Understanding how humor develops in preschool and primary school children provides important clues about their cognitive and social worlds. In this context, the master's thesis titled "Humor Development in Preschool and Primary School Children," completed by Seda Eskidemir Meral in 2013, presents valuable findings regarding the sense of humor of children in Turkey.

Based on Paul E. McGhee's theory of humor development, this qualitative study examines the reactions of a total of 101 children between the ages of 2 and 13. The research data were collected from the 75th Year Nursery and Children's Club and Mehmet Kesikçi Primary School. In the study, a 5-minute video containing humorous elements was used, and the children's reactions while watching this video were analyzed in detail through observation forms and logbooks.

Looking at the main findings of the study, it was determined that the least laughing response across all stages was seen in children in the 2, 3, and 4 age groups, respectively. Consistent with McGhee's theory, this situation stems from the fact that children at these ages are trying to understand and resolve the incongruities in humorous elements. However, while the most laughing response was observed in the 5 age group children in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th stages; children in the 11-13 age group stood out in the 5th stage. This finding is associated with the fact that humor examples in the 5th stage are more abstract and require higher-level cognitive skills.

The research also shows that children's humor responses are not limited to just laughing. Various physical and emotional reactions such as raising eyebrows, frowning, looking at the researcher, leaning forward, shrugging, and clapping hands together were also observed. These behaviors are interpreted as part of the effort to understand a humorous situation and discharge cognitive energy. Children also use humor as a tool for social interaction by being influenced by each other's laughing reactions, make comments about the scenes they watch, and produce their own humor.

Among the findings is that the scenes to which children gave the most laughing response consisted of humor examples containing visual and movement elements, while the least laughing response was given to examples containing verbal humor. For example, visual and moving scenes such as a dog meowing or a mother making a wolf sound received much more laughing response than situations involving verbal humor such as the "4-slice pizza joke." This situation supports that children react faster to concrete and visual stimuli.

In conclusion, this study reveals that the humor development characteristics of children living in Turkey show general similarities with universal humor theories. These findings offer important suggestions for educators and parents to support children's development. Creating environments where children can interact with each other, experience, and share humor will greatly contribute to their cognitive and social development.

We thank Seda Eskidemir Meral for this valuable study. You can access the full thesis via www.tez.yok.gov.tr using the code 333878.