ABSTRACT
Developmental psychology is concerned with observing and explaining changes across the lifespan. Working from this perspective, humor researchers describe changes in humor comprehension, appreciation, and production as young children acquire cognitive and social competencies. Children’s humor appreciation and production start early and become more complex as they age, reflecting their cognitive, social, and emotional development. Of particular interest are the development of Theory of Mind (understanding intentions of others) and social referencing (checking with others to help interpret ambiguous situations). Children’s riddling, in particular, shows that children develop and appreciate humor’s form and response before they understand the role of cognitive incongruity. Older adults’ humor may reflect different cognitive and social needs compared to younger adults. This chapter also examines special populations, such as children with intellectual disabilities, gifted children, children with hearing loss, and second language speakers.
