tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/sense-of-humor-30584/articlesSense of humor – The Conversation2022-07-26T11:59:25Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1850122022-07-26T11:59:25Z2022-07-26T11:59:25ZFeeling connected enhances mental and physical health – here are 4 research-backed ways to find moments of connection with loved ones and strangers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475479/original/file-20220721-1419-s9bw48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5370%2C3604&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Connecting can mean sharing a hearty laugh.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/close-up-of-happy-young-females-standing-outdoors-royalty-free-image/1193052039">Klaus Vedfelt/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A woman and her fiancé joke and laugh together while playing video games after a long day.</p>
<p>A college freshman interrupts verbal harassment aimed at a neighbor, who expresses gratitude as they walk home together.</p>
<p>A man receives a phone call to confirm an appointment, and stumbles into a deep and personal conversation about racism in America with the stranger on the other end of the line.</p>
<p>Each of these scenarios was recalled by a research participant as a moment of meaningful human connection. One’s sense of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.117.3.497">belonging</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000129">emotional safety</a> with family, friends and communities is built through actual interactions. As these examples suggest, these connections can come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Often small and fleeting and sometimes powerfully memorable, moments of connection occur with loved ones and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000281">strangers</a>, in person and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F2056305120942888">online</a>.</p>
<p>I spent the past several years exploring moments of connection as a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=50JpQTIAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">graduate student in psychology</a>, with a particular eye toward how people <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F02654075211040221">experienced meaningful connection during the pandemic</a>. It’s not just a little bonus to forge these connections; they have real benefits.</p>
<p>Feeling well connected to others contributes to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691615570616">mental health</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-072420-122921">meaning in life</a>, and even <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-052020-110732">physical well-being</a>. When loneliness or isolation becomes chronic, human <a href="https://theconversation.com/socially-isolated-people-have-differently-wired-brains-and-poorer-cognition-new-research-185150">brains</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0963721421999630">bodies</a> suffer, straining a person’s long-term well-being at least as significantly as major health risks such as obesity and air pollution.</p>
<p>Researchers know what kinds of behavior enhance feelings of social connection. Here are four ways to connect.</p>
<h2>1. Heart-to-hearts</h2>
<p>For many people, the first thing that comes to mind when asked about meaningful connections are heart-to-heart conversations. These are key moments of <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1988-97881-020">emotional intimacy</a>. One person opens up about something personal, often emotional and vulnerable, and in return another person communicates understanding, acceptance and care – what researchers call <a href="http://www.doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195398694.013.0018">responsiveness</a>.</p>
<p>For example, I could open up to you about my current experience of becoming a new father, sharing complex and precious sentiments that I would not disclose to just anyone. If I perceive in that moment that you really “get” what I reveal to you, that you accept my feelings as valid, whether or not you can relate to them, and that I matter to you, then I’ll probably feel a sense of closeness and trust.</p>
<p>In emotionally intimate moments, personal sharing is often reciprocal, though a sense of connection can arise <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.74.5.1238">whether you are the one opening up or offering responsiveness</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475476/original/file-20220721-14484-uiri9t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="man holds ladder while woman works on ceiling fixture" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475476/original/file-20220721-14484-uiri9t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475476/original/file-20220721-14484-uiri9t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475476/original/file-20220721-14484-uiri9t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475476/original/file-20220721-14484-uiri9t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475476/original/file-20220721-14484-uiri9t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475476/original/file-20220721-14484-uiri9t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475476/original/file-20220721-14484-uiri9t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Lending a hand can be one way to build a connection.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/woman-renovating-home-with-father-royalty-free-image/1268388388">Klaus Vedfelt/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>2. Giving and receiving help</h2>
<p>A key way that people bond is by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195342819.013.0009">giving and receiving support</a>. There are two kinds of social support that often figure in moments of connection. Instrumental support is tangibly helping with the practicalities of a solution. For example, if you bring me groceries when I’m under the weather, we would be bonding through instrumental support.</p>
<p>Emotional support is nurturing another’s feelings. If you dropped by to give me a hug when I’m stressed out, this would be emotional support.</p>
<p>Either way, your actions are responsive: You understand my situation and by taking action you show that you care.</p>
<p>While it’s perhaps no surprise that you might feel connected when someone offers you responsive kindness, it works in the other direction too. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0963721416686212">Supporting others</a> builds that feeling of connection, especially if you sincerely want to help and feel your aid is useful.</p>
<p>To be effective, though, you need to be responding to another person’s needs rather than your own idea of what they need. Sometimes this means offering emotional support to help another person calm down so they can tackle their own problem, despite your own desire to jump in and solve the issue for them.</p>
<h2>3. Positive vibes</h2>
<p>Vulnerability and support are no joke, but meaningful interactions need not be somber. Research shows that people gain a sense of connection by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2021.02.002">experiencing positive emotions together</a>. And this sense of connection is not only in your mind. When two people share this kind of good vibe, their bodies coordinate too. They synchronize, with simultaneous gestures and facial expressions, and even biomarkers such as heart rate and hormones shifting in similar patterns.</p>
<p>Human beings rely on these positive, synchronous moments as a basic connecting force beginning in infancy, and people continue to seek out synchronous interactions throughout life. Think of enjoyable activities like <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.150221">singing</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2016.02.004">dancing</a> together – they’re embodied forms of connection that actually release endorphins that help you feel bonded. Same goes for <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0256229">laughing together</a>, which comes with the bonus that a shared sense of humor suggests a <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000266">similar sense of reality</a>, which enhances connection.</p>
<p>When someone tells you about a positive event in their life, a reliable way to enhance bonds is to sincerely and enthusiastically <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(10)42004-3">respond to their good news</a>: celebrating, congratulating, saying “I’m so happy for you.”</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475477/original/file-20220721-10497-9cgmaa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="two men embrace" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475477/original/file-20220721-10497-9cgmaa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475477/original/file-20220721-10497-9cgmaa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475477/original/file-20220721-10497-9cgmaa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475477/original/file-20220721-10497-9cgmaa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475477/original/file-20220721-10497-9cgmaa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475477/original/file-20220721-10497-9cgmaa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475477/original/file-20220721-10497-9cgmaa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Affection and gratitude can be expressed through words or actions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/two-men-hugging-royalty-free-image/1208881914">Sarah Mason/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>4. Affirming expressions</h2>
<p>Those moments when you let people know how much you appreciate, like or love them can be brief but powerful. Expressing and receiving <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/01463370500101071">affection</a> and <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9004.2012.00439.x">gratitude</a> are especially well-researched means of bonding. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/01463373.2021.1951794">Outright manifestations of affection</a> can come in the form of direct verbal declarations, like saying “I love you,” or physical expressions, like holding hands.</p>
<h2>Imprecision and imperfection</h2>
<p>Attempts at connection can be complicated by two people’s individual perceptions and preferences.</p>
<p>Humans aren’t mind readers. Anyone’s sense of what others think and feel is at best <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12194">moderately accurate</a>. To feel connected, it’s not enough that I genuinely understand you or care for you, for example. If you don’t perceive me as understanding or caring as we interact, you likely won’t walk away feeling connected. This is especially an issue when you’re lonely, because loneliness can lead you to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1088868310377394">view your interactions in a more negative way</a>.</p>
<p>Each person also has different preferences for ways of connecting that more reliably help them to feel bonded. Some people love to talk about their feelings, for example, and may gravitate toward emotional intimacy. Others may open up only with those they deeply trust, but love to connect more widely through humor.</p>
<p>Of course, not all interactions need to be meaningful moments of connection. Even well-bonded infants and caregivers, in that most vital of relationships, are in an observable connected state <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/1131074">only 30% of the time</a>.</p>
<p>Moments of connection also need not be extravagant or extraordinary. Simply <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49425-8_183">turning your attention to others when they want to connect</a> yields great relationship benefits.</p>
<p>Gaining insight into various ways of connection may allow you to practice new ways to engage with others. It may also help you simply pay attention to where these moments already exist in daily life: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000284">Savoring moments when you feel close</a> to others – or even just <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0001103">recalling such events</a> – can enhance that sense of connection.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185012/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dave Smallen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Psychology researchers know what kinds of behavior enhance feelings of social connection.Dave Smallen, Community Faculty in Psychology, Metropolitan State University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1349842020-04-01T12:09:25Z2020-04-01T12:09:25ZTake it from Pluto the Schnauzer: Comedy will help us through the coronavirus crisis<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/324423/original/file-20200331-65537-1hkmtph.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=12%2C2%2C1399%2C881&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">What's got four legs, a wet nose and can help us laugh through the crisis?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.facebook.com/nanciewight/videos/10158289063493653/">Facebook</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It took an adorable talking dog to shake me from my gloom.</p>
<p>Ten days into the Great Pandemic Shutdown of 2020, I was still scrolling my phone for increasingly grim statistics, epidemiological forecast models and horror stories from the medical front lines of COVID-19. </p>
<p>Then I stumbled onto her: Pluto the Schnauzer, in a ridiculous <a href="https://www.facebook.com/100346998277754/posts/100350721610715/?d=n">Facebook video</a>, offering counsel “on the internets” about how we humans might re-frame our anxious quarantined existence. </p>
<p>There’s always something to do, says Pluto. Straight to camera like a doggy newscaster, she reminds us that “we (four-leggeds) curl up, we wander around, we play with a tennis ball.” She offers wisdom about the humans’ curious <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/03/30/nation/were-still-hoarding-toilet-paper-because-coronavirus-no-good-reason/">toilet paper “crisis”</a> and advises us to avoid sniffing crotches until social distancing is over. Pluto for president, I say – she’s giving it to us straight. </p>
<h2>The best medicine?</h2>
<p>There is plenty to laugh at, it seems, in a crisis moment when the world’s shared destiny has become breathtakingly clear. This doesn’t mean that we’re trivializing the suffering. We’re trying to cope. Beyond the obvious illness, we’re facing <a href="https://hbr.org/2020/03/understanding-the-economic-shock-of-coronavirus">economic and social devastation</a>, which will be felt most acutely by <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/news/2020/03/27/482337/coronavirus-compounds-inequality-endangers-communities-color/">vulnerable communities</a>. Many of us are <a href="https://hbr.org/2020/03/that-discomfort-youre-feeling-is-grief">experiencing the emotions of grief</a> and trying to figure out some kind of routine in the stressful, uncertain new normal. It’s hard to fully contemplate the ripple effects of the loss and anxiety, or the enormity of the task that befalls us when we finally come out of hiding to repair our communities.</p>
<p>But humor can help. </p>
<p>As Lauren Feldman and I wrote in our new book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Comedian-Activist-Walk-into-Communication/dp/0520299779">“A Comedian and An Activist Walk Into a Bar: The Serious Role of Comedy in Social Justice,”</a> comedy plays an important societal role when we are working through dire, complex social problems. It offers catharsis, resilience and a source of civic imagination that invites play and helps us imagine the future. It can also provide a vital and biting wellspring of social critique that can point out injustice in accessible ways that can be hard to convey even through traditional forms of serious information, like journalism. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lr_tEdQvFcc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Not so much A Night at the Opera, more a month in the bedroom.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We need comedy. And homemade “coronavirus comedy” is everywhere – videos, <a href="https://www.boredpanda.com/quarantine-coronavirus-jokes/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic">memes</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/mar/18/coronaviral-the-best-memes-tweets-and-cartoons-to-get-you-through-open-thread">tweets</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lr_tEdQvFcc">re-written music lyrics</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1tNv-dKd1E">parody music videos</a>. Sure, there’s plenty of funny stuff from the expected professional media sources, even while they’re on lockdown – <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ls0ZormAOhU">“The Daily Show,”</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvJ1BuEtZEo&feature=emb_logo">“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,”</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4qvO0StKto">“Saturday Night Live”</a> – but the inventive creativity coming from us ordinary folks is really killing it. In the <a href="https://politybooks.com/bookdetail/?isbn=9780745660707">participatory media age</a>, we can access the production tools and distribution channels to share our expressions of hope, play and silliness through YouTube, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. The whole world has been given a license to be funny and deviant, and it turns out, we are really, really hilarious.</p>
<p>But is it OK to giggle about hard times? Are we wrong to seemingly make fun of something so serious? I would argue that these aren’t the right questions. </p>
<p>Look closely. In the age of COVID-19, we’re making comedy that punches up, not down. It is aimed at ourselves and at institutions of power that need to be held accountable. Through our comedy, we invite each other to see our shared experiences through much-needed playfulness - even across ideological divides. </p>
<p>The humor is found in the absurd dystopian reality of our weird new lives: Being <a href="https://www.facebook.com/581553707/posts/10158351509018708/?sfnsn=mo&d=n&vh=e">stuck inside our homes</a> with these irritating other humans, even the ones we love, is “Groundhog Day” tedium. We parents never really wanted to to spend a full <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B92mDL0Hbrv/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet">nonstop 24 hours</a> with our elementary- or middle school-aged children for weeks at a time, did we? (I’m sure my kids won’t read this.) </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KxtGJsnLgSc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Italian mayors clearly aren’t impressed by everyone’s social distancing efforts.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We are <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/take-your-mind-off-of-the-coronavirus-for-few-minutes-with-these-feel-good-videos-memes-and-threads-2020-03-19">fighting over toilet paper</a> at Costco and challenging our kids to dance-offs on TikTok. And then there are the many adventures in Zoom, our <a href="https://news.lvhn.org/stay-home-stay-safe-and-dont-forget-to-smile/">new conference room</a> and college classroom. Suddenly, we have discovered the humor in <a href="https://www.facebook.com/100010288871601/posts/1121202954899323/?sfnsn=mo&d=n&vh=i">your mic being off</a>, your mic being on (oops), <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffreyButts/status/1239742025651687424">floating in the New York skyline</a> or hosting a serious budget meeting while <a href="https://mashable.com/article/zoom-background-change-coronavirus-meetings/">oversized cats</a> appear over your shoulder – thank you, Zoom background graphics. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, stressed-out professors are <a href="https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=CCe5PaeAeew#dialog">singing about teaching online</a>. Even a <a href="https://www.thepoke.co.uk/2020/03/20/this-commentators-got-no-live-sport-left-so-hes-commentating-on-everyday-life-and-its-brilliant/#.XnVQ0MnKCsk.facebook">sidelined sports commentator</a> got in on the comedy game with a hilarious series of sportscaster-narrated everyday life scenes. None of our current experience is – or should become – normal (except the dance-offs, perhaps), and comedy lets us say that. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1241405476522336256"}"></div></p>
<p>Comedy serves <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Comedian-Activist-Walk-into-Communication/dp/0520299779">crucial cultural functions</a> as we deal with tough challenges: sharing and amplifying messages, addressing taboo topics in accessible ways, and inspiring us to feel emotions of hope and optimism, which motivate us to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15205436.2018.1545035">engage in social problems</a>.
And, not least, comedy helps us to bolster individual and collective resilience we need to re-imagine and re-build the post-COVID-19 world.</p>
<h2>Comedy going viral</h2>
<p>Beyond the silliness, much of this “coronavirus comedy” is functionally reminding us what to do – <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9YirNgAzXI">wash our hands</a>, stay home, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqx19f0ceUo">practice social distancing</a>. It’s also providing <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thejuicemedia/videos/honest-government-ad-coronavirus/626685584556823/">scathing and needed critiques of official government responses</a>. We know from research that we are much more likely to <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Comedian-Activist-Walk-into-Communication/dp/0520299779">remember and share messages</a> that are funny, which means we are amplifying the information across networks and individuals. And when we spread comedy wildly, we communicate our identities and communal experiences with one another, even while we are physically separated.</p>
<p>Comedy really matters. Through its generative, disruptive, deviant energy, humor can help us to engage and find tenacity, resilience and cathartic release during these trying times.</p>
<p>[<em>You need to understand the coronavirus pandemic, and we can help.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=upper-coronavirus-help">Read our newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/134984/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The Center for Media & Social Impact, directed by Caty Borum Chattoo, receives funding from Luminate, Comedy Central, Atlantic Philanthropies, and the McNulty Foundation for research, convenings, and creative production initiatives focused on the intersection of mediated comedy, civic empowerment and social change.</span></em></p>It isn’t wrong to laugh at coronavirus comedy. Rather a chortle here and there will help us through the crisis, and it may even help spread vital information and give comfort to those in need.Caty Borum Chattoo, Executive Director of the Center for Media & Social Impact, Assistant Professor, American University School of CommunicationLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1221032019-08-21T17:47:54Z2019-08-21T17:47:54ZPoliticians don’t seem to laugh at themselves as much anymore<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288814/original/file-20190820-170922-1vsr207.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ronald Reagan at the end of his debate with Walter Mondale, Oct. 22, 1984, Kansas City, Mo. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Watchf-AP-A-MO-USA-APHS234464-Ronald-Reagan-1984/c65d03d0aa2f46c0867f8b3e8fcf5d5d/20/0">AP/Ron Edmonds</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the 2020 presidential campaign gets underway, one of the key factors that shapes our perceptions is how the candidates use – or do not use – humor. </p>
<p>One kind of humor that is in shorter supply among politicians than it once was is self-deprecating humor. That’s when politicians make themselves the butt of the joke. </p>
<p>It is unclear exactly why this has become something of a lost art. Perhaps 21st-century politicians need to be more careful and guarded than their predecessors in light of the <a href="https://www.atalanta.co/antisocial-media">risks posed by social media</a> and internet news outlets. </p>
<p>Whatever the cause, its decline is striking.</p>
<p>Many past presidents from both parties established a reputation for using self-deprecating humor to great effect. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pobQGWgtWU">Ronald Reagan deflecting concerns about his age</a> by “refusing to exploit the youth and inexperience of his opponent” during a debate with Walter Mondale in 1984 is a classic. Reagan’s fellow Republican George W. Bush, widely known for his malapropisms, <a href="https://time.com/5094914/president-jokes/">opened the 2005 White House Correspondents’ Dinner by saying,</a> “I look forward to these dinners where I am supposed to be funny … intentionally.” </p>
<p>On the Democratic side, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama frequently peppered their speeches with subtle, humorous self-putdowns and, after leaving office, even <a href="https://time.com/5094914/president-jokes/">Jimmy Carter once quipped</a> about how nice it was that people now used all of their fingers when they waved at him.</p>
<p>In some ways the use of self-deprecating humor by a politician catches people off guard, as <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160289611000523">it’s expected that a candidate would denigrate their rivals while bragging about themselves</a>. This incongruity grabs our attention and makes the humor more memorable than it might otherwise be, making it an effective political weapon when used strategically.</p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=MxorsyYAAAAJ&hl=en">As a psychologist who studies everyday social life</a>, I have seen little self-deprecating humor in recent elections, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/03/04/voters-like-pols-who-can-laugh-at-themselves-why-cant-these-candidates-pull-it-off/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.fa2831d3ed4e">Hillary Clinton’s forced attempts notwithstanding</a>. </p>
<p>Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, for example, never use it, and one may have to go all the way back to <a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/blog-posts/richard-nixon-his-own-worst-enemy/">the time of Richard Nixon</a> to experience a political self-deprecation landscape so barren.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288815/original/file-20190820-170918-1rt3s6r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288815/original/file-20190820-170918-1rt3s6r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288815/original/file-20190820-170918-1rt3s6r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=354&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288815/original/file-20190820-170918-1rt3s6r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=354&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288815/original/file-20190820-170918-1rt3s6r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=354&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288815/original/file-20190820-170918-1rt3s6r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=444&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288815/original/file-20190820-170918-1rt3s6r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=444&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288815/original/file-20190820-170918-1rt3s6r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=444&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, left, wasn’t good at self-deprecation; presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, right, doesn’t do it at all.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/DEM-2016-Debate/4d8a1486986d407c9466d471e64884d6/2/1">AP/Carlos Osorio</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How does self-deprecation work?</h2>
<p>Scholars have found that humor is one of the key ways in which humans <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160289611000523">advertise intelligence, and it makes us more attractive to others</a>. </p>
<p>Self-deprecating humor performs other functions as well. For example, it can be used as a strategy to defuse attacks by identifying personal deficiencies before others have a chance to do so.</p>
<p>And there is evidence that it works. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15377857.2015.1074137">In one recent study</a>, some test subjects were shown a short video of David Letterman making fun of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie when <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Chris_Christie_presidential_campaign,_2016">Christie was running for president in 2016</a>. </p>
<p>Other people in the study saw a short clip of Christie making fun of himself while appearing as a guest on Letterman’s program. </p>
<p>The people who saw Christie being self-deprecating gave higher evaluations of him than those who heard the same negative information coming from Letterman. They also expressed a greater likelihood of voting for him. </p>
<p>Being comfortable with your weaknesses is an indicator of self-awareness and a sign of confidence and strength. <a href="https://www.inc.com/anne-gherini/what-a-self-deprecating-sense-of-humor-says-about-your-eq.html">It is a crucial component of the trait of emotional intelligence</a>, which means that one is good at maneuvering through the landscape of feelings inherent in every social interaction. There is also <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180208104225.htm">evidence that the frequent use of self-mockery can promote psychological well-being</a>.</p>
<h2>The risks</h2>
<p>Self-deprecation does not work equally well for everyone.</p>
<p>It turns out that <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/147470490800600303">self-deprecating humor is only effective for high-status people</a> who are already recognized by others as competent and likeable. </p>
<p>If you’re not competent and likeable, self-deprecating humor can backfire. It only <a href="https://www.bustle.com/articles/119255-is-making-fun-of-yourself-a-good-idea-the-science-behind-self-deprecating-humor">serves to reinforce the negative things that people already think</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-self-deprecation-can-backfire-2013-11">Self-deprecation is especially risky for women</a>, who use it more often than men do, but benefit from it much less. It is <a href="https://www.noted.co.nz/health/psychology/why-self-deprecation-is-best-practised-in-moderation/">possible that gender stereotypes about submissiveness and competence</a> prevent this from being an effective female strategy. This may turn out to be a vital piece of information given the large number of female candidates in the Democratic primaries.</p>
<p>Consequently, self-deprecation is best practiced from a position of strength – when you feel confident about your status and believe that this lines up with others’ perceptions of you. In leadership situations, it may be used to forge a secure connection between the leader and the followers. Leaders who are judged to have the quality of transformational leadership – the ability to inspire people to set aside selfish interests for the greater good – are <a href="https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/01437731311289947">most likely to utilize self-deprecating humor</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288817/original/file-20190820-170935-h39p0l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288817/original/file-20190820-170935-h39p0l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288817/original/file-20190820-170935-h39p0l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288817/original/file-20190820-170935-h39p0l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288817/original/file-20190820-170935-h39p0l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288817/original/file-20190820-170935-h39p0l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288817/original/file-20190820-170935-h39p0l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288817/original/file-20190820-170935-h39p0l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">President Donald Trump laughs during a 2017 trip to Europe; he rarely, however, laughs at himself.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Germany-G20-Trump/5bf93afa968348069b4a7f10a29191a7/109/0">AP/Evan Vucci</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How to win by spilling coffee</h2>
<p>The prerequisite of competence for effective self-deprecation is undoubtedly related to something called “<a href="https://www.brescia.edu/2017/06/pratfall-effect/">The Pratfall Effect</a>,” first identified in a 1966 study by social psychologist <a href="https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/applied-and-social-sciences-magazines/aronson-elliot">Elliot Aronson</a>. He discovered that a person who had already demonstrated competence and superior knowledge in an audition for a TV quiz show actually <a href="https://www.brescia.edu/2017/06/pratfall-effect/">enhanced his likeability by accidentally spilling a cup of coffee all over himself</a>. </p>
<p>A less impressive person who did the same thing ended up with even more negative evaluations. </p>
<p>In short, there are many reasons why a politician may not engage in self-deprecating humor. It is possible that the candidate is simply not adept with humor and avoids it because it does not play to his or her strengths. It is also possible that politicians refrain from self-deprecation because they lack confidence that others think highly of them.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.nationalmemo.com/democrats-worry-bernie-sanders/?cn-reloaded=1">Bernie Sanders is notoriously thin-skinned</a> about the fact that he is a millionaire politician best known for bemoaning the influence of wealthy people in politics. In this situation, an artful touch of self-deprecating humor would probably carry the day more successfully than the testy defensiveness that Sanders usually employs.</p>
<p>This brings us to President Trump.</p>
<p>Many political experts have commented on <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/04/26/with-self-deprecation-on-menu-for-presidents-at-correspondents-dinner-its-no-wonder-trump-is-skipping-it/?utm_term=.f197eada4c87">Trump’s seeming inability to laugh at himself</a>. A display of self-deprecation by the sitting president has become part of the tradition at the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner; Trump has declined to attend the last three years.</p>
<p>Yet Trump believes that he is a master at self-deprecation, as he believes himself to be a master of so many other things. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/mar/04/donald-trump-gridiron-dinner-jared-kushner-melania">Here is what he said</a> at the 2018 annual dinner hosted by the Gridiron Club: “No one does self-deprecating humor better than I do. It’s not even close.” </p>
<p>[ <em>Like what you’ve read? Want more?</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=likethis">Sign up for The Conversation’s daily newsletter</a>. ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122103/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Frank T. McAndrew does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Self-deprecating humor can be a savvy campaign strategy – but only for certain candidates.Frank T. McAndrew, Cornelia H. Dudley Professor of Psychology, Knox CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1105912019-01-31T16:34:13Z2019-01-31T16:34:13ZHow joking around with your brothers and sisters shapes your sense of humour<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/256369/original/file-20190130-39344-19fjtsu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Happy days.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/happy-preschool-boy-girl-lying-upside-1043120479?src=mz1cffKa8h_O-3bkzgTn_A-1-66">fizkes/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Two siblings are playing on the living room floor. The girl, aged six, looks at her brother, and smiling, sings: “A, B, C, D, E, F – <em>R</em>!” Her older brother, aged seven, grins and joins in with: “H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, <em>PEE</em>! Get it? Pee! Pee-pee!” Both fall about laughing.</p>
<p>You may remember similar silly exchanges with your own brother or sister when you were growing up. Research has shown that sibling relationships play an important role in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781444390933.ch19">child development</a>. It is one of the most enduring relationships and is characterised by closeness, cooperation, conflict and play. Now <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/bjdp.12277">our research</a> has taken us a step closer to finding out just how important sharing humour with a sibling may be.</p>
<p>Humour is a <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=l4RlDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Martin+humour+an+integrative+approach&ots=q_Tih1MFS1&sig=XIk9v_ZlO9Qd2E8Cb2Ecv2oJFzA#v=onepage&q=Martin%20humour%20an%20integrative%20approach&f=false">universal</a> part of the human experience. But although it has long been of interest to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/phc3.12320">philosophers and psychologists</a>, relatively few studies have explored the types of humour young children produce in their close relationships. </p>
<p>From the research that has been done, we know that from a young age, children take delight in unexpected or surprising events. In infancy, they are amused by <a href="https://www.cairn.info/revue-enfance1-2001-3-page-247.html">peekaboo and clowning around</a> with their caregivers. As <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.2044-835X.2011.02075.x">toddlers</a>, children demonstrate an increasingly advanced and varied repertoire of humorous incongruities (a conflict between what is expected and an absurd reality). They misuse and mislabel objects, play with sound, push the rules, and playfully tease others. Beyond the <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Humor_Its_Origin_and_Development.html?id=Dv5qQgAACAAJ&redir_esc=y">preschool years</a>, children begin to play with words in more complex ways. They make up and tell riddles and jokes (with punchlines of varying success).</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"782849010801451008"}"></div></p>
<p>Researchers have <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/147470490600400129">proposed that</a> the production of humour involves considerable cognitive and social skill. Telling a successful joke requires language skills and <a href="https://www.thecut.com/2017/05/the-art-and-science-of-comedic-timing.html">timing</a>, the ability to understand the minds and emotions of others (or, having a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781118963418.childpsy210">theory of mind</a>), being able to think in <a href="https://theconversation.com/five-ways-to-make-your-child-a-creative-genius-71170">creative</a> and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09575146.2016.1254162">fast-paced</a> ways.</p>
<p>But we don’t tell jokes and do funny things just to make people smile – the production of humour is thought to serve many <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1976-12031-000">important functions</a>. Not only does it make us <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-evolutionary-origins-of-laughter-are-rooted-more-in-survival-than-enjoyment-57750">laugh</a>, but it also promotes <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1130601?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents">friendships</a>, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bjsw/article/42/3/560/1663450">relieves tension</a>, and helps us cope with <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF01537439">stress and anxiety</a>. So it is surprising that so little work has focused on humour within one of the most important childhood relationships, between siblings.</p>
<h2>Oh brother!</h2>
<p>Moments of comedy and absurdity are a part of day-to-day life for many families. In psychologist <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=VZ6aYLpD5pEC&oi=fnd&pg=PA12&dq=judy+dunn+1988&ots=8JN72wVplF&sig=lxcEu0dmtUHT467wOw19UIhNWwE#v=onepage&q=judy%20dunn%201988&f=false">Judy Dunn’s</a> observations of early sibling interactions, children particularly enjoyed humorous play with forbidden and disgusting themes (or “<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-children-find-poo-so-hilarious-and-how-adults-should-tackle-it-72258">bathroom humour</a>”). Just as the sibling relationship can be thought of as a training ground for crucial social skills such as negotiating and managing play and conflict, its permanency enables children to explore the boundaries of what each other may (and may not) find funny without jeopardising the relationship.</p>
<p>In our <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/bjdp.12277">recent observational study</a>, published in the British Journal of Developmental Psychology, we identified different types of humour produced by a group of seven-year-olds as they played with their older or younger sibling. We found that spontaneous humour was very common in the children’s play with their siblings. It was often good-natured, repetitive and well-rehearsed, reflecting their shared experiences and sibling bonds.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/256367/original/file-20190130-108342-1r2khyh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/256367/original/file-20190130-108342-1r2khyh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/256367/original/file-20190130-108342-1r2khyh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/256367/original/file-20190130-108342-1r2khyh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/256367/original/file-20190130-108342-1r2khyh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/256367/original/file-20190130-108342-1r2khyh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/256367/original/file-20190130-108342-1r2khyh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Joking around.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/little-girl-tells-secret-boy-511427821?src=mz1cffKa8h_O-3bkzgTn_A-2-86">AJP/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The siblings produced a wide variety of different types of humour. Children most often played with words (such as nonsense speech, riddles, and making up absurd stories) and sounds (chanting, over-exaggerated singing and silly voices). They also performed and described incongruities (deliberately making objects perform wrong actions), shared taboo themes (blowing raspberries and making rude noises), engaged in banter (light-hearted and playful teasing and rough and tumble), and clowned around (silly poses, body movements, and pulling faces) to make their siblings laugh. </p>
<p>We also found that when the seven-year-olds with a younger sibling played together, as a pair they produced more humorous sound play (such as shouting in high-pitched voices: “Eww! I’ve been slimed!”) than the seven-year-olds with an older sibling. According to other <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Play.html?id=d711jR0AqvIC">researchers</a>, as soon as children learn about new rules, they have fun exaggerating and distorting them. It is possible that the younger sibling pairs were enjoying playing around with newly learned rules and conventions about sound in conversation.</p>
<p>Male sibling pairs produced more humour than female sibling pairs overall, performing more incongruities than mixed gender and female pairs (“I’ll let you in on a little secret. I have cheese in my pocket!”). Pairs of brothers used more taboo humour (“Fart? Does it fart?”) and clowned around – we saw a lot of silly dancing – more often than sister pairs too. </p>
<p>By identifying these differences in humour between siblings, we are one step closer to understanding the role and function of shared humour in children’s closest relationships. That said, much more work is needed to discover exactly what humour production means for the development of social and cognitive skills, learning, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-a-childs-humour-reveals-about-their-psychological-well-being-70880">psychological well-being</a> in childhood.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/110591/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This article is based on a study supported by a British Psychological Society grant (to the author), and a Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) strategic research grant and the Concordia University Research Chair in Early Childhood Development and Education to a coauthor of the publication (Nina Howe).</span></em></p>Siblings have one of the most enduring relationships which can help them enjoy the funny things in life.Amy Paine, Postdoctoral Researcher in Developmental Psychology, Cardiff UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1064022018-11-14T10:33:42Z2018-11-14T10:33:42ZHow humour can change your relationship<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245348/original/file-20181113-194513-5aek73.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Funny haha.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/waist-portrait-funny-old-man-woman-1048790306?src=wkij7S5Ny4ZwjyVKpI-cpA-2-0">Olena Yakobchuk/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A sense of humour is an <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/humor-sapiens/201504/good-in-bed-funny-men-give-more-orgasms">attractive trait</a>. There is <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0265407502019004048">abundant</a> <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17380374">cross cultural evidence</a> that shows that being funny <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/humor-sapiens/201110/why-jokes-are-seductive">makes you more desirable</a> as a mate, especially if you are a man. But once the initial flirting is over, and you are in a romantic relationship, how large a role does humour play?</p>
<p>For <a href="https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/humr.2014.27.issue-2/humor-2014-0015/humor-2014-0015.xml">dating couples</a>, use of positive humour (for example, using humour to cheer up your date) can positively contribute to relationship satisfaction. The use of aggressive humour, on the other hand (teasing and making fun of your partner) has the opposite effect. These feelings can fluctuate on a day-to-day basis depending on each partner’s use of humour. </p>
<p>For long-term relationships, such as in marriages, couples generally share a similar sense of humour – although similarities in sense of humour <a href="https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/humr.2003.16.issue-1/humr.2003.005/humr.2003.005.xml">are not associated</a> with greater marital satisfaction, nor with longer marriages. Perhaps not surprisingly, the research that resulted in this finding also found that couples with fewer children laugh more, compared to couples with a larger number of children.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/humr.2011.24.issue-4/humr.2011.025/humr.2011.025.xml">another study</a>, conducted with 3,000 married couples from five countries, both husbands and wives were found to be happier with a humorous partner, but this trait was reported to be more important for the marital satisfaction of the wives than the husbands. Interestingly, both husbands and wives thought that the husband was humourous more often. Regardless, married couples <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/record/1996-73025-001">overwhelmingly say</a> that humour has a positive impact on their marriages. </p>
<h2>Conflict resolution</h2>
<p>But what happens when things aren’t going so well? Humour is a great ice breaker and a social lubricant, but can it also help resolve conflict in marriages? In <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/record/1997-04812-009">one study</a>, researchers observed 60 newlywed couples when they discussed a problem in their marriage. They coded how much humour was used in the conversation. The couples also completed a measure of life stress. What researchers found when they followed up 18 months later was quite surprising. In couples that reported high stress, the more the husband used humour, the greater the chance the couple would separate or divorce.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245350/original/file-20181113-194519-1o7vl3s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245350/original/file-20181113-194519-1o7vl3s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245350/original/file-20181113-194519-1o7vl3s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245350/original/file-20181113-194519-1o7vl3s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245350/original/file-20181113-194519-1o7vl3s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245350/original/file-20181113-194519-1o7vl3s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245350/original/file-20181113-194519-1o7vl3s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sharing a joke.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/happy-friends-holding-each-other-1038614926?src=5QMP_YohEb-4vqhnofkWWQ-1-26">Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>By contrast, in <a href="https://public.psych.iastate.edu/ccutrona/psych592a/articles/Predicting%20marital%20happiness%20from%20newlywed%20interactions.pdf">a similar study</a> with 130 married couples, a wife’s use of humour predicted greater marital stability over six years, but only if the humour led to a decrease in their husband’s heart rate. In other words, if the humour calms the husbands, then it might be beneficial to their marriages.</p>
<p>These two studies show the disparate function of humour for men and women. For men, humour might serve as a way to distract from dealing with problems in the relationship, perhaps in an attempt to reduce their own anxiety. Women, on the other hand, may use humour to create a more relaxed atmosphere that can facilitate reconciliation.</p>
<h2>Laughing at you, not with you</h2>
<p>In recent years, there has been much <a href="https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/humr.2009.22.issue-1-2/humr.2009.002/humr.2009.002.xml">research</a> on the topics of <a href="https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/humr.2008.21.issue-1/humor.2008.002/humor.2008.002.xml">gelotophobia</a> (the fear of being laughed at), <a href="https://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:98075">gelotophilia</a> (the joy of being laughed at), and katagelasticism (the joy of laughing at others). One <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092656618302551">study</a> with a sample of 154 heterosexual young couples, who had been together an average of six years, examined whether any of these dispositions had a bearing on relationship satisfaction. You might expect that a person who likes being laughed at would be a good match with a partner that likes laughing at others, and this is indeed what the researchers found, though the correlation was not very strong. Overall, partners in romantic relationships tended to have similar preferences – they both liked being laughed at or to laugh at others at similar levels.</p>
<p>Looking at relationship satisfaction, people who scored high on gelotophobia reported the lowest satisfaction in their relationships, and felt less physically attractive, and less sexually satisfied, compared to low gelotophobians. This makes sense, as being in an intimate relationship requires opening up and being more vulnerable, something that may feel uncomfortable for a person fearing being judged and laughed at. </p>
<p>An interesting finding was that for men, having a gelotophobic partner reduced their own sexual satisfaction in relationships, probably because their partner’s insecurities make them less appealing. In contrast, women who loved being laughed at (gelotophilians) were more attracted to and enjoyed higher sexual satisfaction with their partner. No such effect was found with men. Also interesting was the finding that joy of laughing at others did not correlate with relationship satisfaction.</p>
<h2>Humour and sex</h2>
<p>Looking deeper into the issue of sexual satisfaction, women appear to have the edge. Women who have humorous partners, <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/humor-sapiens/201504/good-in-bed-funny-men-give-more-orgasms">enjoy more and stronger orgasms</a>, compared to women who have less funny partners. Women with funnier partners also initiated sex more often and had more sex in general (indeed, for very good reasons). Such effects have not been found in women with higher humour production (the ability to come up with funny ideas on the spot) perhaps because it requires less effort to satisfy the sexual desire of men.</p>
<p>This result may highlight sex differences in light of sexual selection, where higher reproduction costs for women (being pregnant, breastfeeding, shorter reproductive window), make them choosier than men. In contrast, men with good senses of humour may signal their intelligence, creativity, warmth, and how friendly they are – traits that are important in any relationship, especially romantic ones, and are more valuable for women.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106402/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gil Greengross does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The way you and your partner use humour can shape your relationship, and even break it up.Gil Greengross, Lecturer in Psychology, Aberystwyth UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/772762017-07-13T15:48:35Z2017-07-13T15:48:35ZHorsing around with young children makes them laugh – and helps them learn<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/177124/original/file-20170706-26461-l750vl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Carnival time.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/child-having-fun-carnival-brazil-322098569?src=3r74ywOJJjVHxHcnz-1Dig-2-2">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A good sense of humour is a highly valued personality trait. We like to laugh and for others to laugh with (not usually at) us. Yet while children say and do the funniest things, in the academic field of early childhood education and care (ECEC), not everyone is smiling.</p>
<p>Some of the most <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1132281">dominant theories</a> appear to set humour and laughter as the direct opposites of seriousness and rationality. But this strict division can blind us to the vital role of humour in how we teach and look after our children. </p>
<p>A fresh perspective can be found, perhaps surprisingly, in the work of the 20th-century Russian philosopher, <a href="https://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/in-theory-bakhtin-2/">Mikhail Bakhtin</a>. He developed a characterisation of humour and laughter from his focus on their role in medieval carnivals – the theory of “carnivalesque”. And it is a theory with some useful insights for young children’s education.</p>
<p>The “folk humour” associated with his theory is made up of three main concepts: carnival, laughter and the grotesque. From medieval times to today’s famous parades in Notting Hill and Rio de Janeiro, carnivals are spaces in which the world can be turned on its head – where anything goes and the rules of everyday life do not apply. </p>
<p>They also celebrate laughter and grotesque imagery relating to the area of the human anatomy <a href="https://monoskop.org/images/7/70/Bakhtin_Mikhail_Rabelais_and_His_World_1984.pdf">Bakhtin calls</a> “the lower bodily stratum”. It certainly fits well with young children’s delight in all things scatological.</p>
<p>There are <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03004430500387526?journalCode=gecd20">well-established links</a> between children’s humour and developing social skills. And <a href="https://www.addletonacademicpublishers.com/search-in-kc/3074-embracing-the-carnivalesque-young-children-s-humour-as-performance-and-communication">new research</a> suggests that looking at things through a “carnivalesque lens” can provide space for children to <a href="http://www.tandfebooks.com/isbn/9781315710006">explore ideas</a> that may be repressed in the official sphere of nursery life.</p>
<p>To grasp a sense of children’s developing social awareness, adults need to remember that children use humour in a variety of social situations. This could be exploring the place of power in relationships, or experimenting with social conventions. </p>
<p>For children to learn about (and liberate themselves from) rules, boundaries and restrictions, they need the freedom to play with these abstract concepts. Adults can support children by recognising children’s need to play in this way, and by providing a supportive, safe environment within which it can happen. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/177150/original/file-20170706-5026-1x5kvks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/177150/original/file-20170706-5026-1x5kvks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/177150/original/file-20170706-5026-1x5kvks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/177150/original/file-20170706-5026-1x5kvks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/177150/original/file-20170706-5026-1x5kvks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/177150/original/file-20170706-5026-1x5kvks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/177150/original/file-20170706-5026-1x5kvks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Spread your silly wings.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/father-son-having-fun-sunset-633964610">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As part of this, adults can – with subtlety, sensitivity and an acute sense of timing – become part of a child’s “carnival” view of the world. Humour can be injected into daily routines to have a positive effect on children’s (and adults’) moods. Positive emotional states are not only valuable, but also have the potential to inspire creative thinking, feed children’s curiosity, and nourish their motivation to learn.</p>
<h2>Funny business</h2>
<p>Horsing around comes with its own challenges of course. Whether its pulling faces, blowing raspberries, or just falling over, bringing the carnival into nursery life is no easy task. Embracing these tendencies means helping children feel empowered by the fallibility of adults. </p>
<p>Some adults may feel they risk losing children’s respect by acting in this way. There may be a sense of anxiety and fear that even a momentary shift of power could result in a loss of control. </p>
<p>But it is vital for adults to seek ways of overcoming any such feelings. Being exposed to humour that promotes adult self-effacement means children can explore power relations and their sense of self. </p>
<p>It is possible that, in addition to the popular view of humour as trivial, its association with children being “silly” and behaving inappropriately has afforded it a reputation as pedagogically insignificant. This is perhaps most evident amongst ECEC <a href="http://www.foundationyears.org.uk/files/2017/03/EYFS_STATUTORY_FRAMEWORK_2017.pdf">policy makers in England</a> and some of the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13158-015-0134-0">professionals working in ECEC</a>. Perhaps if more adults were aware of the reasons why children enjoy engaging in behaviour that challenges social conventions such as toilet humour, it may become accepted as something more than just a “phase” they go through.</p>
<p>As American educationalist Tim Lensmire <a href="http://hepgjournals.org/doi/10.17763/haer.64.4.u1q517012jt516t6">suggests</a>, there are serious downsides to ignoring children’s carnivalesque behaviour. We risk, <a href="https://experts.umn.edu/en/publications/too-serious-learning-schools-and-bakhtins-carnival-opportunities-">he says</a>, “undermining the sort of joyful, playful relation to the world and each other that would actually allow us to look fearlessly at the world and tell the truth about it”. </p>
<p>And that is no laughing matter.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77276/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laura Tallant is affiliated with the University and Colleges Union.</span></em></p>Breaking the rules is part of growing up.Laura Tallant, Senior Lecturer in Education (Early Childhood Education), Bath Spa UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/644142016-11-02T01:47:41Z2016-11-02T01:47:41ZScience deconstructs humor: What makes some things funny?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144119/original/image-20161101-27102-1ibofb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Why does that one video crack you up?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=376697146">Laughing image via www.shutterstock.com.</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Think of the most hilarious video you’ve ever seen on the internet. Why is it so funny? </p>
<p>As a researcher who <a href="http://ase.tufts.edu/psychology/tuscLab/people/graduate.htm">investigates some of the potential side effects of humor</a>, I spend a fair bit of time verifying the funniness of the jokes, photos and videos we present to participants in our studies. Quantifying the perception of humor is paramount in ensuring our findings are valid and reliable. We often rely on pretesting – that is, trying out jokes and other potential stimuli on different samples of people – to give us a sense of whether they might work in our studies.</p>
<p>To make predictions on how our funny materials will be perceived by study subjects, we also turn to a growing body of <a href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/humor/">humor theories</a> that speculate on why and when certain situations are considered funny. From ancient Greece to today, many thinkers from around the world have yearned to understand what makes us laugh. Whether their reasons for studying humor were strategic (like some of Plato’s thoughts on using humor to <a href="http://doi.org/10.1515/humr.2003.020">manipulate people’s political views</a>) or simply inquisitive, their insights have been crucial to the development of humor research today. </p>
<p>Take the following video as an example of a funny stimulus one might use in humor research: </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YZEbBZ2IrXE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Man vs. Moose in Sweden.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To summarize: A man and his female companion are enjoying a pleasant day observing a moose in one of Sweden’s forests. The woman makes a sudden movement, causing the moose to charge the couple. The man stands his ground, causing the moose to stop in his tracks. After a few feints with a large stick and several caveman-ish grunts by the man, the defeated moose retreats while the man proclaims his victory (with more grunting).</p>
<p>The clip has been viewed on YouTube almost three million times, and the comments make it clear that many folks who watch it are LOLing. But why is this funny? </p>
<h2>Superiority theory: Dumb moose</h2>
<p>It is the oldest of all humor theories: Philosophers such as <a href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/humor/">Aristotle and Plato</a> alluded to the idea behind the superiority theory thousands of years ago. It suggests that all humor is derived from the misfortunes of others – and therefore, our own relative superiority. Thomas Hobbes also alluded to this theory in his book <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/thomas-hobbes-leviathan-9780198723967?q=Leviathan&lang=en&cc=us">“Leviathan</a>,” suggesting that humor results in any situation where there’s a sudden realization of how much better we are than our direct competition. </p>
<p>Taking this theory into consideration, it seems like the retreating moose is the butt of the joke in this scenario. <a href="http://www.transactionpub.com/title/The-Game-of-Humor-978-0-7658-0659-8.html">Charles Gruner</a>, the late expert on superiority theory, suggest that all humor is derived from competition. In this case, the moose lost that competition.</p>
<h2>Relief theory: Nobody died</h2>
<p>The relief theory of humor stems from Sigmund Freud’s assertion that laughter lets us relieve tension and release “<a href="https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/1664527.pdf">psychic energy</a>.” In other words, Freud and <a href="http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/6201/1/6201_3555.PDF">other relief theorists</a> believe that some buildup of tension is inherent to all humorous scenarios and the perception of humor is directly related to the release of that tension.</p>
<p>Freud used this idea to explain our fascination with taboo topics and why we might find it humorous to acknowledge them. For example, my own line of research deals with humor in interracial interactions and how it can be used to facilitate these commonly tense situations. Many comedians have tackled this topic as well, focusing on how language is used in interracial settings and using it as an example of how <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dw_mRaIHb-M">relief can be funny</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dw_mRaIHb-M?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A comedy clip focused on interracial interactions gets some of its humor from the relief when a tense situation is resolved.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Interestingly, this theory has served as the rationale behind many studies documenting the <a href="http://doi.org/10.1086/498281">psychological</a> and <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.73.4.687">physiological</a> benefits of laughter. In both cases, the relief of tension (physiological tension, in the case of laughing) can lead to positive health outcomes overall, including decreased stress, anxiety and even <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ecam/nek015">physical pain</a>. </p>
<p>In the case of our moose video: Once the moose charges, the tension builds as the man and the animal face off for an extended period of time. The tension is released when the moose gives up his ground, lowers his ears and eventually scurries away. The video would probably be far less humorous if the tension had been resolved with violence – for instance, the moose trampling the man, or alternatively ending up with a stick in its eye.</p>
<h2>Incongruity theory: It’s unexpected</h2>
<p>The incongruity theory of humor suggests that we find <a href="http://www.iep.utm.edu/humor/#SH2c">fundamentally incompatible concepts or unexpected resolutions</a> funny. Basically, we find humor in the incongruity between our expectations and reality.</p>
<p>Resolving incongruity can contribute to the perception of humor as well. This concept is known as as the “<a href="http://doc.utwente.nl/63066/1/0000009e.pdf">incongruity-resolution</a>” theory, and primarily refers to written jokes. When identifying what makes a humorous situation funny, this theory can be applied broadly; it can account for the laughs found in many different juxtaposed concepts.</p>
<p>Take the following <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/4h629u/what_joke_is_hilarious_but_takes_a_few_seconds_to/">one-liners</a> as examples:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I have an Epi-Pen. My friend gave it to me as he was dying. It seemed very important to him that I have it.”</p>
<p>“Remains to be seen if glass coffins become popular.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The humor in both of these examples relies on incongruous interpretations: In the first, a person has clearly misinterpreted his friend’s dying wish. In the second, the phrase “remains to be seen” is a play on words that takes on two very different meanings depending on how you read the joke. </p>
<p>In the case of our moose video, the incongruity results from the false expectation that the interaction between man and moose would result in some sort of violence. When we see our expectations foiled, it results in the perception of humor. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144121/original/image-20161101-14771-1ih10vc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144121/original/image-20161101-14771-1ih10vc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144121/original/image-20161101-14771-1ih10vc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144121/original/image-20161101-14771-1ih10vc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144121/original/image-20161101-14771-1ih10vc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144121/original/image-20161101-14771-1ih10vc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144121/original/image-20161101-14771-1ih10vc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144121/original/image-20161101-14771-1ih10vc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The safety of being in the audience at a comedy show frees you to let loose.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/China-Standup-Comedy/7b784b25adf04524b8f3a15edd7ab724/1/0">Mark Schiefelbein/AP</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Benign violations theory: It’s bad, but harmless</h2>
<p>Incongruity is also a fundamental part of the <a href="http://doi.org/10.1177/0956797610376073">benign violations theory of humor (BVT)</a>, one of the most recently developed explanations. Derived from the linguist <a href="http://doi.org/10.1515/humr.1998.11.2.161">Thomas Veatch’s “violation theory,”</a> which describes various ways for incongruity to be funny, BVT attempts to create one global theory to unify all previous theories of humor and account for issues with each.</p>
<p>Broadly, benign violations theory asserts that all humor derives from three necessary conditions: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>The presence of some sort of norm violation, be it a moral norm violation (robbing a retirement home), social norm violation (breaking up with a long-term boyfriend via text message) or physical norm violation (purposefully sneezing directly on a child). </p></li>
<li><p>A “benign” or “safe” context in which the violation takes place (this can take many forms). </p></li>
<li><p>The interpretation of the first two points simultaneously. In other words, one must view, read or otherwise interpret a violation as relatively harmless.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thus far, researchers studying BVT have demonstrated a few different scenarios in which the perception of a benign violation could take place – for example, when there is weak commitment to the norm being violated. </p>
<p>Take the example of a church raffling off a Hummer SUV. They found <a href="http://doi.org/10.1177/0956797610376073">this scenario is much less funny to churchgoers</a> (with their strong commitment to the norm that the church is sacred and embodies values of humility and stewardship) than it is to non-churchgoers (with relatively weak norm commitment about the church). While both groups found the concept of the church’s choice of fundraiser disgusting, only the non-churchgoers simultaneously appraised the situation as also amusing. Hence, a benign violation is born. </p>
<p>In the case of our moose video, the violation is clear; there’s a moose about to charge two people, and we’re not sure what exactly is about to go down. The benign part of the situation could be credited to a number of different sources, but it’s likely due to the fact that we’re psychologically (and physically, and temporally) distant from the individuals in the video. They’re far away in Sweden, and we’re comfortably watching their dilemma on a screen. </p>
<h2>Homing in on funny</h2>
<p>At one point or another, we’ve all wondered why some phrase or occurrence has caused us to erupt with laughter. In many ways, this type of inquiry is what drove me to research the limits and consequences of humor in the first place. People are unique and often find different things amusing. In order to examine the effects of humor, it is our job as researchers to try to select and craft the stimuli we present to affect the widest range of people. The outcomes of good science stem from both the validity and reliability of our stimuli, which is why it’s important to think critically about the reasons why we’re laughing.</p>
<p>The application of this still-growing body of humor research and theory is seen everywhere, influencing everything from <a href="http://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/42384505/Humor_Media_and_The_Public_Discourse_A_C20160208-14055-en2rll.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJ56TQJRTWSMTNPEA&Expires=1478031047&Signature=MT%2BDR%2BwUz83RRzV1xU%2F%2FIO3Hqko%3D&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DHumor_Media_and_The_Public_Discourse_A_C.pdf">political speeches</a> to <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2012.749082">advertising campaigns</a>. And while “laughter is the best medicine” may be an overstatement (penicillin is probably better, for one), psychologists and medical professionals have started to lend credence to the idea that <a href="https://theconversation.com/getting-serious-about-funny-psychologists-see-humor-as-a-character-strength-61552">humor and laughter might have some positive effects</a> for health and happiness. These applications underscore the importance of developing the best understanding of humor we can.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/64414/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alex Borgella does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>One viral video might leave you in stitches; another leaves you cold. Psychology researchers have worked out several theories of humor to explain why.Alex Borgella, Ph.D. Candidate in Psychology, Tufts UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/615522016-08-24T02:06:11Z2016-08-24T02:06:11ZGetting serious about funny: Psychologists see humor as a character strength<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/135250/original/image-20160824-30216-zdyfu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Don't laugh at the psychological study of humor.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/pic-398241004.html">Laughing image via www.shutterstock.com.</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Humor is observed <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-humor-code/201109/the-importance-humor-research">in all cultures and at all ages</a>. But only in recent decades has experimental psychology respected it as an essential, fundamental human behavior.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.degruyter.com/viewbooktoc/product/5472">Historically</a>, psychologists <a href="http://www.springer.com/us/book/9780306464072">framed humor negatively</a>, suggesting it demonstrated superiority, vulgarity, Freudian id conflict or a defense mechanism to hide one’s true feelings. In this view, an individual used humor to demean or disparage others, or to inflate one’s own self-worth. As such, it was treated as an undesirable behavior to be avoided. And psychologists tended to ignore it as worthy of study.</p>
<p>But research on humor has come into the sunlight of late, with humor now viewed as a character strength. <a href="http://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.60.5.410">Positive psychology</a>, a field that examines what people do well, notes that humor can be used to <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/tps0000063">make others feel good</a>, to <a href="http://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.1962">gain intimacy</a> or to <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15332985.2014.884519">help buffer stress</a>. Along with gratitude, hope and spirituality, a sense of humor belongs to the <a href="http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2011/01/05/measuring-your-character-strengths/">set of strengths</a> positive psychologists call <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2011.592508">transcendence</a>; together they help us forge connections to the world and provide meaning to life. <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17439760701228938">Appreciation of humor correlates with other strengths</a>, too, such as <a href="http://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.60.5.410">wisdom and love of learning</a>. And humor activities or exercises <a href="http://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2011.577087">result in increased feelings of emotional well-being and optimism</a>. </p>
<p>For all these reasons, humor is now welcomed into mainstream experimental psychology as a desirable behavior or skill researchers want to understand. How do we comprehend, appreciate and produce humor?</p>
<h2>What it takes to get a joke</h2>
<p>Understanding and creating humor require a sequence of mental operations. Cognitive psychologists favor a <a href="http://doi.org/10.1515/humr.1990.3.1.53">three-stage theory of humor</a>. To be in on the joke you need to be able to:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Mentally represent the set up of the joke.</p></li>
<li><p>Detect an incongruity in its multiple interpretations.</p></li>
<li><p>Resolve the incongruity by inhibiting the literal, nonfunny interpretations and appreciating the meaning of the funny one.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>An individual’s knowledge is organized in mental memory structures called schemas. When we see or think of something, it activates the relevant schema; Our body of knowledge on that particular topic immediately comes to mind.</p>
<p>For example, when we see <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5iwQA4JJdUs/S_hBozdXqZI/AAAAAAAABco/swEcaydKG4s/s1600/cows.png">cows in a Far Side cartoon</a>, we activate our bovine schema (stage 1). But when we notice the cows are inside the car while human beings are in the pasture grazing, there are now two mental representations in our conscious mind: what our preexisting schema mentally represented about cows and what we imagined from the cartoon (stage 2). By inhibiting the real-world representation (stage 3), we find the idea of cows driving through a countryside of grazing people funny. “I know about cows” becomes “wait, cows should be the ones in the field, not people” becomes an appreciation of the humor in an implausible situation.</p>
<p>Funny is the subjective experience that comes from the resolution of at least two incongruous schemas. In verbal jokes, the second schema is often activated at the end, in a punchline. </p>
<h2>That’s not funny</h2>
<p>There are at least two reasons that we sometimes don’t get the joke. First, the punchline must create a different mental representation that conflicts with the one set up by the joke; timing and laugh tracks help signal the listener that a different representation of the punchline is possible. Second, you must be able to inhibit the initial mental representation.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/135213/original/image-20160823-30238-fk3rgc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/135213/original/image-20160823-30238-fk3rgc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/135213/original/image-20160823-30238-fk3rgc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=744&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135213/original/image-20160823-30238-fk3rgc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=744&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135213/original/image-20160823-30238-fk3rgc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=744&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135213/original/image-20160823-30238-fk3rgc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=935&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135213/original/image-20160823-30238-fk3rgc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=935&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135213/original/image-20160823-30238-fk3rgc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=935&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">You need some new material.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/hopkinsarchives/6049073817">Special Collections at Johns Hopkins University</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When jokes perpetuate a stereotype that we find offensive (as in ethnic, racist or sexist jokes), we may refuse to inhibit the offensive representation. Violence in cartoons is another example; In Roadrunner cartoons, when an anvil hits the coyote, animal lovers may be unable to inhibit the animal cruelty meaning instead of focusing on the funny meaning of yet another inevitable failure.</p>
<p>This incongruity model can explain <a href="http://doi.org/10.1159/000351005">why older adults do not comprehend jokes</a> as frequently as younger adults. Due to declines tied to the aging process, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S135561770396005X">older adults may not have the cognitive resources</a> needed to create multiple representations, to simultaneously hold multiple ones in order to detect the incongruity, or to inhibit the first one that was activated. Getting the joke relies on working memory capacity and control functions. However, when older adults succeed in their efforts to do these things, they typically show greater appreciation of the joke than younger adults do and <a href="http://doi.org/10.1007/s00391-009-0090-0">report greater life satisfaction than those who don’t see the humor</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/135212/original/image-20160823-30228-1fjqw3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/135212/original/image-20160823-30228-1fjqw3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/135212/original/image-20160823-30228-1fjqw3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135212/original/image-20160823-30228-1fjqw3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135212/original/image-20160823-30228-1fjqw3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135212/original/image-20160823-30228-1fjqw3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135212/original/image-20160823-30228-1fjqw3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135212/original/image-20160823-30228-1fjqw3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Advancing age can set the stage for an appreciation of humor.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/yooperann/5837772027">Ann Fisher</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There may be other aspects to humor, though, where older adults hold the advantage. <a href="http://doi.org/10.2190/N76X-9E3V-P1FN-H8D8">Wisdom</a> is a form of reasoning that increases with age and is <a href="http://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.60.5.410">correlated with subjective well-being</a>. <a href="http://doi.org/10.1515/HUMR.2009.023">Humor is linked with wisdom</a> – a wise person knows how to use humor or when to laugh at oneself.</p>
<p>Additionally, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000062">intuition is a form of decision-making</a> that may develop with the expertise and experience that come with aging. Like humor, intuition is enjoying a bit of a renaissance within psychology research now that it’s been reframed as <a href="http://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2010.07.004">a major form of reasoning</a>. <a href="http://doi.org/10.1515/humor-2015-0070">Intuition aids humor</a> in schema formation and incongruity resolution, and we perceive and appreciate humor more through speedy first impressions rather than logical analysis.</p>
<h2>Traveling through time</h2>
<p>It’s a uniquely human ability to parse time, to reflect on our past, present and future, and to imagine details in these mental representations. As with humor, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.77.6.1271">time perspective</a> is <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10902-015-9656-2">fundamental to human experience</a>. Our ability to enjoy humor is enmeshed with this mental capacity for time travel and subjective well-being. </p>
<p>People <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2011.03.006">vary greatly in the ability</a> to <a href="http://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2010.537279">detail their mental representations</a> of the past, present and future. For example, some people may have what psychologists call a negative past perspective – frequently thinking about bygone mistakes that don’t have anything to do with the present environment, even reliving them in vivid detail despite the present or future being positive.</p>
<p>Time perspective is <a href="http://doi.org/10.1177/0961463X07086304">related to feelings of well-being</a>. People report a greater sense of well-being depending on the quality of the details of their past or present recollections. When study participants focused on “how” details, which tend to elicit vivid details, they were more satisfied with life than when they focused on “why,” which tend to elicit abstract ideas. For example, when remembering a failed relationship, those focusing on events that led to the breakup were more satisfied than those dwelling on abstract causal explanations concerning love and intimacy.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/135251/original/image-20160824-30259-gticif.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/135251/original/image-20160824-30259-gticif.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/135251/original/image-20160824-30259-gticif.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135251/original/image-20160824-30259-gticif.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135251/original/image-20160824-30259-gticif.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135251/original/image-20160824-30259-gticif.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135251/original/image-20160824-30259-gticif.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135251/original/image-20160824-30259-gticif.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The way you think about the past is tied up with your sense of humor.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/pic-218222707.html">Pensive image via www.shutterstock.com.</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One study found that people who <a href="http://doi.org/10.2466/16.10.PR0.113x17z9">use humor in positive ways held positive past time perspectives</a>, and those using self-defeating humor held negative past time perspectives. This kind of study contributes to our understanding of how we think about and interpret social interactions. Such research also suggests that attempts to use humor in a positive way may improve the emotional tone of details in our thoughts and thereby our moods. <a href="http://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00456">Clinical psychologists are using humor as a treatment</a> to increase subjective well-being.</p>
<p>In ongoing recent work, my students and I analyzed college students’ scores on a few common scales that psychologists use to assess humor, <a href="http://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-015-9382-2">time perspective</a> and the <a href="http://doi.org/10.2753/JOA0091-3367360104">need for humor</a> – a measure of how an individual produces or seeks humor in their daily lives. Our preliminary results suggest those high in humor character strength tend to concentrate on the positive aspects of their past, present and future. Those who seek humor in their lives appear in our study sample also to focus on the pleasant aspects of their current lives.</p>
<p>Though our investigation is still in the early phase, our data support a connection between the cognitive processes needed to mentally time-travel and to appreciate humor. Further research on time perspectives may help explain individual differences in detecting and resolving incongruities that result in funny feelings.</p>
<h2>Learning to respect laughter</h2>
<p>Experimental psychologists are rewriting the book on humor as we learn its value in our daily lives and its relationship to other important mental processes and character strengths. As the joke goes, how many psychologists does it take to change a light bulb? Just one, but it has to want to change.</p>
<p>Studying humor allows us to investigate theoretical processes involved in memory, reasoning, time perspective, wisdom, intuition and subjective well-being. And it’s a behavior of interest in and of itself as we work to describe, explain, control and predict humor across age, genders and cultures. </p>
<p>Whereas we may not agree on what’s funny and what isn’t, there’s more consensus than ever among experimental psychologists that humor is serious and relevant to the science of behavior. And that’s no laughing matter.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/61552/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Janet M. Gibson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>No longer dismissed as an undesirable negative trait to be avoided, humor is having a heyday among experimental psychologists.Janet M. Gibson, Professor of Cognitive Psychology, Grinnell CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.