Research investigating pragmatic abilities in healthy aging suggests that both production and comprehension might be compromised; however, it is not clear how pragmatic abilities evolve in late adulthood, as well as when difficulties are more likely to arise. The aim of this study is to investigate the decline of pragmatic skills in aging, and to…

Various forms of humor are an important aspect of social interactions, even at an early age. Humor comprehension is a repertoire that is said to emerge between the ages of 7 and 11 years, and this is primarily attributed to a child's level of cognitive development. The behavioral literature has suggested that various forms of complex verbal…

When students are faced with learning abstract contents, creating meaningful teaching and learning opportunities is a challenge for many educators. Concerns for how to get students to connect theoretical constructs and apply them to the "real world" is especially critical for those students studying to be teachers. This descriptive study…

This was a two-phase qualitative study that investigated the humorous aspects of humorous photographs young children took in their school and home environment, which were examined in the context of the theory of the absurd and the empowerment theory. The participants in the study were six children--three boys and three girls--between the ages of…

The researchers studied humour among Chinese and Greek preschool children in relation to cognitive development. The sample included 55 Chinese children and 50 Greek children ages 4½ to 5½ years. Results showed that both Chinese and Greek children's humour recognition were significantly and positively correlated to their cognitive development, but…

Two experiments examined pictorial humor as an unusual but legitimate way to approach the study of children's representational activity and the transition from implicit to explicit knowledge. In both experiments, the participants were 3- and 4-year-old children. Experiment 1 studied the understanding of two pictorial jokes using two conditions,…

Discusses why elephant riddles are viable catalysts for word play and language development in the primary grades. Explores some relationships between children's thinking and elephant riddles. Offers some suggestions for incorporating them as a regular part of the classroom flow. (SR)

The study examined the cartoon humor comprehension of 30 learning disabled and 30 non-handicapped boys in two age groups, eight- and twelve-year-olds. Significant main effects were found indicating a developmental lag in the cognitive structure necessary for understanding humor in the learning disabled subjects. (Author/DB)

The comprehension of humor is described as a developmental ability related to children's cognitive, linguistic, and metalinguistic development. Examples illustrate the content and structure of riddles and jokes, as well as developmental changes in children's understanding. Ways to assess and develop humor comprehension are also discussed.…

This study observed naturalistic humor in six young children with autism and six matched children with Down's syndrome, as they interacted with their mothers. Autistic children produced and appreciated humor to a limited extent, but they produced less humor overall and less humor involving nonverbal incongruity compared to matched controls.…

A case study of a 29-year-old woman with high functioning autism is presented. Examples of her use of puns, jokes, neologisms, "portmanteau" words, irreverent humor, irony, sarcasm, and word play based on her obsessional interests are provided and discussed in relation to current theories of autism and of normal humor. (Contains references.)…

Asked 30 children aged 4 years and 30 children aged 6 years to explain what they found funny in 2 humorous pictures. Results indicated that the older children explained humor differently than the younger children and that boys recognized the humor of the visual images more easily than did girls. (MDM)

There are a number of characteristics of gifted children reported by teachers and researchers. Such characteristics may include curiosity, advanced mathematical skills, large vocabulary, acute sense of humour. This paper examines the demands that humour, as a creative activity, makes on cognitive and social development. It is derived from research…

In this study, I gave a group of six to eight very young Chinese Singaporean children (between 2 and 4 years of age) three identical digital video cameras, plus tripods, and tracked their development in moviemaking over a 2-year period. The children were allowed to explore the cameras freely, though the investigators offered advice and support as…

This article discusses the importance of humor and how it helps to understand children's thinking from birth to 6 years. The article presents three sections describing how a young child's sense of humor reveals much about the way he thinks. The first section is entitled "Giggles!" written by Carla Poole. Intended for babies from birth to 2, Poole…