ABSTRACT
Because humor researchers often conduct their studies in play-oriented environments such as preschools and playgrounds, they have provided some insights into the social and environmental factors that are present when children express humor in their play. Researchers who study play, however, usually have not examined the affective quality of the play events they study. Based on most research reports on play, one would conclude that play is a somber event. If researchers gave some systematic attention to children’s humor that occurs in the play contexts that they observe, they could add an important dimension to knowledge of the play-humor connection.
