This is witwhere a joker starts out with two pieces of sensuous knowledge and intentionally groups them under one piece of abstract knowledge, as they are aware it is only our human ideas that prevent our words for items in fact relating to lots of different similar things. (2009). Patient: Bullets!. This is a practical application of the theory. Because this obvious fact about humor shows how much, cognitively speaking, is required of us when we experience and enjoy humor. There would be nothing to get: just an absurd idea hanging out. https://youtu.be/4K8EH0GAA9Q (0:0 - 1:34) The clip begins with a group of women staring at an attractive, muscular man across the waterpark. Your perception only relates to part of the objectone of its possible uses. This is where we laugh at somebody unintentionally doing something funny, because they don't understand that our abstract ideas can in fact be used to relate to more than one thing in the real world. Moving up the ladder of humorous complexity, lets take a look at a couple of knock-knock jokes. Children have reported such benefits, noting that humor increases their ability to cope with stressors associated with relationships, school-related activities, and life at home (Dowling, 2014). Hope may represent a powerful mechanism through which humor brings relief to patients, as evidenced in research addressing the impact of humor on terminally ill patients (Herth, 1990). Similarly, in their review, Stieger, Formann, and Burger (2011) reported that self-defeating humor was linked to depression and loneliness, whereas self-enhancing humor was related to beneficial outcomes. The effect of mirthful laughter on stress and natural killer cell activity. For example, during the Holocaust, victims reported using humor in ghettos, concentration, and death camps to better cope with extreme trauma and adversity (Ostrower, 2015). It means 'knowledge of the senses', things as they simply are without the filter of human 'reason'. Children also have to realize that they are substituting and are 48 essentially playing around with the structure of the rhyme. But if you recall the definition of IT, it simply states that incongruities will be found funny. The results indicated that adaptive humor was linked to higher levels of self-esteem and happiness. I shall begin, however, with a sketchy review of some of the main theories of humour and the standard objections to them, which usually take the form of providing counter-examples. In this way, humor results from feelings of triumph over the errors or misfortune of others, which promotes self-enhancement and feelings of superiority. Babies can go from laughing to crying in no time when being tickled [9]. the remains of the . Since we know humor represents an essential strength with all sorts of excellent benefits, it is in our best interest to maximize it as much as possible. Cambridge University Press (www.cambridge.org) is the publishing division of the University of Cambridge, one of the worlds leading research institutions and winner of 81 Nobel Prizes. The Incongruity Theory (IT, hereafter) is the dominant theory used in modern research to explain humorous things. If there was no way to link the incongruity back to the set-up of the joke/humor, there would be no way to get it. But what matters here is that something is at odds with another. Lastly, following humor therapy sessions, elderly nursing home residents showed a reduced duration of agitation and an increased duration of happiness (Low et al., 2014). What are you allergic to? queried a stressed nurse as a gunshot victim was rushed into the ER. Coping humor also has been associated with increased social support and self-efficacy among older community-dwelling adults (Marziali, McDonald, & Donahue, 2008). Its also one of the reasons that humor doesnt usually cross cultures. Rowe, A., & Regehr, C. (2010). Humor as character strength and its relation to life satisfaction and happiness in Autism Spectrum Disorders. Askildson, L. (2005). You dont ask about the difference between a single thing; comparison require two things. The results of this study indicated that 85% of patients believed that humor helped them to deal with reality by empowering hope. Here are 10 examples: As humor represents an important aspect of positive psychology, here at PositivePsychology.com, we have described several ways in which humor contributes to positive wellbeing. Theories of the psychophysiological benefits of humor. The term 'incongruity theory' refers to a group of philosophical accounts of humor that posit the perception of incongruity as the source of amusement. When we are shown it is inadequate, we feel we can relax our reliance on it. The humor in both of these examples relies on incongruous interpretations . It also is advantageous for both elderly and child populations. The concept of defense mechanisms originated in psychoanalytic theory. The relief theory ar-gues that laughter serves to facilitate the relief of pressure for the nervous system (Morreall,2020). The editorial policy of the journal pursues the aims of the Institute: to promote the study of philosophy in all its branches: logic, metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, aesthetics, social and political philosophy and the philosophies of religion, science, history, language, mind and education. (2013). The humor in a pun is the surprise in discovering the dual meaning, or perhaps embarrassment in having chosen the wrong meaning first. At least not the clocks I know. We can give two forms to the claims of the superiority theory of humor: (1) the strong claim holds that all humor involves a feeling of superiority, and (2) the weak claim suggests that feelings of superiority are frequently found in many cases of humor. The superiority theory is concerned with the affective response that often accompanies comic amusement, which it maintains is an enjoyable feeling of superiority to the object of amusement. Understanding humor as play helps counter the traditional objections to it and reveals some of its benefits, including those it shares with philosophy itself. Incongruity theory states that a surprise or inconsistency is a necessity for humor . White, E. B. and Katherine White. It is a combination of all three concepts that attempts to fully encapsulate the complex subject of racial comedy. Research has supported this idea. Accessibility StatementFor more information contact us atinfo@libretexts.orgor check out our status page at https://status.libretexts.org. Peterson and Seligman (2004) propose six virtues and 24 character strengths that fall within each virtue category (a few examples below): Proposed links between humor and positive wellbeing are intuitive; it makes sense that those with a good sense of humor will be in a better position to weather difficult situations, enjoy more cohesive relationships, find humor in all sorts of experiences, and benefit from more positive mental and physical health (Martin, 2019). Among nurses, humor has been related to lower emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, increased personal accomplishment (Talbot & Lumden, 2000), as well as greater coping efficacy and emotional expressivity (Wanzer, Booth-Butterfield, & Booth-Butterfield, 2005). Making fun of someone else because of their misfortunes. But basically, the kernel of the idea is that you experience something that does not fit easily within the particular context. #2: The Incongruity and Incongruity-Resolution Theories One of the oldest andmost developed theories of humor adopted by Kant, refined by Schopenhauer is, roughly,that humor happens. Built with love in the Netherlands. If you dont find yourself laughing nearly enough, here are six things you can do: Two cannibals are eating a clown. Here, two pieces of sensuous knowledgea dog and a bearded husbandare deliberately put together under a single piece of abstract knowledge: the concept of a 'furry friend', which usually means a dog, but which you now see could refer to either. The response of none both increases and diminishes your perplexity. I am based in the UK and just at a time when we need more laughter it seems we are being gagged and guilt tripped into a kind of self-censorship at every turn which is not funny. This isnt to say that those forms of art are not complex, its just to highlight that humor is of a different sort of experience; one that requires knowledge, expectation, and belief to typically be experienced as such. Think about whats required for you to get a joke. The cognitive-perceptual component. You and your friend are at a bar one summer and your friend has a paper fan. There are three major families of theories of humor: humor as release, humor as aggression, and humor as incongruity. Your email address will not be published. They have to understand what the rhyme overall means. Humor theories and the physiological benefits of laughter. Dark or twisted humor is an acquired taste, as not everyone appreciates the taboo humor others find in disturbing subject matter. Sensuous knowledge refers to the world as it exists from no perspective at all. They now look silly but you have had it pointed out to you that abstract knowledge is insufficient in this sense. This play then leads to a feeling of delight in the form of humor or mirth. The incongruity, the playing with expectations as such, is that the second line of the joke is the listener and this query made assumes the next answer will be a name not a sound. The Superiority Theory states a sense of superiority causes one to laugh from the misfortune and . al. For this reason, many famous quotes have been penned about the benefits of humor, such as: The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter. This little joke is pretty good at being absurd. The question alone is utterly nonsensical. The LibreTexts libraries arePowered by NICE CXone Expertand are supported by the Department of Education Open Textbook Pilot Project, the UC Davis Office of the Provost, the UC Davis Library, the California State University Affordable Learning Solutions Program, and Merlot. Detrimental humor (e.g., sarcasm and self-disparaging humor), on the other hand, is believed to have potentially negative ramifications such as reduced relationship quality and low self-esteem (Martin, 2019). For example, in a study by Samson, Glassco, Lee, and Gross (2014), humorous coping applied after viewing negative pictures was found to increase positive emotions at both short- and longer term follow-up. Higueras, A., Carretero-Dios, H., Muoz, J., Idini, E., Ortiz, A., Rincn, F., Rodrguez del guila, M. (2006) Effects of a humor-centered activity on disruptive behavior in patients in a general hospital psychiatric ward. Today's humor research draws on elements of these primary theories and remixes them. In the historical fiction novel, Dead End in Norvelt, by Jack Gantos, he includes examples of humor to improve his story. Describes the works of dermot bolger, e.m. forster, and kazuo ishiguro. Meaningful quotes and additional resources are also included, along with a bit of humor sprinkled throughout. Indeed, by nurturing their sense of humor, adults equip children with important coping skills (Martin, 1989). Humor's Bad Reputation 2. The superiority theory is concerned with the affective response Many of us may relate to high-anxiety situations where a joke feels like a much-needed outlet. Apparently, we're all seething cauldrons of fluid and gas, trying to get out and making us wacky. 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