When distressed couples come into counseling, a common complaint concerns sarcasm. One partner wants to know when it crosses the line into emotional abuse, while the other claims it’s just joking ...

Instructing us in the basics of paraverbal behavior, our mother used to say “Der Ton macht die Musik” (The tone makes the music). She anticipated the experimental finding that the reception and the ...

Sarcasm is a shady and rather nebulous artform. Sometimes, it’s pretty clear to tell that someone is giving you a helping of snark with their response. The person’s tone and facial expression might be ...

SAN FRANCISCO — Millennials, rejoice: A winking-face emoji is worth a slew of ironic words. The brain interprets irony or sarcasm conveyed by an emoji in the same way as it does verbal banter, ...