers in Human Behavior, 2022

There is evidence for an age-related decline in the ability to understand non-literal language su... more There is evidence for an age-related decline in the ability to understand non-literal language such as sarcasm. There is also evidence to suggest that devices such as emoticons/emojis may influence sarcasm comprehension in younger adults. However, research examining whether such devices may improve written sarcasm comprehension in older adults is scarce. The present study used an online rating task to investigate the influence of the winking face emoji on both the interpretation and perception of message intent for sarcastic or literal criticism or praise. Results revealed that older adults, in comparison to their younger counterparts, demonstrated deficient ability in interpreting and perceiving sarcastic intent. However, older adults' interpretation and perception of sarcastic intent were significantly improved when the messages were accompanied by the winking face emoji. This would suggest that the winking face emoji is a clear indicator of sarcastic intent, compensating for the absence of non-verbal cues in written communication, and may play a useful role in successful intergenerational communication.

Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 2022

Proponents of good-enough processing suggest that readers often (mis)interpret certain sentences ... more Proponents of good-enough processing suggest that readers often (mis)interpret certain sentences using fast-and-frugal heuristics, such that for non-canonical sentences (e.g., "The dog was bitten by the man") people confuse the thematic roles of the nouns. We tested this theory by examining the effect of sentence canonicality on the reading of a follow-up sentence. In a self-paced reading study, 60 young and 60 older adults read an implausible sentence in either canonical (e.g., "It was the peasant that executed the king") or non-canonical form (e.g., "It was the king that was executed by the peasant"), followed by a sentence that was implausible given a good-enough misinterpretation of the first sentence (e.g., "Afterwards, the peasant rode back to the countryside") or a sentence that was implausible given a correct interpretation of the first sentence (e.g., "Afterwards, the king rode back to his castle"). We hypothesised that if non-canonical sentences are systematically misinterpreted, then sentence canonicality would differentially affect the reading of the two different follow-up types. Our data suggested that participants derived the same interpretations for canonical and non-canonical sentences, with no modulating effect of age group. Our findings suggest that readers do not derive an incorrect interpretation of non-canonical sentences during initial parsing, consistent with theories of misinterpretation effects that instead attribute these effects to post-interpretative processes.

Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 2021

According to the Presupposition-Denial Account, complement set reference arises when focus is on ... more According to the Presupposition-Denial Account, complement set reference arises when focus is on the shortfall between the amount conveyed by a natural language quantifier and a larger, expected amount. Negative quantifiers imply a shortfall, through the denial of a presupposition, whereas positive quantifiers do not. An exception may be provided by irony. One function of irony is to highlight, through indirect negation, the shortfall between what is expected/desired, and what is observed. Thus, a positive quantifier used ironically should also lead to a shortfall and license complement set reference. Using ERPs, we examined whether reference to the complement set is more felicitous following a positive quantifier used ironically than one used non-ironically. ERPs during reading showed a smaller N400 for complement set reference following an ironic compared to a non-ironic context. The shortfall generated thorough irony is sufficient to allow focus on the complement set, supporting the Presupposition-Denial Account.

Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology, 2021

Ironic language is typically more difficult to process and interpret than a literal equivalent, h... more Ironic language is typically more difficult to process and interpret than a literal equivalent, hence is assumed to serve several social and emotional functions not achieved by literal communication (such as politeness or introducing humor). Several factors may influence emotional responses to irony, such as the perspective from which the utterance is encountered (e.g., speaker vs. target) and the tone of voice (prosody) used. To examine these issues, we conducted two event-related brain potential (ERP) studies in which participants listened to scenarios describing emotional responses to either literal criticism or ironic criticism. Ironic criticism was delivered with either natural or ironic prosody. Scenarios either described an emotional response the speaker expected to elicit from the target (speaker perspective), or the target’s actual emotional response (target perspective). Expected or actual emotional responses were described as either “amused” (Experiment 1) or “hurt” (Experiment 2). ERPs were calculated time-locked to the end of the ironic or literal statements, and to the audio presentation of the critical emotion words. Results showed a significant effect of perspective for amused conditions, reflected by a larger late posterior positivity for the target than speaker conditions, indicating amused responses are more expected from speaker than target perspective. This effect was not seen for hurt conditions, suggesting these are equally expected from target and speaker perspectives. The data also revealed a more negative-going ERP waveform specifically for ironic criticism delivered with ironic prosody, reflecting prosodic processing. This suggests prosody may be able to speed the identification of irony.

Journal of Pragmatics, 2021

This paper investigates how individuals perceive hyperbole in victim statements. Despite being on... more This paper investigates how individuals perceive hyperbole in victim statements. Despite being one of the most commonly used literary tropes, the comprehension and cognition of hyperbole has been largely ignored in the psycholinguistics literature, and despite detailed literature outlining the emotional behaviour of victims, the use of figurative language has been largely ignored in the forensics literature. In the present study, two experiments were undertaken. In Experiment 1, 32 participants were recruited from groups with forensic experience or training. Participants were presented with 16 victim statements; eight contained a number of hyperbolic phrases and eight contained non-hyperbolic counterparts. After reading each statement, participants were asked to answer questions that would quantify perceived credibility on accounts of belief, sympathy, victim-impact, and likeability. The results from Experiment 1 showed that hyperbolic speech made a significant negative impact on all four credibility measures. In Experiment 2, 32 jury-eligible individuals performed the same task. Results from this experiment demonstrated that the use of hyperbole made testimonies more believable and made the victim seem more impacted. Results are discussed in terms of the real-world implications of using hyperbolic language, and individual differences in the comprehension of, and reaction to, figurative statements.

Psychiatry Research, 2020

Low body mass index (BMI<18/18.5) is utilized as a mandated cutoff for professional fashion model... more Low body mass index (BMI<18/18.5) is utilized as a mandated cutoff for professional fashion model employment, based on assumptions that low BMI indicates eating disorder pathology. No previous studies have examined the association between experimenter-measured BMI and eating disorder symptomatology in professional fashion models. We measured BMI and Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) responses in United Kingdom (UK) professional fashion models, and nonmodels. Characteristics were compared using robust standardized mean difference (rSMD) obtained via probability of superiority. Associations between BMI and eating disorder symptomatology were examined using robust regression, controlling for age. Models exhibited lower BMI but higher fat-percentage and muscle mass. On the EDE-Q, models had higher Restraint, Global, Eating, and Weight Concerns, and similar Shape Concern scores compared to nonmodels. BMI was positively associated with eating disorder symptoms in both groups, and all but one of the eight models with clinically significant EDE-Q level had ≥18.5 measured BMI. Lower BMI was not indicative of worse eating disorder symptomatology in models or nonmodels. Thus, using a low BMI cutoff (<18.5) may not be an appropriate single index of health for detecting elevated eating disorder symptoms in models. Different policies to protect models’ health should be considered.

BMC Public Health, 2020

Background: Body dissatisfaction influences women's mental and physical health. To date, most res... more Background: Body dissatisfaction influences women's mental and physical health. To date, most research has focused on body dissatisfaction in relation to the 'thin-ideal'. Thus, the association between body dissatisfaction, eating disorder symptomatology and muscularity-ideal in women is less clear. Lack of understanding is underpinned by the lack of reliable and valid muscularity-related assessments for women. To address this need, we developed, tested and re-tested two new body dissatisfaction scales: The Female Body Scale (FBS; adiposity dimension) and Female Fit Body Scale (FFITBS; muscularity dimension). Methods: One hundred and fifty-two women in the United Kingdom rated which body figure best represented their current and ideal body, completed the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q 6.0), and their body composition was measured. During re-test, the EDE-Q 6.0 and Drive for Muscularity Scale (DMS) were completed. Results: Both the FBS and the FFITBS were found to be valid and reliable, and distinct types of body dissatisfaction were identified. Higher EDE-Q scores corresponded with greater body dissatisfaction scores on both the FBS and FFITBS. Thin-ideal (FBS) and larger/muscularity-ideal (FFITBS) body dissatisfaction predicted higher scores on the DMS. The muscularity scale (FFITBS) uniquely revealed that 28% of participants indicated body dissatisfaction toward the larger-muscularity-ideal. Conclusions: Results reveal distinct dimensions of body dissatisfaction. These new, validated scales may be utilized to quickly identify eating disorder risk in women as a preventative assessment for clinicians and inform female-focused body-image and eating disorder research.

Cognition and Emotion, 2024

Figurative expressions are commonly used in everyday language as a device for conveying emotion. ... more Figurative expressions are commonly used in everyday language as a device for conveying emotion. Hyperbole (e.g. “It took ages for him to arrive”) specifically can provide linguistic emphasis; especially when speakers wish to convey emotional evaluations of negative situations. In sexual crime cases, the victim’s behavioural emotionality often enhances credibility, however, some research suggests that hyperbole-induced linguistic emotionality can be perceived negatively. In this study, we examined whether hyperbole impacts perceived emotionality and assessed the extent of this impact on measures of valence, intensity, and appropriateness. Participants were professionals (police officers) or jury-eligible laypersons who rated testimonies containing either hyperbolic or non-hyperbolic expressions. Results suggested that the use of hyperbole increased the perceived emotional intensity of the testimony, but made testimonies appear less emotionally appropriate than non-hyperbolic counterparts. In addition, regardless of the presence of hyperbole, laypersons judged the scenarios to be more unpleasant, and more emotionally intense compared to professionals. Findings suggest discrepancies between hyperbole usage and discourse goals, versus its perception. That is, hyperbole effectively enhances emotionality, but its role in victim speech may come with more caveats than anticipated, particularly when considering the proposed importance of victim emotionality in establishing credibility.

American Journal of Men's Health, 2024

This study is the first to examine the utility of body mass index (BMI) as an indicator of eating... more This study is the first to examine the utility of body mass index (BMI) as an indicator of eating disorder (ED) pathology and fitness for employment for professional male fashion models. We assessed the relationship between experimenter-measured BMI, muscle mass, body fat percentage, and ED severity (EDE-Q score) in male models and nonmodels. Except for higher eating concern, the two groups displayed similar EDE-Q scores after controlling for age. Models relative to nonmodels endorsed significantly greater frequency of compulsive exercise and self-induced vomiting as a means of controlling shape or weight. BMI was a poor indicator of body fat percentage in models. Lower BMI in models, and higher BMI in nonmodels, was associated with higher EDE-Q scores. Interestingly, all the male models with clinically significant EDE-Q scores (greater than or equal to 4.0) had >18.5 experimenter-measured BMI. Higher muscle mass in models, and lower muscle mass in nonmodels, was associated with higher EDE-Q scores. Inversely, lower percentage body fat in models, and higher percentage body fat in nonmodels, was associated with higher EDE-Q scores. BMI, muscle mass, and percentage body fat were associated with ED tendencies in male models and nonmodels. Findings also suggest males with clinical ED symptoms would be overlooked if only low BMI (<18.5) was considered. These results may guide the development of more effective mandates to safeguard models’ wellbeing, and men generally.

Journal of Memory and Language, 2024

This novel experiment investigates the relationship between readers' eye movements and their use ... more This novel experiment investigates the relationship between readers' eye movements and their use of "noisy channel" inferences when reading implausible sentences, and how this might be affected by cognitive aging. Young (18-26 years) and older (65-87 years) adult participants read sentences which were either plausible or implausible. Crucially, readers could assign a plausible interpretation to the implausible sentences by inferring that a preposition (i.e., "to") had been unintentionally omitted or included. Our results reveal that readers' fixation locations within such sentences are associated with the likelihood of them inferring the presence or absence of this critical preposition to reach a plausible interpretation. Moreover, our older adults were more likely to make these noisy-channel inferences than the younger adults, potentially because their poorer visual processing and greater linguistic experience promote such inference-making. We propose that the present findings provide novel experimental evidence for a perceptual contribution to noisy-channel inference-making during reading.

The Cambridge handbook of irony and thought , 2023

Filik, R. (2023). Emotional responses to sarcasm. In R. W. Gibbs Jr. & H. L. Colston (Eds.), The ... more Filik, R. (2023). Emotional responses to sarcasm. In R. W. Gibbs Jr. & H. L. Colston (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of irony and thought (pp. 255–271). Cambridge University Press.

Discourse Processes, 2023

Corpus evidence suggests that in contexts in which the presence of multiple antecedents might fav... more Corpus evidence suggests that in contexts in which the presence of multiple antecedents might favor plural reference, the disadvantage observed for singular reference may disappear if the potential antecedents are combined in a group-like plural entity. We examined the relative salience of antecedents in conditions where the context either made a group interpretation available (i.e., mereological entity) (e.g., "The engineer hooked up the engine to the boxcar . . .", where group = "train"), or not (e.g., "The engineer detached the engine from the boxcar . . ."). Results from three experiments in which participants were asked to identify referents for singular versus plural pronouns (Experiment 1), to confirm the referents of pronouns in a sentence completion task (Experiment 2), and to provide paraphrases for given texts (Experiment 3), collectively provided evidence that the creation of a group makes that entity (i) a possible referent for singular anaphoric reference and (ii) more salient than its constituents.

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 2023

Sarcasm is commonly used in everyday language; however, little is currently known about cultural ... more Sarcasm is commonly used in everyday language; however, little is currently known about cultural and individual differences in sarcasm interpretation and use, particularly across Western and Eastern cultures. To address these gaps in the literature, the present study investigated individual differences in sarcasm interpretation and use in the UK and China. Participants first rated literal and sarcastic comments regarding degree of perceived sarcasm, aggression, amusement, and politeness. They then completed tasks which assessed their theory of mind (ToM) ability, perspective taking ability, and sarcasm use tendency. The results showed that UK participants were more sarcastic than Chinese participants. In terms of interpretation, UK participants rated sarcasm as being more amusing and polite than literal criticism, whereas the Chinese data showed that sarcasm was rated as being more amusing but also more aggressive than literal criticism. ToM ability and perspective taking ability positively predicted sarcasm perception in both cultural groups, while the effects of ToM on other rating dimensions varied across cultures. Sarcasm use tendency negatively predicted perception of sarcasm and aggression in UK participants, whereas the opposite was found for Chinese participants. The decomposition of individual difference effects showed that different facets of interpretation and socio-emotional impact of sarcasm are differentially associated with different cultural and individual differences factors. From this, we propose that both cultural and individual differences factors modulate sarcasm interpretation and use: Participants from different cultures and with different traits may view sarcasm differently, which, in turn, affects their interpretation and use of sarcastic language.

International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 2022

Emoji are often misinterpreted. This study investigated whether individual differences known to i... more Emoji are often misinterpreted. This study investigated whether individual differences known to impact facial emotion recognition would also affect emoji recognition. Participants completed an online emoji classification task, and then completed questionnaires assessing their autistic traits, attachment style, and alexithymia score. Results showed that Autism Quotient (AQ) scores influenced classification accuracy, but only when considered in conjunction with alexithymia and attachment anxiety. Accuracy was poorer when AQ scores and alexithymia scores were both high, whereas high attachment anxiety boosted emotion recognition in participants with high AQ scores. Results highlight the importance of studying individual differences factors concomitantly, allowing for more accurate identification of individuals who may be at risk of emotional miscommunication online, and are therefore suitable targets for support or intervention. Furthermore, findings will be informative for designers of digital tools that are used to convey emotion.

British Journal of Psychology, 2023

Controversy exists as to whether, compared to young adults, older adults are more, equally or les... more Controversy exists as to whether, compared to young adults, older adults are more, equally or less likely to make linguistic predictions while reading. While previous studies have examined age effects on the prediction of upcoming words, the prediction of upcoming syntactic structures has been largely unexplored. We compared the benefit that young and older readers gain when the syntactic structure is made predictable, as well as potential age differences in the costs involved in making predictions. In a self-paced reading study, 60 young and 60 older adults read sentences in which noun-phrase co-ordination (e.g. "large pizza or tasty calzone") is made predictable through the inclusion of the word "either" earlier in the sentence. Results showed a benefit of the presence of "either" in the second half of the coordination phrase, and a cost of the presence of "either" in the first half. We observed no age differences in the benefit or costs of making these predictions; Bayes factor analyses offered strong evidence that these effects are age invariant. Together, these findings suggest that both older and younger adults make similar strength syntactic predictions with a similar level of difficulty. We relate this age invariance in syntactic prediction to specific aspects of the ageing process.

Psychology, Crime & Law, 2022

Victim emotionality is one of the most influential factors in sexual crime cases. Traditionally, ... more Victim emotionality is one of the most influential factors in sexual crime cases. Traditionally, the study of emotionality has been limited to behaviour-descriptors such as conveying panic or appearing shaken, however, such studies must also be extended to the content of the victim’s testimony. Factors that affect emotionality within victim speech have not been suffciently explored. Figurative language – such as metaphor, hyperbole, and simile – has been viewed historically as a tool to enhance persuasion, source credibility, and influence attitude changes within listeners. Thus, the use of figurative language may be the quickest and most effective way for victims to communicate the impact of sexual abuse. The present research focused on the intentional meta-linguistic content of victim testimony such as the use of figurative language; specifcally, hyperbole. We investigated whether professionals and laypersons preferred a hyperbolic phrase, or a literal phrase in victim testimony, when asked to assume the role of the speaker, using a ‘fill-in-the-blank’ task. The results showed that professionals preferred the literal phrase, whereas laypersons preferred the hyperbolic. This would suggest that the pragmatic functions of hyperbole are different for laypersons (who could become complainants or jury members) and law enforcement; the implications of this difference are discussed.

Journal of Memory and Language, 2022

We present a replication of Levy, Bicknell, Slattery, and Rayner (2009). In this prior study part... more We present a replication of Levy, Bicknell, Slattery, and Rayner (2009). In this prior study participants read sentences in which a perceptually confusable preposition (at; confusable with as) or non-confusable preposition (toward) was followed by a verb more likely to appear in the syntactic structure formed by replacing at with as (e. g. tossed) or a verb that was not more likely to appear in this structure (e.g. thrown). Readers experienced processing difficulty upon fixating verbs like tossed following at, but not toward. Levy et al. argued that this suggests readers maintained uncertainty about previously fixated words' identities. We argue that this finding has wideranging implications for language processing theories, and that a replication is required. On the basis of a Bayes Factor Design Analysis we conducted a replication study with 56 items and 72 participants in order to determine whether Levy et al.'s effects are replicable. Using Bayesian statistical techniques we show that in our dataset there is evidence against the existence of the interaction Levy et al. found, and thus conclude that this study is non-replicable.

Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 2022

In a self-paced reading study, we investigated whether older adults maintain a greater level of u... more In a self-paced reading study, we investigated whether older adults maintain a greater level of uncertainty about the identity of words in a sentence than younger adults, potentially due to deficits in visuo-perceptual processing of highspatial frequencies associated with normal aging. In the experiment, 60 older adults and 60 younger adults read sentences in which an early preposition was either perceptually confusable with another word (at; confusable with as) or not (toward), and in which the reading of a subsequent ambiguous verb (e.g., tossed) should be affected by the confusability of the preposition, while the reading of an unambiguous verb (e.g., thrown) should not be. This design replicated that of an earlier study conducted by Levy et al. (2009) that found evidence in favour of participants maintaining uncertainty about the confusable preposition in go-past times during natural reading. However, in our study, there was no evidence that either younger or older adults maintained uncertainty about the identity of the perceptually confusable preposition, such that there was no interaction between the preposition's form and subsequent verb ambiguity in self-paced reading times, although we did observe a main effect of verb ambiguity. This represents a failure to replicate the effect observed by Levy et al. when using a different experimental paradigm, and we consider potential causes of our findings at both a methodological and theoretical level.

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2022

We investigated ASD-diagnosed adults' and neurotypical (NT) controls' processing of emoji and emo... more We investigated ASD-diagnosed adults' and neurotypical (NT) controls' processing of emoji and emoji influence on the emotionality of otherwise-neutral sentences. Study 1 participants categorised emoji representing the six basic emotions using a fixed-set of emotional adjectives. Results showed that ASD-diagnosed participants' classifications of fearful, sad, and surprised emoji were more diverse and less 'typical' than NT controls' responses. Study 2 participants read emotionally-neutral sentences; half paired with sentence-final happy emoji, half with sad emoji. Participants rated sentence + emoji stimuli for emotional valence. ASD-diagnosed and NT participants rated sentences + happy emoji as equally-positive, however, ASDdiagnosed participants rated sentences + sad emoji as more-negative than NT participants. We must acknowledge differential perceptions and effects of emoji, and emoji-text interrelationships , when working with neurodiverse stakeholders.

Cognition and Emotion, 2021

Eating disorder prevalence is increasing in males, perhaps more rapidly than in females. Theorist... more Eating disorder prevalence is increasing in males, perhaps more rapidly than in females. Theorists have proposed that cognitive biases are important factors underpinning disordered eating, especially those related to food, body, and perfectionism. We investigated these factors in relation to males’ eating disorder symptomatology in the general population by using eye-tracking during reading as a novel and implicit measure. 180 males’ eye movements were monitored while they read scenarios (third-person in Experiment 1 (n = 90, 18-38(Mage = 21.50, SD = 3.65)); second-person in Experiment 2 (n = 90, 18–35(Mage = 20.50, SD = 2.22))) describing characters’ emotional responses (e.g. upset) to food-, body image-, and perfectionism-related events. Participants’ eating disorder symptomatology was then assessed, and body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Results showed processing of characters’ emotional responses (detected via eye-tracking) to body- and perfectionism-related events for third-person scenarios was related to eating disorder symptomatology. Processing of characters’ emotional responses to body- related events for second-person scenarios was related to males’ BMI. The moment-to-moment processing of characters’ emotional responses to food-related scenarios was not related to eating disorder symptomatology or BMI. Findings support theories that include body- and perfectionism-related cognitive biases as underlying mechanisms of eating disorder symptomatology and the use of implicit measures of cognitive processes underlying males’ eating disorder symptomatology.

Computers in Human Behavior, 2022

There is evidence for an age-related decline in the ability to understand non-literal language su... more There is evidence for an age-related decline in the ability to understand non-literal language such as sarcasm. There is also evidence to suggest that devices such as emoticons/emojis may influence sarcasm comprehension in younger adults. However, research examining whether such devices may improve written sarcasm comprehension in older adults is scarce. The present study used an online rating task to investigate the influence of the winking face emoji on both the interpretation and perception of message intent for sarcastic or literal criticism or praise. Results revealed that older adults, in comparison to their younger counterparts, demonstrated deficient ability in interpreting and perceiving sarcastic intent. However, older adults' interpretation and perception of sarcastic intent were significantly improved when the messages were accompanied by the winking face emoji. This would suggest that the winking face emoji is a clear indicator of sarcastic intent, compensating for the absence of non-verbal cues in written communication, and may play a useful role in successful intergenerational communication.

Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 2022

Proponents of good-enough processing suggest that readers often (mis)interpret certain sentences ... more Proponents of good-enough processing suggest that readers often (mis)interpret certain sentences using fast-and-frugal heuristics, such that for non-canonical sentences (e.g., "The dog was bitten by the man") people confuse the thematic roles of the nouns. We tested this theory by examining the effect of sentence canonicality on the reading of a follow-up sentence. In a self-paced reading study, 60 young and 60 older adults read an implausible sentence in either canonical (e.g., "It was the peasant that executed the king") or non-canonical form (e.g., "It was the king that was executed by the peasant"), followed by a sentence that was implausible given a good-enough misinterpretation of the first sentence (e.g., "Afterwards, the peasant rode back to the countryside") or a sentence that was implausible given a correct interpretation of the first sentence (e.g., "Afterwards, the king rode back to his castle"). We hypothesised that if non-canonical sentences are systematically misinterpreted, then sentence canonicality would differentially affect the reading of the two different follow-up types. Our data suggested that participants derived the same interpretations for canonical and non-canonical sentences, with no modulating effect of age group. Our findings suggest that readers do not derive an incorrect interpretation of non-canonical sentences during initial parsing, consistent with theories of misinterpretation effects that instead attribute these effects to post-interpretative processes.

Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 2021

According to the Presupposition-Denial Account, complement set reference arises when focus is on ... more According to the Presupposition-Denial Account, complement set reference arises when focus is on the shortfall between the amount conveyed by a natural language quantifier and a larger, expected amount. Negative quantifiers imply a shortfall, through the denial of a presupposition, whereas positive quantifiers do not. An exception may be provided by irony. One function of irony is to highlight, through indirect negation, the shortfall between what is expected/desired, and what is observed. Thus, a positive quantifier used ironically should also lead to a shortfall and license complement set reference. Using ERPs, we examined whether reference to the complement set is more felicitous following a positive quantifier used ironically than one used non-ironically. ERPs during reading showed a smaller N400 for complement set reference following an ironic compared to a non-ironic context. The shortfall generated thorough irony is sufficient to allow focus on the complement set, supporting the Presupposition-Denial Account.

Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology, 2021

Ironic language is typically more difficult to process and interpret than a literal equivalent, h... more Ironic language is typically more difficult to process and interpret than a literal equivalent, hence is assumed to serve several social and emotional functions not achieved by literal communication (such as politeness or introducing humor). Several factors may influence emotional responses to irony, such as the perspective from which the utterance is encountered (e.g., speaker vs. target) and the tone of voice (prosody) used. To examine these issues, we conducted two event-related brain potential (ERP) studies in which participants listened to scenarios describing emotional responses to either literal criticism or ironic criticism. Ironic criticism was delivered with either natural or ironic prosody. Scenarios either described an emotional response the speaker expected to elicit from the target (speaker perspective), or the target’s actual emotional response (target perspective). Expected or actual emotional responses were described as either “amused” (Experiment 1) or “hurt” (Experiment 2). ERPs were calculated time-locked to the end of the ironic or literal statements, and to the audio presentation of the critical emotion words. Results showed a significant effect of perspective for amused conditions, reflected by a larger late posterior positivity for the target than speaker conditions, indicating amused responses are more expected from speaker than target perspective. This effect was not seen for hurt conditions, suggesting these are equally expected from target and speaker perspectives. The data also revealed a more negative-going ERP waveform specifically for ironic criticism delivered with ironic prosody, reflecting prosodic processing. This suggests prosody may be able to speed the identification of irony.

Journal of Pragmatics, 2021

This paper investigates how individuals perceive hyperbole in victim statements. Despite being on... more This paper investigates how individuals perceive hyperbole in victim statements. Despite being one of the most commonly used literary tropes, the comprehension and cognition of hyperbole has been largely ignored in the psycholinguistics literature, and despite detailed literature outlining the emotional behaviour of victims, the use of figurative language has been largely ignored in the forensics literature. In the present study, two experiments were undertaken. In Experiment 1, 32 participants were recruited from groups with forensic experience or training. Participants were presented with 16 victim statements; eight contained a number of hyperbolic phrases and eight contained non-hyperbolic counterparts. After reading each statement, participants were asked to answer questions that would quantify perceived credibility on accounts of belief, sympathy, victim-impact, and likeability. The results from Experiment 1 showed that hyperbolic speech made a significant negative impact on all four credibility measures. In Experiment 2, 32 jury-eligible individuals performed the same task. Results from this experiment demonstrated that the use of hyperbole made testimonies more believable and made the victim seem more impacted. Results are discussed in terms of the real-world implications of using hyperbolic language, and individual differences in the comprehension of, and reaction to, figurative statements.

Psychiatry Research, 2020

Low body mass index (BMI<18/18.5) is utilized as a mandated cutoff for professional fashion model... more Low body mass index (BMI<18/18.5) is utilized as a mandated cutoff for professional fashion model employment, based on assumptions that low BMI indicates eating disorder pathology. No previous studies have examined the association between experimenter-measured BMI and eating disorder symptomatology in professional fashion models. We measured BMI and Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) responses in United Kingdom (UK) professional fashion models, and nonmodels. Characteristics were compared using robust standardized mean difference (rSMD) obtained via probability of superiority. Associations between BMI and eating disorder symptomatology were examined using robust regression, controlling for age. Models exhibited lower BMI but higher fat-percentage and muscle mass. On the EDE-Q, models had higher Restraint, Global, Eating, and Weight Concerns, and similar Shape Concern scores compared to nonmodels. BMI was positively associated with eating disorder symptoms in both groups, and all but one of the eight models with clinically significant EDE-Q level had ≥18.5 measured BMI. Lower BMI was not indicative of worse eating disorder symptomatology in models or nonmodels. Thus, using a low BMI cutoff (<18.5) may not be an appropriate single index of health for detecting elevated eating disorder symptoms in models. Different policies to protect models’ health should be considered.

BMC Public Health, 2020

Background: Body dissatisfaction influences women's mental and physical health. To date, most res... more Background: Body dissatisfaction influences women's mental and physical health. To date, most research has focused on body dissatisfaction in relation to the 'thin-ideal'. Thus, the association between body dissatisfaction, eating disorder symptomatology and muscularity-ideal in women is less clear. Lack of understanding is underpinned by the lack of reliable and valid muscularity-related assessments for women. To address this need, we developed, tested and re-tested two new body dissatisfaction scales: The Female Body Scale (FBS; adiposity dimension) and Female Fit Body Scale (FFITBS; muscularity dimension). Methods: One hundred and fifty-two women in the United Kingdom rated which body figure best represented their current and ideal body, completed the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q 6.0), and their body composition was measured. During re-test, the EDE-Q 6.0 and Drive for Muscularity Scale (DMS) were completed. Results: Both the FBS and the FFITBS were found to be valid and reliable, and distinct types of body dissatisfaction were identified. Higher EDE-Q scores corresponded with greater body dissatisfaction scores on both the FBS and FFITBS. Thin-ideal (FBS) and larger/muscularity-ideal (FFITBS) body dissatisfaction predicted higher scores on the DMS. The muscularity scale (FFITBS) uniquely revealed that 28% of participants indicated body dissatisfaction toward the larger-muscularity-ideal. Conclusions: Results reveal distinct dimensions of body dissatisfaction. These new, validated scales may be utilized to quickly identify eating disorder risk in women as a preventative assessment for clinicians and inform female-focused body-image and eating disorder research.