[Verbal irony and high intellectual capacity: comparative approach (7-9 years)].

Abstract

Introduction: The neurobiological potentiality of cognitive resources in High Intellectual Ability (HIA) involves complex cognition and representation of the world. This is related to language and figurative language. Competence in figurative language and its forms, such as verbal irony, is an understudied aspect of High Intellectual Ability that could provide a broader understanding of the abilities that constitute it, compared to the development of typical intelligence. The aim of this study was to investigate how children with HIA, aged 7-9 years, understand verbal irony and to compare their competence with typical children of the same age.

Methods: A univariate analysis of variance was performed on responses to the VIrQ questionnaire from a sample of n=62 schoolchildren with HIA and an agematched control group of typical schoolchildren (n=62).

Results: Show the complexity of verbal irony comprehension in participants with HIA at the age of 7-9 years compared to typical schoolchildren.

Discussion: We conclude and discuss comparing the components of irony that were most easily understood in each group, as well as those that were most difficult, suggesting the relevance of this area of study for better understanding the functioning of high intellectual ability, the relationship of verbal irony to other higher-level cognitive processes, and its possible role as complementary information in differential cognitive assessment.