ISSN 2079-6617
eISSN 2309-9828
How Children's Humor Production Changes from Preschool to Primary School Age?

How Children's Humor Production Changes from Preschool to Primary School Age?

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Recieved: 03/05/2026

Accepted: 06/03/2026

Published: 06/06/2026

Keywords: sense of humor; humor production; dialectical thinking; imagination; preschool age; primary school age; language development; developmental psychology

Pages: 69-84

DOI: 10.11621/npj.2026.0306

Available online: 06.06.2026

To cite this article:

Oshchepkova, E.S., Bayanova, L.F., Kovyazina, M.S. (2026). How Children's Humor Production Changes from Preschool to Primary School Age?. National Psychological Journal, 21(3) , 69-84. https://doi.org/10.11621/npj.2026.0306

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Issue 3, 2026

Oshchepkova, E.S. Lomonosov Moscow State University

Bayanova, L.F. Lomonosov Moscow State University

Kovyazina, M.S. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Research Center of Neurology, Moscow, Russia, Federal Scientific Center of Psychological and Multidisciplinary Research

Abstract

Background. In recent years, stress levels have been steadily rising worldwide, leading to negative consequences such as reduced self-regulation, conflicts, and lower academic performance in schoolchildren. It is necessary to identify cultural tools for coping with such situations as early as preschool and primary school age. A sense of humor is one coping strategy that helps children deal with stress and it also improves social connections. The development of a sense of humor is becoming a pressing issue, as humor is one of the most productive and environmentally friendly cultural means of self-regulation.

Objective
. The study aims to identify the factors that make the greatest contribution to the development of a sense of humor (e.g., humor production) in children of older preschool and primary school age.

Study Participants
. The study involved 390 children aged 52 to 116 months, divided into two groups: 154 preschoolers (76 boys) and 236 primary schoolchildren (111 boys) from educational institutions in Moscow and Kazan.

Methods
. The children underwent assessments of executive functions and theory of mind, emotion comprehension, dialectical thinking skills, and imagination. They also constructed stories based on a series of pictures and invented funny stories based on pictures. The obtained data were statistically processed to build regression models of the contribution of the considered factors to humor production in children, separately for preschool and primary school age groups.

Results
. The results showed that the factors making the greatest contribution to the development of humor production in preschoolers are age, working memory, inhibitory control, coherent speech skills, and imagination. In primary schoolchildren, the greatest contribution to humor production is made by dialectical thinking, emotion comprehension, and verbal working memory.

Conclusions
. The study demonstrated how cognitive and emotional factors contribute to the development of humor production at different stages of childhood, which can facilitate the development of effective tools for fostering humor in children aged 5 to 9 years.

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To cite this article:

Oshchepkova, E.S., Bayanova, L.F., Kovyazina, M.S. . How Children's Humor Production Changes from Preschool to Primary School Age?. // National Psychological Journal 2026. 3. Pages69-84. doi: 10.11621/npj.2026.0306

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