The impact of humor on infant social learning: Insights from social gaze, heart rate variability, and laughter

Humor is a universal aspect of human culture, serving both social and cognitive functions. This study investigates humor's influence on infant learning, focusing on physiological, behavioral, and emotional responses. Building on previous research, we examined three questions: (1) Does humor affect infants' behaviors during a social learning task, such as looking, laughing, and smiling? (2) Does humor enhance learning, and is this effect age-dependent? (3) Can arousal, measured by heart rate variability (HRV), explain the relationship between humor and learning? We tested 88 infants aged 14–22 months, exposing them to either a humorous or neutral demonstration of a tool-use task. We assessed infants’ performance after demonstration and coded social gazes and emotional reactions. We also analyzed physiological arousal indicators, namely heart rate variability (HRV), through a connected wristband. Our analyses revealed that infants exposed to humorous demonstrations showed enhanced learning compared to those in the neutral condition, independently of whether they laughed or not. This suggests that laughing does not mediate the effect of humor on learning. Additionally, infants in the humorous condition looked more at the experimenter, which could indicate increased engagement or attentional processes. Finally, our HRV analyses revealed that infants who succeeded in the task exhibited higher HRV than those who did not. This study is the first to explore the mechanisms underlying humor’s effect on infant learning, emphasizing its complexity and the need for a multidimensional approach integrating cognitive, behavioral, and physiological factors. • Humorous demonstrations enhanced learning, independently of laughter. • This effect was only observed in infants aged 18 months and older. • The best learners were the most relaxed infants during the demonstration. • Humor's impact on learning may stem from surprise or other social motivations. • First study combining behavioral and physiological measures on humor's effect on learning.