Assignment task 1: After reading the article entitled "Field Guide: Sarcastic Masters" by Elizabeth Svoboda (2007) from the Week 4 Learning Resources answer the following questions. Be descriptive in your answers.
a. What is your general reaction to sarcasm?
b. How often do you use sarcasm?
c. How do you generally feel when you are the recipient of sarcasm? What seems to differentiate the times when you found it amusing and when you found it offensive?
d. According to the article by Elizabeth Svoboda (2007) what is the downside of sarcasm?
e. Which of Svoboda's recommendations from the section entitled "when to take the edge off" would be most helpful for you to employ in your own life? Why?
f. What was your overall reaction to the article?
Assignment task 2: After reading the article entitled "The Science of Sarcasm? Yeah, Right" by Richard Chin (2011) from the Week 3 Learning Resources, answer the following questions. Be descriptive in your answers.
a. What are some of the positive aspects of sarcasm? Keep in mind that the article also states that sarcasm can be seen as a true lie and it is both funny and mean.
b. According to the article, with whom are we most likely to use sarcasm and what area/context appears to be the exception?
c. At what age are children able to detect deception?
d. What regional differences were reported in regard to sarcasm?
e. Analyze the phenomenon of sarcasm in terms of the voice as well as the other cues that might be associated with it.
f. What can interfere with a person's ability to detect deception?
g. What did you find most interesting about this article and why?