humour 1 - definitions and theories

Question 1

define humour

Answer 1

psychological response characterized by the positive emotion of amusement, the appraisal that something is funny, and the tendency to laugh

Question 2

define sense of humour

Answer 2

the ability to perceive what is ludicrous, or amusing, or of expressing it in speech, writing or another composition

Question 3

origin of the word humour

Answer 3

study of medicine of the ancient Greeks, which taught that the balance of fluids in the human body, known as ‘humors’ (Latin: humor, “body fluid”), controlled human health and emotion

Question 4

four components of humour

Answer 4

1. social context
2. cognitive - perceptual processes
3. emotional response
4. vocal-behavioural expression of laughter

Question 5

social context of humour (2)

Answer 5

laugh/joke more with others than alone

provides with opportunities for play - social emotional and cognitive functions

Question 6

cognitive component of humour (2)

Answer 6

an idea/image/text/event that is absurd, surprising, out of the ordinary

cognitive appraisal of stimulus as nonserious or unimportant - puts you in a playful state of mind at least momentarily

Question 7

emotional component of humour

Answer 7

emotional response elicited by appraisal - referred to as mirth (pleasurable feeling, joy, happiness)

Question 8

vocal-behavioural expression of laughter as a component of humour

Answer 8

mirth is expressed as smiling/laughing

communicating to others we are in a playful state

Question 9

3 types of humour

Answer 9

jokes
spontaneous humour
unintentional humour

Question 10

jokes

Answer 10

short, amusing stories consists of a setup and a punch line

setup = all but the last sentence, creates in the listener a particular set of expectations about how the situation should be interpreted

punch line = suddenly shifts the meaning in an unexpected and playful way, thus creating the perception of nonserious incongruity that is necessary for humour to occur

Question 11

spontaneous conversational humour

Answer 11

72% of daily laughter occurs spontaneously during social interactions –> response to funny comments or amusing anecdotes

more context-dependent than joke-telling –> often not as funny when recounted afterwards (“You had to be there”)

different forms:

• anecdotes (relating an amusing story about oneself or someone else);
• wordplay (creating puns, witty responses, or wisecracks that play on the meaning of words);
• irony (a statement in which the literal meaning is different from the intended meaning)

Question 12

unintentional humour

Answer 12

physical or linguistic

accidental physical humour includes minor mishaps and blunders

funny when they occur in a surprising and incongruous manner

the person experiencing them is not seriously hurt or badly embarrassed

accidental linguistic humour –> from misspellings, mispronunciations, errors in logic, and the kinds of speaker confusions called Freudian slips, malapropisms, and spoonerisms

Question 13

4 theoretical explanations of humour

Answer 13

evolutionary
superiority
incongruity
relief

Question 14

evolutionary theory of humour

Answer 14

humour and laughter are a universal aspect of human experience

developmental –> laughter is one of the first social vocalizations (after crying) from human babies
–> even children born deaf and blind can laugh without ever having perceived the laughter of others

laughter/humour has been observed in chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans, and gorillas
–> laughter originated in social play and
derived from primate play signals

humans have now adapted to mental play with words = humour

Question 15

evolutionary theory of humour - potential reasons and benefits of having humour/laughter (4)

Answer 15

suggest that humour has important social emotional functions that have contributed to our survival as a species

• a witty sense of humour, like linguistic skills and creativity, is an indicator of superior intelligence, enhancing one’s ability to compete successfully for resources
• laughter is a form of “vocal grooming” which, like physical grooming in primates, facilitates social bonding
• Ramachandran views laughter as a “false alarm,” signals stimulus or event as unimportant and nonserious

Question 16

superiority theory of humour

Answer 16

Plato = laughter originates in malice
–> laugh at what is ridiculous in other people, feeling delight instead of pain when we see even our friends in misfortune

humour results from a sense of superiority we feel from the belittling of another person or of one’s own past blunders or foolishness

Gruner (1997) views humour as “playful aggression”
–> generations of men responded to their sudden victories in violent encounters with roars of triumph,
–> early origin of laughter evolved into our modern-day humour, people can now use language to make fun of those inferior

Question 17

schadenfreude

Answer 17

the joy of another’s misfortune

in line with superiority theory of humour

Question 18

evaluation of superiority theory of humour (1+, 3-)

Answer 18

+ studies show aggressive elements in jokes and the perception of pain in others contribute to the funniness of the humour

• little evidence that all humour involves some form of aggression and that aggressive people enjoy all types of humour more than non-aggressive people
• animal studies suggest facial displays associated with humour (playful face, smiling, laughter) only occur in the context of friendly social/play activities, not aggression
• essentially unfalsifiable, Gruner defined playful aggression so broadly that he claims the theory seems to account for all humour

Question 19

incongruity theory of humour

Answer 19

the perception of incongruity is the crucial determinant of whether or not something is humorous

incongruous = surprising, peculiar, unusual, or different from what we normally expect

for incongruity to be funny, it must also be resolved or “make sense” in some way
–> resolution is what makes it possible for us to get the joke

go back and search for an ambiguity in the joke setup that can be interpreted in a different way so that the punch line makes sense

humour comprehension seen as a sort of problem-solving task

Question 20

incongruity theory of humour comprehension as a problem solving task

Answer 20

almost like going through a flow chart

listen to story

if ending is not as predicted, the response is surprise

therefore go back to find rule that makes the sentence ambiguous and how it is resolved

if you find the rule, you laugh

if not, you are confused

Question 21

supporting study of incongruity theory of humour

Answer 21

presented different versions of jokes to children age 6, 8, 10, 12

either: original, resolution removed, incongruity removed

results:

• 8 years old found original funnier than other 2 conditions
• old enough to engage in cognitive processes and problem solving –> appreciate resolvable incongruity and find these jokes funnier

conclusion:

• resolution is needed for something to be perceived as funny

Question 22

evidence against incongruity theory - size weight illusion

Answer 22

size weight illusions studies

• participants pick up items where there is an incongruity between size and weight of the items
• no resolution as to why object is heavier/lighter than expected
• people laugh when they pick up an object heavier/lighter than expected

conclusion:

incongruity without resolution is still capable of eliciting humour

Question 23

evaluation against incongruity theory (2)

Answer 23

people seem to find a joke funnier when they “see the punch line coming” than when it is completely unexpected
–> incongruity may not be needed for humour
–> or support for superiority theory?

much of incongruity-resolution research based on ‘jokes’
–> suited to the set-up and punch line joke format
–> may not apply to other types of humour

Question 24

relief theory of humour

Answer 24

humour as a way of relieving built up psychological tension or strain

–> laugh whilst tickled - build up of tension

relief from many sources:

• successful outcome of a struggle
• sudden perception of the weakness of an opponent
• build up tension in anticipation of a difficult task and it turns out to be much less demanding than expected
• relief from pain or fear, or from socially imposed constraints on behaviour or language

Question 25

support for relief theory of humour (2)

Answer 25

measured heart rate, skin conductance, blood pressure, muscle tension

–> found that the more arousal, the more enjoyment and the funnier the humour is perceived to be

tested whether residual arousal associated with either strong positive or strong negative emotions could increase the enjoyment of subsequent humour

participants randomized to four different conditions:

• positive and high arousal (graphic descriptive erotic novel)
• positive low arousal (interesting article)
• negative high arousal (graphic description of torture and mutilation)
• negative low arousal (mildly disturbing article)

results:
participants who had been exposed to either of the high arousal conditions (positive or negative) rated subsequent jokes as much funnier than those in the two low arousal conditions