| The purpose of this study was to illustrate the spontaneous humor production of four intellectually precocious preschoolers as a means of elucidating the nebulous characteristic commonly associated with gifted children of possessing a good sense of humor. A multiple-case study design was used in the natural setting of the children's classroom whereby the children's spontaneous humor was observed, recorded, and analyzed in light of contextual information gleaned from the setting and information collected during interviews with parents, teachers, and a review of school records.;Findings indicated humor was used in interpersonal ways that were reflective of each child's individual personality and needs. A prominent idea was the use of humor to exercise control over emotions and social interactions. This concept of control in a social context is congruent with ideas of cognitive and affective mastery described in the literature on humor. An analysis of each preschooler's spontaneous humor production from the simultaneous perspectives of both cognitive and affective development illuminated how an intellectually precocious child's humor can be used as an assessment of the child's whole development.;"Possessing a good sense of humor" for the intellectually precocious preschooler meant creating a personal slant on one's experiences so as to make life more enjoyable or more bearable. Since humor has a cognitive component essential to its creation, it would seem likely that intellectually precocious children who possessed such cognitive tools would be effective humor producers. A close examination of their humor, however, demonstrated the additional vital ingredient of having the social and emotional tools to use humor effectively. The interplay of these capacities was depicted in the often precocious, often age-appropriate, always idiosyncratic humor production of these children; thus, humor served a fascinating window into the children's minds. |
