Thursday 13 September 2012

Babies Learn Humor From Parents

Researchers discovered that between the ages of six months and one year, small children learn what is absurdly funny by watching the reaction of their parents. A study of 30 children carried out by Dr Gina Mireault of Johnson State College and Dr John Sparrow at the University of New Hampshire, in America, involved recording the reaction of babies watching normal and absurd events.

The project explored whether 6-month-olds look to their parents for emotional guidance during absurd events, a phenomenon known as 'social referencing'.

3 comment(s):

Ima said...

I still remember sitting with my parents while they watched LaughIn (if that doesn't date me, nothing will) and laughing when they did even though I had no idea what was going on.

Anonymous said...

Jack Sparrow?

Anonymous said...

I used to think my dad was really funny, and I would imitate his tone of voice and gestures. But as I got older, I realized that what he was doing was called sarcasm. Sometimes kind of cruel and not appealing, so I've tried to change.