Book contents
- The Cambridge Handbook of Irony and Thought
- Cambridge Handbooks in Psychology
- The Cambridge Handbook of Irony and Thought
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Part I Introduction
- Part II The Scope of Irony
- Part III Irony’s Impact
- Part IV Irony in Linguistic Communication
- Part V Irony, Affect, and Related Figures
- 14 Irony and Humor
- 15 Emotional Responses to Sarcasm
- 16 Irony, Exaggeration, and Hyperbole: No Embargo on the Cargo!
- 17 Irony and Its Overlap with Hyperbole and Understatement
- 18 Irony and Satire
- 19 Hypocrisy and Situational Irony
- Part VI Irony in Expressive, Nonlinguistic Media
- Index
- References
19 - Hypocrisy and Situational Irony
from Part V - Irony, Affect, and Related Figures
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 December 2023
- The Cambridge Handbook of Irony and Thought
- Cambridge Handbooks in Psychology
- The Cambridge Handbook of Irony and Thought
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Part I Introduction
- Part II The Scope of Irony
- Part III Irony’s Impact
- Part IV Irony in Linguistic Communication
- Part V Irony, Affect, and Related Figures
- 14 Irony and Humor
- 15 Emotional Responses to Sarcasm
- 16 Irony, Exaggeration, and Hyperbole: No Embargo on the Cargo!
- 17 Irony and Its Overlap with Hyperbole and Understatement
- 18 Irony and Satire
- 19 Hypocrisy and Situational Irony
- Part VI Irony in Expressive, Nonlinguistic Media
- Index
- References
Summary
Hypocrisy is also closely related to irony (i.e., a disparity of word and deed) and this chapter advances the claim that hypocrisy is really a form of situational irony, especially as it relates to moral judgments (e.g., not practicing what you preach). Shelley reviews past theories in philosophy and psychology (e.g., moral hypocrisy and cognitive dissonance) that offer insights into how people detect hypocrisy in others and even excuse it in themselves. But he goes on to outline his “bicoherence theory of situational irony” in which a situation is judged as “ironic” when it displays a bicoherent conceptual structure, adequate salience, and evokes an appropriate configuration of emotions. Bicoherence is important because it shows that while incoherence can be minimized, it cannot be eliminated from people’s understandings, despite their cognitive prowess and best efforts. Shelley considers numerous examples of hypocrisy, including ones in which something is explicitly called out as “hypocrisy,” to show its effectiveness in criticizing people for their shortcomings.
- Type
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- Information
- The Cambridge Handbook of Irony and Thought , pp. 345 - 364Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023