Lead supervisor:
Dr Michelle Aldridge-Waddon 
Start date: October 2012
Award: General
Subject Pathway:
Linguistics and Bilingualism
Thematic Cluster:
Language, Learning and Behaviour Cluster
Jokes/wordplay in the primary curriculum; children’s cognitive/humour/linguistic development and children’s ability to decode different types of verbal ambiguity in joking riddles across KS2
An investigation into different types of ambiguity used in children’s jokes and into when children understand these different types of ambiguity (using Piaget’s framework of cognitive development and an Incongruity Resolution theory of humour). Findings from the study are aimed at informing content planning and implementation of developmentally appropriate jokes in the primary curriculum – specifically KS2