Warmth, laughter, and humour in children’s close relationships

Join the Department of Psychology for this seminar with Dr Amy Paine from Cardiff University.

Salim: "Silly goosebump!"

Ryan: "I’m not a goosebump, you are… goosebump man."

Salim: [Giggles] "Goosebump man! That’s funny, goosebump man!"

Salim and Ryan’s reciprocal exchange demonstrates humour as one of the building blocks of close and playful relationships in childhood.

Humour is considered a complex cognitive attribute that draws on multiple domains of skill, such as the ability to manipulate social situations, language, and concepts in a creative way. Although child-child relationships are an important context for a child’s social cognitive development, shared humour in sibling relationships and friendships has, thus far, been largely overlooked.

In this talk, Dr Amy Paine will present some of her recent work on sibling relationships and friendships in early and middle childhood, where she uses semi-naturalistic observations to study humour production during play. She will also discuss some of the projects she is currently undertaking on the relationship between humour and wellbeing in childhood and adolescence.