The Baby Laughter Project, Citizen Science

Mind & Brain

The Baby Laughter Project

The laughter of tiny babies is not just a phenomenally popular theme for YouTube videos, it is also a fantastic window into the workings of the human brain. You can’t laugh unless you get the joke. At the University of London's Birkbeck Babylab we study how babies learn about the world. We believe that studying early laughter in detail will throw new light on the workings of babies’ brains, as well as offering new insights into the uniquely human characteristic that is humor.

We are researching just what makes babies laugh by conducting the largest ever global survey of early laughter. If you are parent with a child under two, you can take the survey. It takes about 15-20 minutes to complete.

We are also interested on particular incidents that made your baby laugh. Who was present? What was so funny? You can file a 'field report'.

Project Details

PRINCIPAL SCIENTIST: Mark Johnson, Director
SCIENTIST AFFILIATION: University of London's Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development
DATES: Ongoing
PROJECT TYPE: Questionnaire
COST: Free
GRADE LEVEL: All Ages
TIME COMMITMENT: Variable
HOW TO JOIN:
To find out more about the project, visit The Baby Laughter Project Web site.

See more projects in Free, Questionnaire, All Ages.

6 Comments

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1. SteveO 01:53 PM 9/25/12

You should post videos on YouTube - one goes viral and that will get the word out.

Or, in other words, "Vids or it didn't happen!"

:)
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2. ganne 02:19 PM 9/26/12

I'm so glad you are doing this. I would also like information concerning the moment the baby first hears her/his own laughter and the concern that crosses the baby's face.
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3. john.fentress@gmail.com 03:12 PM 9/26/12

An important assay of a basic and important human quality, one that clearly has its early roots that deserve further investigation. I am delighted to see that this promising project is now well underway.

John C. Fentress, PhD
Eugene, Oregon
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4. Caspar Addyman in reply to SteveO 03:22 PM 9/26/12

Hi Steve,
I'm the researcher behind this project. We already thought of that. We've got a blog of baby videos and are encouraging parents to send us links to their best ones. We've had a few so far but none have gone viral yet. Fingers crossed. As I say on the site, Cats may have won the internet but laughing babies are winning at youtube :)
Dr. Caspar Addyman
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5. judynz 04:55 PM 9/26/12

Babies are uncluttered by programmed beliefs. They tune into INTENT. Having had five children I know you can make them laugh at ANYTHING even when they hurt themselves. Once you realize this you have to know we can create environs for them to grizzle & whine.
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6. couwenb 05:49 PM 9/27/12

Baby's laugh when they recognise something.Baby's are born as Neandertals: short necks, they can swallow and breath at the same time, and so on. They expect to arrive in a world of dancing/singing the creation story of the world and of hanging on mama while she is gathering or preparing food. That's why we always are shaking our baby's or keep them moving.
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What is Citizen Science?

Research often involves teams of scientists collaborating across continents. Now, using the power of the Internet, non-specialists are participating, too. Citizen Science falls into many categories. A pioneering project was SETI@Home, which has harnessed the idle computing time of millions of participants in the search for extraterrestrial life. Citizen scientists also act as volunteer classifiers of heavenly objects, such as in Galaxy Zoo. They make observations of the natural world, as in The Great Sunflower Project. And they even solve puzzles to design proteins, such as FoldIt. We'll add projects regularly—and please tell us about others you like as well.