Perception of Humor by Regular Class Students and Students with Learning Disabilities or Mild Mental Retardation

Abstract

This pilot study investigates receptive and expressive humor in students from primary, intermediate, and middle school grades with learning disabilities, mild mental retardation, or no diagnosed handicap. Student performance is compared on (1) identification of endings to riddles that have a phonological, lexical, or cognitive incongruity basis for humor; (2) description of the source of humor in selected jokes; and (3) expression of favorite jokes. The results of a multivariate analysis of variance of these data are reported and discussed, with implications for future research noted.