("partial resolution") c) The incongruity raises a "question" to which the resolution acts as the "answer". For example, in a study exploring humor among undergraduate students, a sense of humor was positively related to both sociability and creativity (Ghayas & Malik, 2013). In this instance, a person starts out with a piece of abstract knowledge and unknowingly connects it to two pieces of sensuous knowledge. In the first chapter, I summarize historical and contemporary theories, and show how each either 1) fails to give any definition of humor, 2) fails as a theory of humor, and/or 3) underappreciates, dismisses, The Friday bit about black owned-might not work as effectively in say mainland China, or Tasmania. . For instance, my children loved to take nursery rhymes that they knew well and then not say the expected words at some point. What these studies are adding up to is the idea that incongruity--when an idea or an object is out of place--is the heart of humor, Martin says. Have a shot at working that one out. Describes the works of dermot bolger, e.m. forster, and kazuo ishiguro. Not only does humor have the ability to make school more enjoyable, but it is beneficial in various meaningful ways. Returning to the above joke, the answer of purple fish is not relevant at all to the question. This example also helps us to see the unexpected nature of the incongruous. Coping humor also has been associated with increased social support and self-efficacy among older community-dwelling adults (Marziali, McDonald, & Donahue, 2008). Additionally, in their comprehensive review, Cooper and Sosik (2012) reported that humor at the workplace was linked to enhanced relationships, more creative thinking, more collaborative negotiations, and better customer relations. And so, with laughter and love, we lived happily ever after. In this way, humor results from feelings of triumph over the errors or misfortune of others, which promotes self-enhancement and feelings of superiority. 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). During the humor activity period, patients were reported as having significant decreases in multiple disruptive behaviors including self-injury, fighting, and attempted escapes (Higueras et al., 2006). Theories of the psychophysiological benefits of humor. Importantly, gallows humor used in this way is not aggressive or hurtful to others. You didn't realise both actions would fit under this heading but now you do. For example, among physicians who do the exceedingly difficult work of treating cancer patients, humor has been reported as beneficial for patients, doctors, and relationships between the two (Joshua, Cotroneo, & Clarke, 2005). #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. 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. Explaining the absurd is a bitabsurd. Here are 18 examples of studies showing evidence of humor as a strength. For instance, the Benign Violation theory of humor developed by a team of psychologists at the University of Colorado Boulder explains funny as a series non-threatening violations of social norms [source: McGraw and Warren].Essentially, a joke should violate some sort of cultural practice or value, but at a . The researchers found reductions in anger, anxiety, psychopathology, and depression among participants (Gelkopf, Gonen, Kurs, Melamed, & Bleich, 2006). Confusion rarely leads to humor. Growing up with humor sets children on a more positive pathway. In order to get whatever may be going on in this poorly formed joke, you need to know that Etruscans were an ancient civilization in Italy that was conquered by the Romans early on in the Roman Empires history. Did the punchline fail to add in the number of purple fish needed? Twinkle, twinkle little star how I wonder what you rooster! The substituted word would always change, but it was typically a noun of some sort and often an animal. Schopenhaeur believes we relate to everything in the world through our perceptions. There is a scientific fact that you need to learn but neither of you know it. they reply simply with "Thank you!" Incongruity in humor is something that feels out of place, odd, or is unexpected from a logical, predictable, or familiar point of view. This is a practical application of the theory. This book assesses the adequacy of the traditional theories of laughter and humor, suggests revised theories, and explores such areas as the aesthetics and ethics of humor, and the relation of amusement to other mental states. 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. This article will provide readers with an abundance of information regarding the theoretical foundations of humor within the field of psychology, as well as empirical studies linking humor to various favorable outcomes. Experimental comparison of the psychological benefits of aerobic exercise, humor, and music. (2005) in their aptly titled article If We Didnt Use Humor, Wed Cry. Personally, I find it delightful and love the example and find it more and more humorous each time I experience it. Herth, K. (1990). This little joke is pretty good at being absurd. The next day, it transpires they have broken into the teacher's office and found it out by stealing the information from the test answers, where you simply meant them to Google it. (2014). For example, the mechanism of denial, when used by addicts, serves as a barrier to accepting the addiction and seeking help. (2013). A friend is performing at an open mic night. competitors of incongruity theory are currently seen as even less able to provide an adequate an-swer to the basic question" (Levinson 1998, 564). None, they were dead before electricity was invented. But, for people who experience stressful jobs or complicated family dynamics, dark humor often serves as an important protective mechanism. Incongruity can even play a role in physical humor. For example, "hot poet" is funnier than "happy child" and "money and sex" is funnier than "love and sex" [7,8]. After watching a funny video, cancer patients reported significantly less stress, and a negative correlation was found between stress and amount of mirthful laughter. An elegant example is the Hotel de Matignon, a mansion built in Paris in 1725 that now serves as the residence of the French Prime Minister. The effects of human therapy on nursing home residents measured using observational methods: The SMILE cluster randomized trial. However, she finds herself overwhelmed with an anxious energy that finally reaches its peak at the clowns funeral, where she is mortified by her inability to stop her pressure valve of nervous laughter. When we are shown it is inadequate, we feel we can relax our reliance on it. In the simplest and most general way of stating the idea, an incongruity is something that is unexpected, absurd, out of the ordinary, strange, or bizarre. Comedians who adopt a more dead-pan style of presentation can leave their audiences confused. One type of humor Jack uses is irony. The answer is in a real sense spot on. Your perception only relates to part of the objectone of its possible uses. In general, all other things being equal, if theres no reason to worry about the incongruity, then laugh. This does not mean that IT is not without its problems. They have created a moment of incongruity for the audience, helping us realise the inadequacy of our abstract knowledge, without realising this themselves and therefore making themselves look silly. The comedian isnt giving enough clues to indicate that this is supposed to be funny. Ostrower (2015, p. 184) describes humor coping within this context as a defense mechanism that under the nightmare circumstances of living in the ghettos and camps during the Holocaust, laughter was a form of rebellion against reality. But as a tool for explicating humor theories, jokes are compact, easily digestible, and thus make for useful examples. Roughly the general idea is this. In another study examining the effectiveness of humor among individuals with mental illness, a humor-based activity involving clowns (i.e., the therapeutic clown approach) was implemented among psychiatric ward inpatients. Top humor theories are described, along with the role of humor as both a defense mechanism and character strength. Roberts (2019, 92) and Hurley et. Thank you very much, for your good work! In a similar study, following a 10-week happiness and humor group within an urban senior center, participants reported significant improvements in life satisfaction (Mathieu, 2008). The question alone is utterly nonsensical. Incongruity is mostly a non-controversial, generally accepted idea, as claimed, for example, by Perlmutter ( 2002, p. 155) "the observation that some form of incongruity is an essential condition for humor, is universally accepted in every serious analysis of the subject." In infants, humor is mainly observed in body and facial expressions during the first year of life. There would be nothing to get: just an absurd idea hanging out. From a linguistic and communicative perspective, humor involves a mix of verbal and non-verbal forms; a joke, a mirth, or a pun may not sound He offers examples of negative emotions such as "fear, pity, indignation, disgust, etc." and neutral ones like "puzzlement, wonder, curiosity, or problem-solving," 7 as attitudes that will not provide pleasure sufficient for humor. A Subtreasury of American Humor. This theory is intuitive, as a joke with an expected or obvious punchline is simply not funny. Ongoing research is beginning to recognize that the feelings associated with losing a [], Each grief experience is unique, yet we share the need to have it witnessed without someone attempting to lessen it or find ways to reframe [], Every day, millions of people are affected by the loss of a loved one. Honest good humor is the oil and wine of a merry meeting, and there is no jovial companionship equal to that where the jokes are rather small and laughter abundant. The realisation our abstract knowledge isn't able to fully link to/account for sensuous knowledge is pleasurable to us because abstract knowledge is an exhausting filter through which to see the world. For example, one study examined the impact of humorous films on various psychological symptoms among schizophrenia inpatients. But within me finding it funnier with each exposure, opens an avenue of critique for IT. Even if one is familiar with the lightbulb form of joke, this particular one works because the answer supplied is a non-answer. The first theory is the superiority theory. Incongruity theory, which focuses on the cognitive mechanisms of perception and interpretation, posits that it is the perceptions of incongruity that explain humor (Martin & Ford, 2018). While more research is sorely needed, extant literature suggests that humor may have many benefits among patients, such as enhanced immunity and positive emotions, improved interpersonal relationships, reduced pain, and increased positive emotions (Gelkopf, 2011). Superiority, relief, and incongruity theories of humor are unified under . With this collection of information, it is the hope that readers will better understand humor and its many benefits, while maybe even enjoying a few chuckles along the way. When in reality, it is simply a medium-sized tool for brushing. 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). 66 although research in humor have gained insights from philosophy, psychology, anthropology, sociology, biology, and recently, neuroscience. Truth plays an important role as well: The juxtaposition of the two things often gives people a new insight into a familiar situation, he notes. You need to know English to get the jokes. A sandwich walks into a bar. . This page titled 2.4: Got IT?- Introducing Incongruity Theory is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Michael K. Cundall, Jr. (Lighthearted Philosophers' Society) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request. Patient: Bullets!. Its also one of the reasons that humor doesnt usually cross cultures. There is good reason to believe that humor at work leads to many positive outcomes, such as increased work performance and enhanced relationships with coworkers (Cooper, 2008). As this report's scope of research has been set to be with academic theories published between 2016 and 2020, the absence of widely accepted communication theories between those years was quite obvious. In M. W. Gallagher & S. J. Lopez (Eds.). They lean too close to a candle and their sleeve catches fire. Humor and the mastery of living: Using humor to cope with the daily stresses of growing up. A comprehensive look at how children are impacted by the experience of humor is described by Hogan (2003), who noted that humor benefits children in terms of enhanced social bonding, stress relief, and pain coping. An example of this is "Yo mama" jokes where each contestant tries to put down the other contestant's mother. Cann, A., & Collette, C. (2014). Outside of a dog, a book is mans best friend. They are reviewed along with neurolinguistic approaches, evolutionary theories of humor and a few mixed and partial theories that have been presented. The Theories of Humor and Laughter. 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