.. but Mummy and Daddy make baby laugh equally often Age Frequency 0 20 40 60 80 3m 6m 9m 1Y 1;3m 1;6m 1;9m 2Y 2;3m 2;6m Caspar Addyman ([email protected] ) An online survey of baby laughter This paper reports on the findings of the Baby Laughter project (http://babylaughter.net ) [1]. A set of online questions for parents of children under 2½ years asked them about things which make their babies laugh. This is a strangely neglected topic in developmental psychology but one which could provide interesting new insights into infant development. By finding out what situations, people and events babies find most amusing and entertaining at different ages, we hope to learn about infants’ social and emotional development. Background Babies first smile around 1.5 months and first laugh around 3.5 months. But with some individual variation. Most things get funnier with age Parents think boys laugh more than girls Peekaboo is consistenly popular game but tickling most reliable way get a baby to laugh Maybe Freud was wrong! Conclusions References 1. Addyman, C., & Addyman, I. (2013). The science of baby laughter. Comedy Studies, 4(2), 143– 153. 2. Gartstein, M. & Rothbart, M., (2003). Studying infant temperament via the Revised Infant Behavior Questionnaire. Infant Behavior and Development, 26(1), pp.64–86. 3. Putnam, S. P., Gartstein, M. A., & Rothbart, M. K. (2006). Measurement of fine-grained aspects of toddler temperament: The Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire. Infant Behavior and Development, 29(3), 386–401 Results Methods http://BabyLaughter.net Participants Funniest Toys and Games? What one thing is guaranteed to make your baby laugh? Data was collected via an online questionnaire that ran from Sept. 2012 – Nov. 2013. Particular questions of interest include: What toys, games, sensations and interactions cause babies to laugh the most? How early does social laughter start? What (in parents views) are the primary causes of laughter in infancy? Parents were given the option to complete a temperament questionnaire: • Under 1 year -Very Short Infant Behaviour Questionnaire, [IBQ - Gartstein and Rothbart, 2003], • 1-2½ years Very Short Early Childhood Behaviour Questionnaire [ECBQ - Putnam, Garstein and Rothbart, 2006] Temprament and individual differences United Kingdom – 753, United States - 366, Canada - 71, Mexico - 48, Australia - 45, Philippines - 24, Germany - 17, Netherlands - 17, Pakistan - 15, India - 14, France, Spain, Ireland, Italy, South Africa, Turkey, Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, New Zealand, Argentina, Egypt, Greece, Portugal, Chile, Latvia, Malaysia, Denmark, Finland, Israel, Romania, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, Albania, Armenia, Austria, Croatia, Georgia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Norway, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, Bahamas , Bahrain , China , Congo , Czech Republic , Hungary , Kenya , Lesotho , Palestinian Territory , Panama , Peru , Puerto Rico , Qatar , Saint Vincent and the Grenadines , Saudi Arabia , Slovenia , South Korea , Sudan , Thailand , Tunisia , Uruguay , Vatican City, Zambia < 1yr N = 790 > 1yr N = 447 Boys 702 Girls 579 Twins 25 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Response to pleasant sensation M= 8.84 ± 2.29 0 100 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Excitement M= 8.79 ± 2.1 0 100 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Because they are happy M= 8.46 ± 2.28 0 100 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Response to surprise M= 8.13 ± 2.66 0 100 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Copying others M= 8.46 ± 2.38 0 100 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Response to exaggerated action M= 7.95 ± 2.64 0 100 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Bond with caregiver M= 7.48 ± 2.74 0 50 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Communication M= 7.4 ± 2.75 0 50 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Response to silly/unusual M= 6.35 ± 3.22 0 50 100 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Knows he/she being naughty M= 4.7 ± 3.34 0 100 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Fear averted M= 3.95 ± 2.96 0 100 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Release tension M= 3.75 ± 2.83 0 100 Why are babies laughing? Girls laugh 37 times vs Boys 48.5 times per day t(751) = 2.2544, p = 0.024 (Parents report that..) boys laugh significantly more often per day than girls. Age of first smile Months 0 2 4 6 0 200 400 M= 1.43 ± 0.93 Age of first laugh Months 0 5 10 15 0 200 400 M= 3.55 ± 1.58 Age of first social smile Months 0 2 4 6 8 12 0 50 150 250 M= 2.23 ± 1.23 Age of first deliberate smile Months 0 5 10 20 0 50 100 150 M= 4.13 ± 3.06 Age of first hysterics Months 0 5 10 20 0 50 100 150 200 M= 5.2 ± 2.58 Never Once or twice Occasionally Sometimes Often Very often Always Baby Falling Over 0 100 Never Once or twice Occasionally Sometimes Often Very often Always Other People Falling Over 0 100 Infant Schadenfreude? First Smile 0.40 *** 0.00 0.02 −0.06 0.11 0.02 First Laugh 0.07 0.01 −0.06 0.06 0.03 Laughs per day 0.39 *** 0.22 ** −0.01 0.14 − Daily Laughs 0.35 *** 0.08 0.11 Surgency 0.02 0.24 ** Negative Affect −0.11 Effortful Control First Smile 0.40 *** 0.00 0.02 0.09 −0.02 −0.04 First Laugh 0.07 0.01 0.06 0.01 −0.05 Laughs per day 0.39 *** 0.38 *** −0.02 0.03 Daily Laughs 0.40 *** 0.02 0.11 − Surgency 0.25 *** 0.23 *** Negative Affect −0.05 Effortful Control IBQ ECBQ MealBreast −0.13 NappyChanging −0.12 MealBottle −0.07 EarlyMorning −0.02 MealBabyFood 0.01 ImitatingBaby 0.03 GettingDressed 0.04 BabyFallingOver 0.1 FunnyNoises 0.11 StrokingBaby 0.11 Breakfast 0.11 CountingGames 0.12 MidMorning 0.12 Mirrors 0.12 FunnyFaces 0.13 LunchTime 0.15 PretendFear 0.16 BlowingRaspberries 0.18 HidingObjects 0.19 FunnyActions 0.22 BlowingBubbles 0.28 BathTime 0.3 PeekabooParentHide 0.31 PeekabooBabyHide 0.32 WatchingTelevision 0.34 ReadingtoBaby 0.38 OthersFallingOver 0.38 TicklingBody 0.39 TicklingHands 0.4 TicklingToes 0.41 HoldingUpsidedown 0.44 RoughAndTumble 0.45 ChasingGames 0.46 BangingThings 0.47 MealSolids 0.48 PouringWater 0.56 KnockingThingsOver 0.6 BuildingThings 0.63 Correlations of age and amusement N = 262 N = 187