Interview with Red Orbit magazine.

RO: In very broad strokes, can you describe what we already know about baby laughter and what it can tell us about a child’s cognitive development? Addyman:The short answer is that we don’t know much. This is largely because laughter is tricky subject to study in the laboratory. People have been speculating about the causes and purposes of early laughter for a long time but there has been very little systematic work. Surprisingly, one of the earliest researchers to take this topic seriously was Charles Darwin. He published a paper on his careful observations of his infant son Doddy. Darwin drew parallels between infant laughter and the playfulness of puppies and kittens. read more The science of Baby Laughter – Red Orbit ]]>