Poster #33 - Humor production between siblings and friends in childhood

• In Event: 1-061 - Poster Session 02
  In Poster Session: PS 02 Section - Cognitive Processes

Integrative Statement

Children’s social interactions with other children have a central role in their developing understanding of themselves and of others (Carpendale & Lewis, 2015). Shared humor is a form of playful, intimate, and warm interaction that is an integral part of children’s close relationships (Hoicka & Akhtar, 2012), which may reveal a great deal about children’s developing understanding of one another’s minds (Dunn, 1994). However, there is a dearth of research investigating the nature of children’s humor production beyond the preschool years and how humor is shared within children’s close relationships with other children (e.g., siblings and friends). As such, in the present study we aimed to (a) describe the nature of children’s humor when they are on the cusp of middle childhood, and (b) investigate the impact of features of children’s close relationships (e.g., siblings vs friends, gender composition, sibling birth order) on how humor is shared within dyadic child-child interactions.
We investigated children’s humor production in a sample of 88 children (M age 7 years) who were video-recorded during 15-minute counter-balanced free play sessions with a younger or an older sibling and with a friend. We developed an observational coding scheme for children’s humor based on types of humor noted in previous research (Bergen, 2006; Hoicka & Akhtar, 2012). Children’s bouts of humor were coded as humorous episodes, within which children’s humorous turns were coded for frequency and according to the following categories: (a) performing incongruities; (b) word play; (c) sound play; (d) banter; (e) taboo; and (f) clowning (see Table 1). Children’s responses to humor were also coded, and included: (a) positive/neutral response; (b) negative response; (c) clarification; (d) imitation; and (e) extension. Analysis of internal consistency of humor types yielded a Cronbach α of .77, and analysis of independent coding by a second person demonstrated excellent interrater reliability (median ICC = .93).
Most children produced at least one instance of humor during sibling interaction (n = 69/86, 80.2%) and peer interaction (n = 67/82, 81.7%). Children’s use of humor within interactions with siblings and friends were significantly associated (r = .23, p < .05). The most common types of children’s humor included word play and sound play (see Figure 2). Further analyses will describe differences in humor production and responses to humor between siblings and friends, and also differences according to features of sibling relationships (e.g., gender composition, birth order) and of peer relationships (gender).
Our findings contribute to knowledge regarding the types of humorous acts children display in this otherwise overlooked age range in childhood, and draw attention to the importance of relationship context for humor production on the cusp of middle childhood. Our study addresses the need for observational studies investigating humor as an intimate form of dyadic communication shared between children and provides insight into how young children understand others’ minds. Moreover, our study provides a platform for future research investigating humor as an important marker of children’s social and cognitive development.

Authors

• Amy Paine, University of Nottingham
  Presenting Author

• Nina Howe, Concordia University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Gassiaa Karajian, Concordia University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Ganie B. DeHart, SUNY Geneseo
  Non-Presenting Author