Humor and social cognition: Correlational and predictive relations in 3- to 47-month-olds

Abstract

We examined the relations between humor and social cognition in early development. In Study 1, 84 3- to 47-month-olds completed social cognition and humor lab tasks. Parents completed the Early Social Cognition Inventory and the Early Humor Survey. Once age was controlled for, there was a positive relation between the parental surveys, but no relation between the lab tasks. Study 2 (N = 573) extended the surveys to a large diverse sample, finding this relation held for children under 1 year, and 1-, 2-, and 3-year-olds; and within gender, socio-economic status (parent education; household income), country (UK, USA), and ethnicity (Black, Asian, and minority ethnic ethnicity, White ethnicity). In Study 3, 214 parents from Study 2 repeated the surveys six months later. Humor predicted social cognition, but not the reverse. Social cognition and humor may be related in day-to-day life, but this relationship is difficult to capture in the laboratory.