Objectives

Previous studies on the comprehension and appreciation of humour in individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) have only included complex types of humour that required complex cognitive abilities. Additionally, although individuals with WS have been described as having a bias towards positive emotions, no study has investigated their expressive responses to humour.

Methods

The present study examined basic humour processing skills, as well as expressive responses to simple humorous and non-humorous stimuli in individuals with WS (N = 8) compared to mental-age matched typically developing (TD) children (N = 9). Participants were shown short funny and non-funny excerpts of the movies “Ice Age” and “Madagascar” and were asked to rate their level of amusement. Their expressive responses, namely smiles and laughs, were coded and analysed.

Results

Individuals with WS seem to be able to discriminate between humorous and non-humorous conditions and appreciate simple humorous content as much as TD individuals. As such, they are equally able to process simple types of humour as their mental-age matched counterparts. Additionally, and in line with their positivity bias, individuals with WS expressed more frequent and more intense laughter than the control group.

Conclusion

Individuals with WS appreciate simple humour as much as TD individuals, and they seem to display a particularly high expressivity in response to humorous stimuli.