The relationship between irony comprehension, behavior regulation and theory of mind in preschool age

Context and relevance. Cultural-historical psychology makes it possible to describe the phenomenon of irony and the specific features of its comprehension in terms of social and cultural norms. In recent years, the search for effective tools of children’s socialization has increasingly turned to the study of how children understand irony, particularly irony used as an indirect evaluation of a child’s behavior. The regulation of preschoolers’ behavior is associated with rules transmitted by adults in social developmental situations, which determine children’s cultural congruence. It is assumed that the understanding of irony is related to theory of mind, which makes it relevant to study behavioral regulation both in the context of irony comprehension and in connection with theory of mind. Objective. To identify the relationship between irony comprehension, the level of behavioral regulation in children expressed as cultural congruence, and indicators of their theory of mind development. Hypothesis. Children’s understanding of irony is related to their cultural congruence as well as to their theory of mind. Methods and Materials. The study involved 75 preschoolers from Kazan (M = 59,02; SD = 3,1; 35 boys). Cultural congruence was assessed using the Cultural Congruence Questionnaire; irony comprehension was measured with tasks translated and adapted for this study; theory of mind was assessed using the respective subtest from the NEPSY-II battery. To identify the nature of the relationships, Spearman’s correlation analysis was applied. Results. The findings show that five-year-old children’s understanding of irony is associated with their parents’ assessments of the cultural congruence factors “obedience” and “safety”. The level of theory of mind development demonstrated a significant correlation with the cultural congruence factor “self-control”. Conclusions. Preschool children’s comprehension of irony opens new avenues for studying the metacognitive, communicative, and emotional domains of personality. The revealed interconnections among irony comprehension, cultural congruence, and theory of mind provide a foundation for developing new approaches to the practice of supporting behavioral regulation in preschool children.

1. Баянова,Л.Ф., Веракса, Н.Е., Ощепкова, Е.С. (2025). Развитие комического в детском возрасте: обзор исследований. Образование и саморазвитие, 20(1), 89—102.
   Bayanova, L.F., Veraksa, N.E., & Oshchepkova, E.S. (2025). Razvitie komicheskogo v detskom vozraste: obzor issledovanii [The development of the comic in childhood: a review of research]. Obrazovanie i samorazvitie, 20(1), 89—102. (In Russ.).
2. Божович, Л.И. (1982). Социальная ситуация и движущие силы развития ребенка. В: Ю.Б. Гиппенрейтер, А.А. Пузырей (Ред.), Психология личности. Тексты (с. 166—171). М.: Изд-во Моск. ун-та.
   Bozhovich, L.I. (1982). The social situation and the driving forces of a child’s development. In: Yu.B. Gippenreiter, A.A. Puzyrey (Ed.), Psychology of Personality. Texts (pp. 166—171). Moscow: Moscow University Press. (In Russ.).
3. Веракса, Н.Е. (2000). Личность и культура: структурно-диалектический подход. Перемены, 1, 81—107.
   Veraksa, N.E. (2000). Personality and culture: A structural-dialectical approach. Peremeny, 1, 81—107. (In Russ.).
4. Веракса, Н.Е., Веракса, А.Н., Айрапетян, З.В., Крашенинников, Е.Е. (2024). Развитие диалектического мышления: роль структурированности и организованности повседневной жизни ребенка в дошкольном детстве. Вестник Российского университета дружбы народов. Серия: Философия, 28(4), 979—996. https://doi.org/10.22363/2313-2302-2024-28-4-979-996
   Veraksa, N.E., Veraksa, A.N., Airapetyan, Z.V., Krasheninnikov, E.E. (2024). Development of dialectical thinking: The role of structuredness and organization of a child’s everyday life in preschool childhood. RUDN Journal of Philosophy, 28(4), 979—996. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.22363/2313-2302-2024-28-4-979-996
5. Выготский, Л.С. (1982). Собрание сочинений: В 6 т.: Том 1. Исторический смысл психологического кризиса (с. 291—436). М.: Педагогика. 
   Vygotsky, L.S. (1982). Collected works: In 6 vols: Vol. 1. The historical meaning of the psychological crisis (pp. 291—436). Moscow: Pedagogika. (In Russ.).
6. Выготский, Л.С. (1984). Собрание сочинений: В 6 т. Т. 4. Детская психология. М.: Педагогика.
   Vygotsky, L.S. (1984). Collected works: In 6 vols. Vol. 4. Child psychology. Moscow: Pedagogika. (In Russ.).
7. Выготский Л.С. (2004). Игра и ее роль в психическом развитии ребенка. Психология развития ребенка. М.: Смысл; Эксмо, 2004. С. 200—224.
   Vygotskii L.S. (2004). Play and Its Role in the Mental Development of the Child. In: Psychology of Child Development. Moscow: Smysl; Eksmo, 200—224. (In Russian).
8. Домбровская, И. (2022).Культурно-историческая психология юмора. Издательские решения.
   Dombrovskaya, I. (2022). Cultural-Historical Psychology of Humor. Izdatelskie resheniya. (In Russian).
9. Корсак А.А., Иванова Е.М.(2025). Трехкомпонентная модель развития чувства юмора: от простой улыбки до сложного комического мышления. Новые психологические исследования, 4, 12—36. https://doi.org/10.51217/npsyresearch_2025_05_04_01
   Korsak, A.A., Ivanova, E.M. (2025). A Three-Component Model of Humor Development: From Simple Smile to Complex Comic Thinking. New Psychological Research, 4, 12—36. https://doi.org/10.51217/npsyresearch_2025_05_04_01(In Russ.).
10. Кудрявцев, В.Т. (1999). Психология развития человека: основания культурно-исторического подхода. Ч. 1. Рига: Педагогический центр «Эксперимент».
    Kudryavtsev, V.T. (1999). Psychology of human development: Foundations of the cultural-historical approach. Part 1. Riga: Pedagogicheskij centr "Eksperiment". (In Russ.).
11. Лурия, А.Р. (2002). Основы нейропсихологии. М.: Издательский центр «Академия».
    Luriya, A.R. (2002). Fundamentals of neuropsychology. Moscow: Izdatel'skij centr "Akademiya". (In Russ.).
12. Сергиенко, Е.А., Лебедева, Е.И., Прусакова, О.А. (2009). Модель психического как основа становления понимания себя и другого в онтогенезе человека. М.: Институт психологии РАН.
    Sergienko, E.A., Lebedeva, E.I., Prusakova, O.A. (2009). Theory of mind as the basis for the development of understanding of self and others in human ontogeny. Moscow: Institute of Psychology, Russian Academy of Sciences. (In Russ.).
13. Солдатенкова Е.Н. (2025). Преодоление смыслового барьера и развитие способности к использованию коммуникативных средств: Часть II. Психотехника. Культурно-историческая психология, 21(1), 34—41. https://doi.org/10.17759/chp.2025210104
    Soldatenkova, E.N. (2025). Overcoming the Semantic Barrier and Developing the Ability to Use Communicative Tools. Part II. Psychotechnique.Cultural-Historical Psychology, 21(1), 34—41. https://doi.org/10.17759/chp.2025210104 (In Russ.).
14. Чеснокова, О.Б., Светова, Г.С. (2016). Понимание иронии детьми старшего дошкольного и младшего школьного возраста. В: Воспитание и обучение детей младшего возраста: Сборник материалов Ежегодной международной научно-практической конференции: Т. 5, (с. 95—98). М.: Мозаика - Синтез
    Chesnokova, O.B., Svetova, G.S. (2016). Understanding of irony by children of senior preschool and primary school age. In: Upbringing and Education of Young Children: Proceedings of the Annual International Scientific and Practical Conference: Vol. 5 (pp. 95—98). Moscow: Mozaika – Syntese (In Russ.).
15. Albert, I., Trommsdorff, G. (2014). The role of culture in social development over the lifespan: An interpersonal relations approach. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, 6(2). https://doi.org/10.9707/2307-0919.105
16. Banasik, N., Bokus, B. (2019). Children’s Comprehension of Irony: Studies on Polish‐Speaking Preschoolers. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 48, 1217—1240. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10936-019-09654-x
17. Barich, T., Kyriaki, L., Forndran, A., Williamson, P., & Arciuli, J.(2025). Children's processing of irony during reading in English: An eye-tracking study. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 254, Article 106202. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2025.106202
18. Bayanova, L.F., Mustafin, T.R. (2016). Factors of compliance of a child with rules in a Russian cultural context. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 24(3), 357—364. https://doi.org/10.1080/1350293X.2016.1164394
19. Bucci, M.P., Premeti, A., Godart-Wendling, B. (2024). An Eye Tracker Study on the Understanding of Implicitness in French Elementary School Children. Brain Sciences, 14(12), 1195. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci14121195
20. González-Arratia López-Fuentes, N.I., Torres Muñoz, M.A., Díaz-Loving, R. (2025). The role of self-esteem, self-efficacy, social support and resilience in psychological adjustment in schoolchildren. Psychology in Russia: State of the Art, 18(1), 03—19. https://doi.org/10.11621/pir.2025.0101
21. Grice, H.P. (1975). Logic and conversation. In: P. Cole, J.L. Morgan (Eds.), Syntax and Semantics: Vol. 3. Speech Acts (pp. 41—58). New York: Academic Press.
22. Johnson, M. (2022). Branding That Means Business. London: Economist Books.
23. Köder, F., Falkum, I.L. (2021). Irony and Perspective-Taking in Children: The Roles of Norm Violations and Tone of Voice. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 624604. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.624604
24. Korkman, M., Kirk, U., Kemp, S.L. (2007). NEPSY II. Administrative manual. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.
25. Kuang C., Chen X., Chen F. (2024). Recognition of emotional prosody in mandarin-speaking children: effects of age, noise, and working memory. J. Psycholinguist. Res., 53, 68. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10936-024-10108-2
26. Kyriacou M., Köder F. (2024). The cognitive underpinnings of irony comprehension: Fluid intelligence but not working memory modulates processing. Appl. Psycholinguist., 45, 1219—1250. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0142716424000444
27. Loukusa, S., Leinonen, R. (2008). Development of comprehension of ironic utterances in 3- to 9-year-old Finnish-speaking children. Psychology of Language and Communication, 12(1), 55—69. https://doi.org/10.2478/v10057-008-0003-0
28. Massaro, D., Valle, A., Marchetti, A. (2013). Do social norms, false belief understanding, and metacognitive vocabulary influence irony comprehension? A study of five- and seven-year-old children. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 11(3), 292—304. https://doi.org/10.1080/17405629.2013.821407
29. Oshchepkova E, Kartushina N, Kovyazina M. (2025) Understanding of ironic and literal utterances in 4-9-year-old typically developing children: role of age, narrative skills, emotion comprehension and executive functions. Front Psychol., 16, 1718227. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1718227.
30. Schmidt, M.F.H., Butler, L.P., Heintz, J., Tomasello, M. (2016). Young children see a single action and infer a social norm: Promiscuous normativity in 3-year-olds. Psychological Science, 27(10), 1360—1370. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797616661182
31. Smith, J., Glenwright, M. (2025). The importance of intonation for children’s understanding of verbal irony. Psychol., 16, 1672104. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1672104
32. Song Y., Nie Z., Shan J. (2024). Comprehension of irony in autistic children: the role of theory of mind and executive function. Autism Res, 17, 109—124. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.3051
33. Super, C.M., Harkness, S. (1997). The Cultural Structuring of Child Development. In: J.W. Berry, P.R. Dasen, T.S. Saraswathi (Eds.), Handbook of Cross-Cultural Psychology: Vol. 2. Basic Processes and Human Development (2nd ed., pp. 1—40). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
34. Valles-Capetillo E., et al. (2025) Cognitive Resources and the Engagement of the Precuneus During Irony Processing. Psychophysiology, 62(10), 70162. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.70162
35. Wilson, D., Sperber, D. (2012). Explaining irony. In: D. Wilson, D. Sperber, Meaning and Relevance (pp. 123—145). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.