Sarcasm as Fun or Agression & Insecurity?

Though many are not aware of it, sarcasm is a means of indirectly expessing aggression toward others and insecurity about themselves. Wrapping their thoughts in a joke shields them from the vulnerability that comes with directly putting one's opinnion out there. Sarcastic people protect themselves by only letting the world see a superficial part of who they are. They're very into impression management.

Because humor and hostility often come mixed together, it can be difficult to pinpoit a wisecracker's primary intent. Sometime sarcasm is humor- purey a joke with no ill intent. But other times, it's devaluing. Eeryone benefits from a wisecracker's comic relief, but if you are the target of regular swipes, it's best to assertively call the joker out. His hilariousness doesn't give him the right to belittle you.

Just blurting out an insult is pedestrian at best. But a sarcastic jab that can masquerade as a compliment is much more enjoyable, and it also gives the person being sarcastic a sense of superiority. Such verbal jujitsu is rooted in insecurity, wisecrackers themselves, predictably enough, tend to admit feelingsof inadequacy only indirectly. Some acknowledge the use of sarcasm to compensate for shortcomings, but sidesteps a personal revelatio. Sarcasm helps give people a little ego boost.

People whose brains are best equipped to understand sarcasm tend to have aggressive personalities. Subjects who scored high on agression tests showed different patterns of brain activity in response to sarcasm tha those who did not. The differences suggest that the aggresive subjects were processin nonliteral meaning more quickly. "Sarcasm is definitely a dominance thing- it's related to being top dog." A knack for sarcasm isn't necessarily linked to intelligene. Some highly intelligent people who have autism or Asperger's Syndrome, for example, may fail to understand jokes and sarcasm. But research has shown that people who are particularly good at detecting sarcasm also tend to be better at identifying emotional facial expressions. They seem to understand social situations better overall.

People who use sarcasm don't see themselves as being hurtful, they see themselves as being funny. But recipients tend to interpret their remarks as hurtful.