The present study investigates the role of cognitive functioning in humor development. Past research on humor development has indicated that intellectual maturity is a factor in humor comprehension ...and appreciation, but has not examined the relationship of intellectual maturity to memory for humor. In the present investigation, the cognitive functioning of subjects was matched with the cognitive demands of the task. The subjects comprised 80 children. Sixty (60) of them were 6 to 9 year olds who were either preoperational in both class inclusion and weight conservation; operational in both areas; or operational in class inclusion but not weight conservation. Older children, age 10 to 12 comprised the rest of the sample. They were operational in both areas. Subjects were presented with jokes based on class inclusion and weight conservation discrepancies. Assessments were made of expressive and evaluative appreciation and comprehension for the humor. Subjects were asked to retell the jokes five minutes and then ten to fourteen days after the original presentation. Recall responses were evaluated for the inclusion of the operative discrepancy and for the retention of specific content elements. Results of the study partially confirm the hypotheses that operational level is predictive of humor comprehension, appreciation and recall. A priori comparisons were conducted to analyze the data. Comprehension provided the most sensitive gauge of intellectual ability. Expressive appreciation and recall for the operative incongruities were greater among same age children who were operational than those who were preoperational. Operational 6 to 9 year olds demonstrated significantly greater expressive and evaluative appreciation than did operational 10 to 12 year olds for whom the humor was not as challenging. Five minutes after presentation of the jokes, memory for the operative incongruities was significantly better among operational than preoperational subjects. Ten to fourteen days later the differences were less pronounced. Memory for specific content elements of the jokes improved significantly from the first to second delay intervals. Recall was generally correlated with comprehension and expressive appreciation.
Educational TV Goes to School Schwager, Istar
Principal (Arlington, Va.),
1991, Letnik:
70, Številka:
3
Magazine Article
Children's Television Workshop recently commissioned a nationwide survey in which 736 teachers in grades 3 through 6 were asked how they access and present educational programing in their classrooms. ...Teachers use educational television, and they prefer 15- to 30-minute shows that focus on a single topic. (MLF)
