Go On, Tell Me More...

Ah, sarcasm. The crown jewel, in my expert opinion, of all humor; it requires both deep thought and thoughtlessness, and the right mix of bite and humor to either generate some laughs or leave your audience staring vacantly in confusion. It can range from barely-concealed contempt to witty banter with friends, though as with everything else on this blog, there's a reason for why we do it.

Denizens of the Internet will have seen this one before; the late Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka, gazing off to the side as snarky text belittles some seemingly foolish proclamation. To those of us who see sarcasm as an art form, this meme's hilarity is endless. And to those who just don't get it, well...I'm sure you're just on a higher plane of humor than me. (Kidding, of course, but I needed to work in a sarcastic example somehow.) But seriously, everyone enjoys some well-placed comic relief, but psychological studies suggest our snark comes from more than just the desire to be funny.

Surprisingly (or maybe not, depending on how you feel about the targets of your quips), sarcasm can stem from feelings of inferiority compared to our peers. If we feel like one of our friends has bragged a bit too much about their fantastic test grade, we throw in a "Wow, you must be so smart," to knock them down a peg. Beyond the fact that nobody likes a braggart, people needle each other to establish dominance and intellectually superiority; we've made a clever joke and boosted our egos a bit at the same time. Even on a biological level, sarcasm is related to aggression and dominance, with being "top dog", for both the jokester and those who respond.  People who consistently had higher levels of aggression, and not necessarily in the physical sense, were shown to be more sarcastic in general.

However, contrary to popular belief, sarcasm isn't related to intelligence. Although your friends might belittle you if a witty jab flies right over your head, the perception and understanding of sarcasm is linked more to social and emotional receptiveness. Sarcasm isn't just in the words we use; it's our facial expressions, gestures, and the all-important, make-or-break tone of voice. Studies show that those who understand sarcasm the best are highly socially intelligent, able to read body language and vocal inflection more easily, which doesn't necessarily translate to academic intelligence.

Aside from determining whose banter is the wittiest, sarcasm also has important ramifications regarding our relationships with each other. People being sarcastic often see themselves as being innocently funny, but those on the receiving end may not feel the same way, instead experiencing hurt and a loss of self esteem over a supposedly harmless barb. I remember a conversation I had with a friend of my friend last week, as she commented on the copious amounts of people populating Penn State's campus.

"It's just so crowded here," she said, shaking her head in dismay.

Me being me, I elected to respond with a deadpan remark: "I know, right? It's a good thing we've got the plague going around; it's starting to feel a bit overpopulated around here, y'know?"

Suffice to say, she looked at me like I was a genocidal maniac for the rest of our conversation. I had unwittingly fallen into one of the traps of sarcasm: not knowing your audience. Our friends, for example, our used to our facetious ways, but total strangers are much more likely to take you literally, which can lead to disaster when you bring out a snarky comment.

To put everything into perspective, sarcasm is a basic social response to either a desire for humor or feelings of inadequacy, two very different concepts pooled under the same witty umbrella. So next time one of your friends makes a snide comment at you, you can spend the whole day thinking about what exactly they meant by it.

(Again, kidding. Isn't sarcasm great?)

How it feels at Penn State sometimes.