In contrast, a person who is not yet ready to face trauma may use mechanisms such as regression or suppression as protective mechanisms until ready to face the situation. (2005) in their aptly titled article If We Didnt Use Humor, Wed Cry. How many surrealists does it take to change a lightbulb? What are you allergic to? queried a stressed nurse as a gunshot victim was rushed into the ER. An elegant example is the Hotel de Matignon, a mansion built in Paris in 1725 that now serves as the residence of the French Prime Minister. Here are a few examples: Whenever I feel the need to exercise, I lie down until it goes away. Abstract knowledge refers to the way we understand things through our human filtersour words for things in the world and the categories we assign them into. The Incongruity Theory of Humor. Humor as a character strength among the elderly. When in reality, it is simply a medium-sized tool for brushing. How many Etruscans does it take to change a light bulb? Effects of humor in the language classroom: Humor as a pedagogical tool in theory and practice. Whatever gets you through today: An examination of cynical humor among emergency service professionals. You reply with "Why, am I marrying her?" The barman says Sorry we dont serve food in here.. Roughly the general idea is this. Incongruity theory, which focuses on the cognitive mechanisms of perception and interpretation, posits that it is the perceptions of incongruity that explain humor (Martin & Ford, 2018). For example, even if well-documented evidence could be collected to show that people with a sense of humor live longer, it might be that they have a sense of humor because they are healthy and things are going well. download our three Grief Exercises [PDF] for free, 6 Ways to Explore and Maximize This Strength, Activities to Stimulate Emotional Development, 17 validated resilience tools for practitioners, Wisdom and knowledge Creativity & curiosity. How is this word play an incongruity? A sandwich walks into a bar. Additionally, in their comprehensive review, Cooper and Sosik (2012) reported that humor at the workplace was linked to enhanced relationships, more creative thinking, more collaborative negotiations, and better customer relations. Whereas the previous examples involved. Philosophy Humor in the home and in the classroom: The benefits of laughing while we learn. Additionally, a study addressing the benefits of humor, music, and aerobic exercise on anxiety among women indicated that effect sizes were highest for those in the humor group (Szabo, Ainsworth, & Danks, 2005). Comparison, as noted, requires two things. Humor's Bad Reputation 2. Cambridge University Press (www.cambridge.org) is the publishing division of the University of Cambridge, one of the worlds leading research institutions and winner of 81 Nobel Prizes. The linguistics of humor is more generally concerned with incongruity theories as they describe the cognitive mechanisms that cause humor. Perhaps this isnt a great joke, but it is a sort typically seen in children. Wanzer, M., Booth-Butterfield, M., & Booth-Butterfield, S. (2005). The benefits of humor in nursing education. For example, in a study by Abel (2002), coping strategies were examined concerning humor and various types of stress. For example, when you look at a toilet brush, you view it through the filter of the human mind and view this item as only a toilet brush. One is called 'wit' and the other 'folly'. It was found that those within the high sense of humor category appraised relatively lower amounts of stress and anxiety. But the incongruity theory says that our perceptions of things in the real world only ever relate to part of that thing- they are incomplete. is an example of 'humor went right. The joke makes sense, if in a different or atypical way. This concise guide has three parts. Schulman-Green, D. (2003). Schopenhaeur believes we relate to everything in the world through our perceptions. For example, one study examined the impact of humorous films on various psychological symptoms among schizophrenia inpatients. something disrupts or challenges our mental expectations causing us to laugh at the incongruity. The Incongruity Theory reveals the affinity between philosophy and comedy and rebukes the argument that humor is "hostile and irresponsible" (Morreall) . This example also helps us to see the unexpected nature of the incongruous. The humor in both of these examples relies on incongruous . In this way, humor results from feelings of triumph over the errors or misfortune of others, which promotes self-enhancement and feelings of superiority. Humor and oncology. Want to know more about defense mechanisms? Humorous coping and serious reappraisal: Short-term and longer-term effects. ("full resolution") b) Resolution makes the original incongruity less incongruous. Truth plays an important role as well: The juxtaposition of the two things often gives people a new insight into a familiar situation, he notes. IT is refined by adding the play qualification so as to help us know which incongruities are funny ha-ha rather than funny strange.. Humor. Humor just feels good; it distracts us from our problems and promotes a lighter perspective. But what matters here is that something is at odds with another. Explaining the absurd is a bitabsurd. Many of these journals are the leading academic publications in their fields and together they form one of the most valuable and comprehensive bodies of research available today. Confusion rarely leads to humor. Marziali, E., McDonald, L., & Donahue, P. (2008). Philosophers are a notoriously surly bunchheck, even our patron saint, Socrates, did his best to show everyone was wrongand that landed him a heaping glassful of hemlock juice, which isnt too helpful if living is your goal. In comedy, this often means that any kind of logic or familiarity is going to be replaced with something entirely different. Among nurses, humor has been related to lower emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, increased personal accomplishment (Talbot & Lumden, 2000), as well as greater coping efficacy and emotional expressivity (Wanzer, Booth-Butterfield, & Booth-Butterfield, 2005). This little joke is pretty good at being absurd. The use of humor in serious mental illness: A review. Another issue with IT comes from my continued delight at the parrot joke. The Theories of Humor and Laughter. Patient: Bullets!. The researchers found that greater wellbeing was related to affiliative and self-enhancing humor, whereas reduced wellbeing was linked to aggressive and self-defeating humor (Maiolino & Kuiper, 2016). Hence weve found a counter-example to the theory. Three traditional theories of laughter and humor are examined, along with the theory that humor evolved from mock-aggressive play in apes. For instance, my children loved to take nursery rhymes that they knew well and then not say the expected words at some point. You didn't realise both actions would fit under this heading but now you do. Additionally, humor may represent a vital strength during middle childhood by helping kids to gain the support of a peer group and by enhancing self-esteem (Klein & Kuiper, 2006). They did not realise this could be done and therefore did not realise they were doing it. During the humor activity period, patients were reported as having significant decreases in multiple disruptive behaviors including self-injury, fighting, and attempted escapes (Higueras et al., 2006). The superiority theory is concerned with the affective response that often accompanies comic amusement, which it maintains is an enjoyable feeling of superiority to the object of amusement. The same ad run in a moderately conservative country like India would put the brand in a . (Please knock hard on the door, the bell doesnt work.). In order to get the joke you resolve the incongruity its perfectly sensible. There are a number of elements here that speak in support of IT. In the second, the author discusses the debate over whether humor is an emotional experience, or something else. The joke teller then delightfully admonishes the implied silliness of the listener to have been making owl noises rather than responding appropriately to the joke form. Because this obvious fact about humor shows how much, cognitively speaking, is required of us when we experience and enjoy humor. The whole joke is layered with absurdities. There are samples, in the provided dataset, that uses the incongruity to create humor . As is widely known, theories of humour are traditionally divided in three branches: (1) Theories of incongruity, or inconsistency, or contradiction, or bisociation. Laughter and mirth, according to relief theory, result from this release of nervous energy. This idea is evident in Cann and Collettes study (2014), as positive outcomes were associated with self-enhancing humor. For example, in a study by Samson, Glassco, Lee, and Gross (2014), humorous coping applied after viewing negative pictures was found to increase positive emotions at both short- and longer term follow-up. Many of us may relate to high-anxiety situations where a joke feels like a much-needed outlet. I encourage you to try it, if only to raise the amount of humor in your life. Hopefully this tour has shown how and why IT is the leading candidate for explaining humor perception. There are five different theories that categorize the different reasons why find things humorous. Request Permissions. Lastly, following humor therapy sessions, elderly nursing home residents showed a reduced duration of agitation and an increased duration of happiness (Low et al., 2014). So now that you understand the basics of incongruity theory, there is just one final part for you to understanddon't worry, we're almost there! Ghayas, S., & Malik, F. (2013). Its more a Zen koan or riddle than a joke. The difference between the two is all about how the contrasts between abstract knowledge and sensuous knowledge are shown. Twain had a point, as the research literature supports a relationship between humor and a wide range of positive psychosocial outcomes. The Friday bit about black owned-might not work as effectively in say mainland China, or Tasmania. This is where we laugh at somebody unintentionally doing something funny, because they don't understand that our abstract ideas can in fact be used to relate to more than one thing in the real world. There is something to be said for not taking everything too seriously. The effects of human therapy on nursing home residents measured using observational methods: The SMILE cluster randomized trial. Vaughan, J., Zeigler-Hill, V., & Arnau, R. C. (2014). Lets continue using this approach of relying on jokes to clarify the IT; its a timehonored tradition in humor research. THEORIES OF HUMOR IN THE MOVIE STEP BROTHERS 4 Another theory visible in Step Brothers is the incongruity theory. Experimental comparison of the psychological benefits of aerobic exercise, humor, and music. White is clear on this, in a humorous, IT 46 supporting way. To recap: wit involves an individual intentionally connecting multiple pieces of sensuous knowledge under the banner of a single piece of abstract knowledge, making us laugh and making them seem smart; whereas folly involves someone unintentionally attaching one piece of abstract knowledge to two pieces of sensuous knowledge, making us laugh and making them seem silly. More specifically, the muscular and respiratory processes involved in laugher serve the important role of releasing pent-up nervous energy (Martin & Ford, 2018). Relief theory maintains that laughter is a homeostatic mechanism by which psychological tension is reduced. The IT is still the best working theory out there that has general acceptance. There is good reason to believe that humor at work leads to many positive outcomes, such as increased work performance and enhanced relationships with coworkers (Cooper, 2008). For example, among physicians who do the exceedingly difficult work of treating cancer patients, humor has been reported as beneficial for patients, doctors, and relationships between the two (Joshua, Cotroneo, & Clarke, 2005). For example, you could buy five pigs. In previous studies, most researchers used two-element jokes (setup and punch line) as stimuli, based on experimental methods, to explore the humor process. Here, two pieces of sensuous knowledgea dog and a bearded husbandare deliberately put together under a single piece of abstract knowledge: the concept of a 'furry friend', which usually means a dog, but which you now see could refer to either. You need to know something about it. As this report's scope of research has been set to be with academic theories published between 2016 and 2020, the absence of widely accepted communication theories between those years was quite obvious. Zhan, L. (2012). Its philosophy Mike, everybodys wrong. Those words came to me from one of my dissertation advisors. One way that Gantos makes his writing amusing is through the use of schadenfreude. To do this, we will discuss the ideas of the leading thinker behind this theorya man called Arthur Schopenhaeur (he explains his theory in his work The World as Will and Idea, but you don't have to read that text to understand this article). The realisation our abstract knowledge isn't able to fully link to/account for sensuous knowledge is pleasurable to us because abstract knowledge is an exhausting filter through which to see the world. They have to understand what the rhyme overall means. This idea is explained by Wanzer et al. they are based on some objective characteristics of a humorous text or other act (situation, event, picture, etc.). 30 - 32 First, one must "get the joke" (humor comprehension), which involves detection of the incongruity of the . Incongruity denotes the incoherence between the interpretation of two parts of a joke, namely, its setup and punchline. Mathieu, S. (2008). The concept of defense mechanisms originated in psychoanalytic theory. Think about whats required for you to get a joke. Humor and the mastery of living: Using humor to cope with the daily stresses of growing up. Since we know humor represents an essential strength with all sorts of excellent benefits, it is in our best interest to maximize it as much as possible. #2: The Incongruity and Incongruity-Resolution Theories One of the oldest andmost developed theories of humor adopted by Kant, refined by Schopenhauer is, roughly,that humor happens. I'd be very surprised.". The right side is exactly the same as the left, especially the left. White, E. B. and Katherine White. Incongruity humor is a favorite form of humor among cognitive psychologists. Gantos uses a variety of humor to make his book more interesting, including schadenfreude, incongruity theory and farce. 1 : the quality or state of being incongruous 2 : something that is incongruous Synonyms contradiction dichotomy paradox See all Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus Example Sentences she's an incongruity: an impeccably groomed woman who keeps a messy house In this way, pent-up pressure is relieved through laughter. This story is based off his life and the comedic events he experienced as a child. Without it, IT isnt much. This is where we laugh with someone intentionally making a joke. These three theories have been, in modern research and historically, the main candidates attempting to explain what is necessary for us to find something funny. For more on the Relief theory, see Morreall 1983, 20-37; Roberts 2019, 91-93, and Freud 1960. You tell your friend to 'Look up the answer'. The impact of humor on stress also was investigated in a medical study using humor as a complementary therapy among cancer patients (Bennett, Zeller, Rosenberg, & McCann, 2003). They offer to 'cool you down' and you agree. 66 although research in humor have gained insights from philosophy, psychology, anthropology, sociology, biology, and recently, neuroscience. Trust me, it'll make it simpler in the long run! The use of defense mechanisms may have positive or negative ramifications depending upon the particular mechanism and how it is used. Cambridge University Press is committed by its charter to disseminate knowledge as widely as possible across the globe. Introduction. Self deprecating; if someone else is laughing at it because you are both flawed in the same way. The BVT specifies how psychological distance plays a central role in determining whether a . Rowe, A., & Regehr, C. (2010). Incongruity Theories' mechanism of causing laughter then goes to work on you. This idea is borne out by research such as that by Liu (2012), who conducted a study with undergraduate students in Hong Kong. There are 3 main theories used to explain the functions of humor: (1) the relief theory, (2) the incongruity theory, and (3) the superiority theory. In the first part, we learn the various theories of humor, and learn that the author favors Incongruity Theory (i.e. According to Schopenhauer, incongruity theory allows all of the 'ludicrous' to be divided into two categories. 2023 The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers on this website. They are reviewed along with neurolinguistic approaches, evolutionary theories of humor and a few mixed and partial theories that have been presented. With this collection of information, it is the hope that readers will better understand humor and its many benefits, while maybe even enjoying a few chuckles along the way. However, it is safe to say that IT is accepted by most researchers as the most accurate and likely true approach to explaining humor. Here the audience is told that the incongruities on offer are objects of humor, not concern. Samson, A., Glassco, A., Lee, I., & Gross, J. Infants tend to laugh when parents make funny faces and sounds, hide their faces before they. For this reason, many famous quotes have been penned about the benefits of humor, such as: The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter. Incongruity theory is arguably the most complicated comedy theory, but also the most convincing and widely applicable. The noun work in a way other wordtypes likely wouldnt. A metaanalysis of positive humor in the workplace. But if you recall the definition of IT, it simply states that incongruities will be found funny. al. As the world is transcending toward the unchartered watersmarked by more pandemics, more economic hardships, and more automation at workDr Lonczak has written a very useful piece of article to spread positivity across domains in places of work and life. (I know, the Whites frog has now totally expired) If you count them up, there are a number of incongruities in play here. Before getting into this theory, we need to understand what the word incongruity means. The Incongruity Theory (IT, hereafter) is the dominant theory used in modern research to explain humorous things. Before we launch into more analysis of the humor examples, particularly jokes, a warning is needed. Humor in the classroom also is believed to promote social and emotional development among children (Lovorn, 2008), and we share a few ideas in our article Activities to Stimulate Emotional Development. The cognitive-perceptual component. Children also have to realize that they are substituting and are 48 essentially playing around with the structure of the rhyme. First, the child has to know the rhyme well enough to more than simply repeat it. Whether you find the sly response of the joker in setting up the listener to make a silly owl noise, or the taking advantage of the form of the knock-knock joke to force the listener into the silliness, incongruity is at work here through and through. If you can figure it out, please skip the rest of this paragraph, but there may be more incongruities than you initially think. The belief that laughter heals the mind has been around for centuries. A friend is performing at an open mic night. If I told you a joke where Etruscans were the main actors, you might not find it funny. We can give two forms to the claims of the superiority theory of humor: (1) the strong claim holds that all humor involves a feeling of superiority, and (2) the weak claim suggests that feelings of superiority are frequently found in many cases of humor. Bennett, M., Zeller, J., Rosenberg, L., & McCann, J. In-congruity theories are essentially cognitive, i.e. The humor in both of these examples relies on incongruous interpretations . Importantly, gallows humor used in this way is not aggressive or hurtful to others. The presentation of the sign primes us to think the store is owned, not by an Asian man, but a black person of color. Who besides someone in a Monty Python sketch would use a fish to change a lightbulb?! You are revising for a test with a friend. they reply simply with "Thank you!" Ostrower (2015, p. 184) describes humor coping within this context as a defense mechanism that under the nightmare circumstances of living in the ghettos and camps during the Holocaust, laughter was a form of rebellion against reality. Two main theories of humor studies can be identified. Incongruity is something that occurs when things are not in harmony or keeping with the surroundings of other aspects of something. The incongruity theory purports to define the for-mal object of comic amusement, which it locates in certain kinds of incongruity. Maybe it's a toilet brush, maybe it isn't. Szabo, A., Ainsworth, S. E., & Danks, P. K. (2005). d) Resolution shows how (within the story world) the incongruity arises. Hydraulic Model. Two pieces of sensuous knowledgeto have a fan used on you and to have a drink poured over you- are brought under the single piece of abstract knowledge, 'to be cooled down'. I am based in the UK and just at a time when we need more laughter it seems we are being gagged and guilt tripped into a kind of self-censorship at every turn which is not funny. A child with a well-developed sense of humor has been described as becoming a joy tracker or humor spotter in everyday life a point of view that will be carried into adulthood (Franzini, 2002, p. 11). Humor styles and their relationship to explicit and implicit self-esteem. Humor, stress, and coping strategies. Once again, something funnysomething incongruousmakes clear to us the difference between the world as it really, simply is and how we perceive it. Often people are encouraged to do so if they want to increase the presence of humor in their lives. Did the punchline fail to add in the number of purple fish needed? Even though the audience grows tired easily. (2006). In fact, when you get a joke, so the objection goes, there is no incongruity at all. It Irrelevance that is in a funny way; something out of place that makes you laugh.Fast and visual humor. (2012). For example, in a famous scene on the Mary Tyler Moore Show, Mary is distressed by the death of Chuckles the Clown, who, while dressed as a peanut, was killed by an elephant in a circus parade. The whole joke is just a chain absurdities, one seemingly more absurd than the next. In the first chapter, I summarize historical and contemporary theories, and show how each either 1) fails to give any definition of humor, 2) fails as a theory of humor, and/or 3) underappreciates, dismisses, The most important theory of humor analysis and synthesis is called Incongruity and Incongruity resolution. My son used to change the last word of the first line of the famous Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star rhyme. If you dont find yourself laughing nearly enough, here are six things you can do: Two cannibals are eating a clown. Your perception only relates to part of the objectone of its possible uses. Humor styles, peer relationships, and bullying in middle childhood. This juxtaposition of the Asian man coming from under the counter, which supports the idea that hes the owner, with the sign that proclaims the establishment is black owned is perfect example of ideas or objects that are incongruous with one another. ("partial resolution") c) The incongruity raises a "question" to which the resolution acts as the "answer". But whatever incongruity you focus on, the joke works on frustrating or playing around with expectations. The incongruity, the playing with expectations as such, is that the second line of the joke is the listener and this query made assumes the next answer will be a name not a sound. Gelkopf, M., Gonen, B., Kurs, R., Melamed, Y., & Bleich, A. By contrast, the present study used a humor corpus with the novelty of three-element verbal jokes to perform direct . There is no shortage of quotes about humor (and humorous quotes) available online; here are eight terrific examples: If I had no sense of humor, I would long ago have committed suicide. These science-based tools will help you move yourself or others through grief in a compassionate way. https://youtu.be/4K8EH0GAA9Q (0:0 - 1:34) The clip begins with a group of women staring at an attractive, muscular man across the waterpark. Similarly, in their review, Stieger, Formann, and Burger (2011) reported that self-defeating humor was linked to depression and loneliness, whereas self-enhancing humor was related to beneficial outcomes. For example, in a study exploring humor among undergraduate students, a sense of humor was positively related to both sociability and creativity (Ghayas & Malik, 2013). As I noted above, the child is playing around with the expectation of the well-known lyric and substituting their own words. This is specifically a wordplay used as a witticism. This explains why humor is found more in times of leisure and play than anywhere else. The joke teller does not do as expected and supplies a clever homonym to who in the sound hoo. Audiences arent sure if theyre supposed to laugh (here an indicator of humor) or not. Your friend welcomes you to their home for the first time and says "Let me introduce you to my furry little friend" before opening another door onto their bearded husband, where they had led you to expect a dog. Another way to think about this playful or non-serious approach to incongruity is to think about the difference in a dead-pan performance versus a clown. Contributions of humor as perceived by the terminally ill. Hickman, G., & Crossland, G. (2004). Incongruity is a mismatch between what we see or understand to be true and what we (consciously or unconsciously) expected. (2019). Just as the surrealists might have liked. 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