This is Episode 6 of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society's Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology.

Have you ever sent a sarcastic email or text message and discovered to your horror that the recipient thought you were being literal? If so, this episode is for you!

Research Digest editor Christian Jarrett speaks to Dr Ruth Filik (University of Nottingham), lead author of a recent study into how emoticons and punctuation can help you convey written sarcasm more effectively. After listening, you'll realise those little winking faces ;-) are no laughing matter. Seriously!

Research discussed in this episode includes:

How and when to send sarcastic emails and texts, according to science

Emotional responses to irony and emoticons in written language: Evidence from EDA and facial EMG

Episode credits: Presenter/editor Dr Christian Jarrett. Mixing Dr Catherine Loveday and Jeff Knowler. Art work Tim Grimshaw.

PsychCrunch is sponsored by Routledge Psychology.