humour 1 - definitions and theories Flashcards
define humour
psychological response characterized by the positive emotion of amusement, the appraisal that something is funny, and the tendency to laugh
define sense of humour
the ability to perceive what is ludicrous, or amusing, or of expressing it in speech, writing or another composition
origin of the word humour
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
four components of humour
- social context
- cognitive - perceptual processes
- emotional response
- vocal-behavioural expression of laughter
social context of humour (2)
laugh/joke more with others than alone
provides with opportunities for play - social emotional and cognitive functions
cognitive component of humour (2)
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
emotional component of humour
emotional response elicited by appraisal - referred to as mirth (pleasurable feeling, joy, happiness)
vocal-behavioural expression of laughter as a component of humour
mirth is expressed as smiling/laughing
communicating to others we are in a playful state
3 types of humour
jokes
spontaneous humour
unintentional humour
jokes
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
spontaneous conversational humour
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)
unintentional humour
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
4 theoretical explanations of humour
evolutionary
superiority
incongruity
relief
evolutionary theory of humour
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
evolutionary theory of humour - potential reasons and benefits of having humour/laughter (4)
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
superiority theory of humour
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
schadenfreude
the joy of another’s misfortune
in line with superiority theory of humour
evaluation of superiority theory of humour (1+, 3-)
+ 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
incongruity theory of humour
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
incongruity theory of humour comprehension as a problem solving task
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
supporting study of incongruity theory of humour
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
evidence against incongruity theory - size weight illusion
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
evaluation against incongruity theory (2)
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
relief theory of humour
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
support for relief theory of humour (2)
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
