Title: Sarcasm is the 'highest form of intelligence', researchers say | Stuff.co.nz
Headings: Sarcasm is the 'highest form of intelligence', researchers say
Sarcasm is the 'highest form of intelligence', researchers say
Sydney Morning Herald

Content: This is a process that activates and is facilitated by abstraction, which in turn promotes creative thinking." To come to these conclusions the researchers conducted a series of tests, including imagining a cartoon with the caption, "I am sorry I splashed you, I tried to miss the puddle", was sarcastic, sincere or neutral. They were also asked to imagine conversations or recall real chats that had been sarcastic, sincere or neutral. They were then asked to perform cognitive tasks. Despite stretching us mentally, to avoid the potential for confusion and conflict, sarcasm is best reserved for people we love and trust, the researchers warned. "While most previous research seems to suggest that sarcasm is detrimental to effective communication because it is perceived to be more contemptuous than sincerity, we found that, unlike sarcasm between parties who distrust each other, sarcasm between individuals who share a trusting relationship does not generate more contempt than sincerity," said study co-author Adam Galinsky. Indeed, sarcasm can be "a subtle form of bullying", says psychologist Clifford Lazarus. "Despite smiling outwardly, most people who receive sarcastic comments feel put down and usually think the sarcastic person is a jerk," Lazarus adds. "Now I'm not saying all sarcasm is bad. It's just better used sparingly – like a potent spice in cooking," Lazarus says. "