You should by now have your text book (http://www.psychologicalscience.com/humor/book.html). If you don't please let me know (otto.maclin@uni.edu). After reading chapter 1 please respond to the following questions:
Prior to taking this class what were your thoughts about humor? Why? What did you think humor was and what did/do you think is humorous/funny? Why? What are three things you will remember from what you read in the chapter? Why? What was one thing that you really liked that was in the chapter? Why? What was one thing that you disliked that was in the chapter? Why? How has reading the chapter changed what you originally thought about humor?
I think of humor more as a cognitive process than an emotional response, probably because I like satire, sarcasm, and wit more than other forms of comedy and these tend to me more cognitive than say, pie’s to the face and physical comedy. I have mostly thought of comedy as being about timing, exaggeration, and ambiguity. So ‘funny’ is something that happens 1) when it’s not supposed to, 2) in a grossly exaggerated manner than it usually does, and/or 3) in a way that implies two or more possible interpretations. This is similar to the books definition of humor as being “recognition of playful, non-serious incongruity.”
I’m kind of a word nut so the etymological history of the word humour was very interesting to me and will likely stick. I read Aristotle’s account of humor for a philosophy class so it was interesting to see how the concept has slowly shifted from referring to characteristics of the body which determine personality, to referring to anyone with an atypical personality, to the more common usage of today.
The evolutionary history of humor was discussed throughout the chapter so that too will likely stick since it was repeated in a number of different ways. Since human’s have developed a highly sophisticated social structure humor has evolved to fulfill a number of roles including deescalating possibly dangerous situations, trying out different responses and ideas in a more non-serious setting, and helping to deal with stress and anxiety.
One last fact that will stick I think was in relation to the development of laughter. He mentions that as late as the 1860’s it was considered inappropriate to laugh in public. That was just wild to me. Even something as basic as laughter has had such a complex history that it is like a form of ‘culture shock’ to read about how laughter has been used throughout history.
The best part of the chapter for me was seeing the historical development of the terms, and the behaviors and how they were valued. For me this just helps put everything in context and starts to form a framework to put all the rest of the class-work on. I didn’t find anything in the first chapter that wasn’t interesting or that I thought shouldn’t be in there.
I do like the books definition of humor a lot better than my original idea so my view on that has changed. In the conclusion section of the chapter they explain that from a psych standpoint ‘humor is essentially a positive emotion….typically elicited…by a cognitive appraisal process involving the perception of playful, non-serious incongruity…”
Prior to taking this class I didn't think that much about humor in terms of psychology. I never thought about what was making me laugh or questioned why something was funny. I tend to think of humor as an emotional state as opposed to cognitive process. I suppose I thought about it as an emotional state because when something's funny, I don't have to stop and tell myself to laugh, rather I just do it without really thinking about it. To me, most emotions somewhat happen although I may have to think briefly to give it a name. I think a lot of stand up comedians are funny along with random jokes people tell. I laugh at a lot of things on a daily basis such as the children I work with, the friends and family I'm around, television shows and many more.
The first thing that I will remember from this chapter include main concept that humor is universal and can be experienced by everyone. I was surprised to learn that children who are born blind and deaf have been shown to laugh at the correct times without others directing them to.
The second thing that I will remember from the first chapter is that the process of humor can be divided into four components. The first component includes the social context. Second includes a cognitive-perceptual process and the third an emotional process and the fourth is a vocal-behavioral expression. I will remember this because I never thought of humor has being a process but after reading more specifically about each component, I learned that each one is necessary.
The third thing I will remember is that the views of laughter have changed. There used to be no distinction between "laughing with" and "laughing at" therefore, it was primarily viewed in a negative context.
The one thing I really like from this chapter included learning the history and how humor has evolved over time. Learning how it's evolved is important because it helps to direct us in this course.
I felt all the information in the chapter was necessary even though some parts I felt were repeated, but it helped in laying the groundwork for further chapters and understanding of what's to come.
Reading this chapter has taught me that psychology and humor together will be very interesting. I look forward to examining why certain things make some people laugh and others do not laugh. Laughter is experienced everyone shares but what makes specific things funny to each individual varies.
Before taking this class, I knew of humor but I didn’t necessarily know the terms used to describe humor. Before taking this class I believed that humor exists in social situations, and was also a cognitive process. For example, in social situations, such as at a party, and a joke is said, most people would laugh. When comparing that situation to the ABC’s (Antecedent, Behavior and Consequence), the party would be the antecedent, the joke being told would be the behavior and the consequence would be the laughter. I believe humor happens more often in social situations rather than situations where a person is alone, such as watching television or reading a comic.
When it comes to humor, I think that humor such as sarcasm, overstating or understating, and irony are more humorous than physical humor like Jackass, even though I still do think that is entertaining to watch; it is sometimes overdrawn. I can’t stand dry, or stale humor such as puns or transformations of frozen expressions, for they just come off as boring to me.
The three things that I will remember from reading this chapter are that wit is based more on intellect rather than character, which is comedy. I was aware that wit was based upon intellect but I also do believe that comedy and intellect go hand in hand, for you have to have intellect to make a good joke. Another aspect of the chapter that I will remember is that humor can be divided into 4 components, which are a social context, a cognitive-perceptual process, an emotional response, and a vocal-behavioral expression of laughter. I will remember this because it is a series of events. The third thing that I will remember is that prior to the 18th century, laughter was viewed as being negative, such as making fun of someone.
The topic I really enjoyed reading about in this chapter was the history. I did not know before reading this chapter that humor was mostly negative prior to the 18th century because of the many types of humor that exist today. I also found it interesting to read about how the term ridicule was replaced with wit and humor in the early 19th century.
I did not necessarily dislike anything about this chapter, mainly because I found it to be overall very interesting.
That being said, after reading this chapter I have realized that there are many components that make up humor, and it is intriguing to actually read and learn about the many aspects that humor has. I do like the book’s way of explaining humor rather than my cut and dry explanation of something funny is said, so you laugh. Therefore, I do believe my thinking has changed.
Like KADavis13, I also never thought of humor as a psychological concept. Laughing and finding something humorous is what it is…I never thought about it as a complex state like it is somewhat presented in the book. I also never really thought of the types of humor (jokes, spontaneous conversational humor, accidental or unintentional humor) because I never really stopped to think about what context or how whatever I found funny came about. After reading the descriptions of these three types of humor though, I found that the things I find funny fall in the categories of spontaneous conversational humor and accidental or unintentional humor. I am not one that likes to tell jokes because quite frankly, I am horrible at telling them. I also am not overly amused by people telling jokes to me because people in my family are horrible joke tellers and have ruined any liking that I had for jokes. I also hate humor derived from racial or sexist remarks (probably with a few exceptions including blonde jokes! )
One thing that will stick with me after reading the chapter is the idea that we laugh more frequently when we are with people. I guess this makes a ton of sense, but I never really thought about it in this way. I can’t remember a time where I laughed when I was by myself unless I thought of something funny or something triggered a funny memory in my head.
I will also remember that humor is a cognitive process. I will likely remember this because it is a completely new way of looking at humor to me. Like I said before, prior to reading this chapter, humor was just humor; I didn’t question where it came from or why I think things are funny.
I will also remember that humor is frequently used to “save face” or “test the water” as the book describes. I kind of found this part interesting because I find myself doing this A LOT. To me though, everything you say has roots deep down. So if you were to say something to somebody but then follow up with “it was just a joke” or “I was only kidding,” I don’t believe that you truly are completely joking. If you even thought to say it, then it must be at least a little true.
My favorite part of the chapter was probably the part where the 11 types of spontaneous conversational humor were explained. I find myself to be most interested in these types of humor so it was enjoyable to read. My least favorite part was the historical aspect. I’m not one that is too interested in history so that section was definitely a bit drier for me.
I’m not so sure that the chapter made me change my thoughts on humor, it just made me realize the complexities of humor. The chapter also peaked my interest as to why things are funny, why things aren’t funny, and the psychological processes underlying humor.
Making light of any situation is how I think of humor. I enjoy humor when it happens unexpectedly, not scripted or planned. I also enjoy humor when it helps ease difficult situations or 'breaks the ice.' Also, I think of humor as a choice. Not everyone will laugh at themselves, but some will. Not everyone will find great pleasure during someone elses misfortune, but some will.
I find many things that life throws at us to be funny but it's a matter at how people look at them. For me, I find the unexpected to humorous in most cases. There's a fine line of when to be serious when an unexpected event occurs such as a death, car accident, ect. and when it's appropriate to crack a joke at someone elses misfortune or even your own.
After reading this chapter I'll remember the social context of humor. Prior to reading this section, I had never realized the way that humor can occur in almost any social situation. Also, the fact that humor occurs in social situations to create play is interesting to me. "When they engage in play, people take a nonserious attitude toward the things they are saying or doing." Humor allows us to reach a point where we don't need to be so serious all the time & that's why I'll remember how much the social context plays a role in the topic of humor. I'll also remember how the saying "laughter is contagious," actually works. The chapter describes how the sound of laughter has a direct effect on a listener that then causes an emotional arousal. The emotional arousal of the listener mirrors that of the emotional state of the laugher. The last thing I'll remember from this chapter is the role that humor plays in coping with life stressors. This idea will stick with me because I'm the type of person who makes light of situations and tries to make a stressful event or something I'm dreading into something that can be laughed at or made fun of. "humans appear to have co-opted the nonserious play of humor as means of cognitively managing many of the events and situations that threaten their well-being, by making light of them and turning them into something to be laughed at." This describes that over time humor is being used more and more often to eliminate stress and difficult situations.
What I really liked about this chapter is learning about the social context, cognitive-perceptual, and emotional aspects of humor. Prior to reading this chapter I had not thought so in depth of how much humor plays a role in these different categories. It was very interesting to read how humor ties into each of these topics and how humor actually works. There wasn't much that I didn't like about this chapter but I could have done without reading about the 'brief history,' and 'etymology of humor,' just because all of the other topics were so much more interesting to me. Overall, the chapter was really interesting & fun to read about.
My idea about humor has changed so much more now that I've read this chapter. I now realize that humor plays more roles than just being funny or making people laugh. There's so much more that goes into the topic of humor and how it effects everyone's daily lives.
Prior to taking this course I never would have linked humor to psychological terms. If someone were to ask me what I thought about humor before taking this class, I would have simply replied, "something that makes me laugh or I find joy in." To me, I do not find blond jokes funny, simply cause of my hair color, I more prefer jokes and comedians making fun of other people. My favorite comedian by far has to be Daniel Tosh from Tosh.0...his show is original plus I love watching him give people web redemptions, which is basically where he give people another shot to redeem their mistakes. Now in order to like Tosh.0 one has to have more of a sarcastic and open sense of humor. To sum up what I think is humor...one work would be "funny" because no one is going to think someone has a good sense of humor without the ability to make someone laugh or lots of people laugh for that matter.
Furthermore, while reading this chapter, the three things I think I will remember most would have to be
1)With the posititivity of the emotion mirth, it can be used to relieve tension, stress (coping mechanism) and regulating one's emotions. This I found interesting because I never would have thought that laughing could relieve stress, because when I am stressed out I find that crying helps me most of the time cope and release tension and stress, but on the other hand laughing is healthy for us so I guess I need to try doing that more often in those types of situations.
2)I am one to believe that laughter is the best medicine in most circumstances and it is true that we tend to laugh a lot more when we are with a group of people, and on the rare occassion when we start laughing for no reason.
3)Lastly, but not least I also found it interesting how how humor is a cognitive process. In the textbook it refers to how an individual produces humor in the sense that an individual needs to mentally process information coming in from the environment or from memory, playing with ideas, words, or actions in a creative way, and thereby generating a witty verbal utterance or a comical nonverbal action that others perceive to be funny. (pg. 6) It is weird to think that our brain does all these things in a blink of an eye. When someone tells me a joke or I'm watching family guy, I don't think to pause and internalize what I just saw and play around with the idea for awhile before I start laughing, unless its a joke or something I don't get right away, but hopefully that makes sense to you all.
In additon that one thing I did like is how there is so many categories that humor falls under, I wouldn't think to include overstatement and understatments or satire (thats a new one to my vocabulary). My favorite would have to be sarcasm, because you either got it or you don't, and I love it just for the fact taht people don't know how to tkae you all the time as being serious or in a jokingly manner. On the other hand the one thing in this chapter I wan't too fond about was was the history section of humor...now I know everything originated from a long long time ago, but history and myself have never been best buddies and I don't see that ever changing. I don't know what it is but anything dealing with history bores me...My motto" its in the past for a reason: kind of like an ex and were they are suppose to be :)
In reading this first chapter, it has shaped my understanding of humor in ways that I never would have realized. For instance, how humor is a cognitive-perceptual process, how humor can help one cope with tension and stress, and how humor has a biological basis rooted in our genes. That last thing about genes took me a little off guard, because I do not think my sense of humor is one bit close to my parents, especially my mother who doesn't understand a joke or how to take sarcasm from anyone. Futhermore, I do have to agree that the book did help me realize that there are a lot more components that make up what humor is.
Initially my thoughts of humor revolved around something that is funny. Like many other people stated, I never really thought of it in psychological terms. I've always thought of it as an innate trait (which I learned it is) that everyone has. Everyone laughs and everyone is capable of saying funny things-this is what humor is. I agree with KADavis in that experiencing humor is more emotional rather than cognitive. I think when you experience something funny you don't have to cognitively think about if it is funny or not, you just react.
I think humor is anything that evokes a laugh or a giggle. Personally, my least favorite form of humor are jokes. Not that jokes aren't funny or make me laugh, I prefer 'unscripted' humor. When I think about things that make me laugh, they tend to fall under the two categories of spontaneous conversational humor and unintentional humor. I also tend to like sarcastic, dry humor. I think the reason I find these things funny is because this is the type of humor I possess. I understand it better and I probably don't like jokes because I can't tell a joke to save my life.
One thing I will definitely remember from the book is learning the word mirth. Having never even heard this word, I think its definition fits perfectly when describing the emotion associated with humor. I think it is interesting that mirth can be felt in varying degrees of intensities and can be characterized in many of the same ways as other emotions, like fear and love. Secondly, I will also remember that humor and laughter are universal in nature. All people across the world experience humor the same, just like many other primal emotions. I always think it is so interesting to find things that bring the human race together rather than tear us apart. People who haven't experienced other cultures are always trying to point out the differences in people around the world. But when you get to know people you come to find out that they are more similiar than not. People all around the world want to same things as you. Finding aspects of cultures that are the same (like humor) will bring people together instead of creating differences. The third thing I rememeber is understanding the difference between wit and humor and the history of that difference. I think it is interesting how wit used to be considered a bad thing compared to humor. Nowdays I find people who are witty to have a very developed sense of humor. They often see things that others don't.
One thing I really liked about this chapter was the part where they talked about the body's response to experiencing mirth as well as other positive emotions. The book states that when people are experiencing positive emotions, they "demonstrate greater cognitive flexiblity, more effective thinking, planning and judgement, and more creative problem solving." I really like that statement because it shows that laughter and humor is good for you and can have a positive effect on your mind and possibly even your life.
I can't really say I disliked any one part of the chapter. I found most of it compelling and applicable to life. The section on how humor hasn't been studied by psychologist and the history of its study was kind of boring. But since this is a psychology course I can see why it is in the book. It just happened to be the least interesting part for me.
After reading the chapter, the study of humor is so much more indepth than I realized. The chapter has made me excited to see what future chapters will bring. I'm excited to learn more about how humor is formed in each individual as well as the effects humor and laughter have on the body and one's well-being.
I have typically thought about humor as anything that makes me laugh. Some things that I find humorous others might not and vice versa. What I think is a “stupid” joke someone else may find it funny therefore I think humor is unique to individuals. When thinking about what I find funny, my mind goes to comedic media and sarcasm and jokes in conversation with friends. The things that are most humorous to me are situations that were not initially meant to be funny. Accidental humor is usually the most amusing and my friends and I often reminisce on these situations to relive the humor. I think accidental humor is the most amusing to me because it is unexpected and takes me by surprise. I think what we find humorous depends, at least somewhat, on what the people who surround us find humorous. It is a natural reaction, as explained in the text, to laugh when others around you laugh. Also, we are taught when we are young that it is not funny to put down or make fun of others. In those ways I believe that we are taught what to laugh at.
One thing that I will remember about the chapter is the explanation of laughter as being social or pseudo-social. At first when I thought about this I didn’t understand because I laugh at comedic media and when I remember something funny that happened in the past even when I’m by myself. I realized that those were pseudo-social situations as I am reacting to something a comedian said or recalling a funny situation that happened with others. I have never thought about the impossibility of humor without a social aspect.
Another part of the text that I will remember is the cognitive and emotional explanations of humor. In thinking about producing humor, I often laugh at comedic media and think “How does somebody think of something like that?” The book uses the word creative which I think is a perfect way to describe a comedian. Also, you have to know how to relate the information to the audience. That ties into understanding or “getting” the humor. In receiving the humor, a person has to understand and process the meaning of what is being said or done.
The name given for the emotion expressed when something is humorous is mirth. Like any other emotion mirth creates changes in the brain and body. These biological changes have been claimed to have certain health benefits. The text says that more research is needed on this topic but I find it very interesting. Personally, I know if I’m sick or feeling blue, laughing can help me to feel better.
Social communication and influence was a section of the chapter that I will remember because I can relate it to my own life as probably everyone can. The part of this section that stuck out to me was the explanation of the use of humor to be aggressive and manipulative. Sometimes in social groups, people are “weeded out” or tested by if they find something humorous or not. It is a way of enforcing group norms. It also can help to establish status in a group. This is something that, if not thought about, can be overlooked in a social group. It is easy to miss. This section also talks about teasing and humor at the expense of others. Children and teens are more likely to display this type of aggressive humor than adults.
The thing I liked most about this chapter is the explanation of laughter as being social because I never thought about it in that way before. It is obvious to me, once pointed out, that every instance of laughter has a social aspect to it. What I disliked are the sections towards the end such as wit vs humor and the evolution of humor. These sections were boring to me and that made them hard to read.
The main impact the chapter had on me way the explanation of the use of humor in social groups to gain status. I will definitely pay more attention to this is my own like now. Also, I will try to notice the social part of every humorous situation. My thinking about humor was not so much changed as enhanced.
I kind of feel like I am copying everyone else when I say this but I never really thought about humor in psychological terms. I guess I understood that there is a psychological process behind humor but why would I think about that before this class. To me, humor just kind of is. It's not something you think about, either something is funny or it's not. It's hard to say what I think is funny because it often changes depending on my mood. I always think little kids are funny. They say the greatest things and don't even realize it. I usually think sarcasm is funny. My favorite comedian is George Carlin because he alot of times jokes about things that are real and ridiculous. I also find my husbands story telling funny. My least favorite form of humor is crude jokes. What other people find funny I often find disgusting.
The first thing that I will remember from this chapter is that laughter used to be viewed as negative. This seems odd to me since laughter is such a natural thing and it makes you feel better. I'll also remember how the idea that laughter is contagious. A couple years ago at work they decided to do "laugh therapy". Their exercises were ridiculous but it made me laugh to see other people pretending to laugh because it just looked funny. The third thing I'll remember is the social context of humor. I laugh all the time by myself but it's almost always because of a memory I've had or of course the tv/internet.
I liked learning the history of humor. I think it's important to understand the history of what I am learning about because it helps me understand the rest of the material better. The one thing I didn't like about the chapter is that it was written like a text book. Even when information is interesting to me, which this was, it sucks reading a textbook.
I guess what this chapter changed for me is that humor is alot more complex than I ever thought about before.
Prior to taking this class I think my thoughts about humor were relatively general and I guess I never thought much about it. I knew that there were different types of humor and I know what kinds of humor that I like and what specific things that I think are funny. I always thought, and still do think, that humor is a really wonderful thing. I think that it helps a lot of awkward social situations, it can make you feel better, and if a person is funny, they seem to be more likeable as a person and easier to talk to, for the most part. Before reading, I didn’t realize all the different ways you could look at humor and to how many different subjects humor could be applied to.
I never really thought of humor as an emotion, I always thought of it as a trait that people have. But now I can see that humor can be applied to so many things and it has so many elements and so many functions in our everyday lives. The things that I find most funny are not jokes or anecdotes, but accidental humor and spontaneous humor. Most of the time I find myself laughing at inside jokes that I share with friends or things that remind me of those inside jokes.
One thing I thought was very memorable from the text was from the history in the 1860s it was impolite to laugh in public. That just surprised me so much and to see how far we’ve come when it comes to expressing that something is funny in public. Sometimes I think that my friends and I laugh more easily than others, especially when we’re out together in public, and I just could never imagine what it would be like to not be able to laugh!
I thought the entire section on “Wit versus Humor” was very interesting mostly because if I think about the difference between wit and humor, I would say that wit has more to do with intelligence whereas humor doesn’t necessarily have to be. So that section reinforced my thoughts on wit vs. humor.
I think the part of the first chapter that I found most memorable was the fact that humans are not the only species that laughs. I had no idea that it was found that apes laugh as well. I actually started to laugh when I read how they described ape laughter because I’ve always wondered every time I see an ape at the zoo or even on TV if the ape was happy or mad or sad when it was doing those actions.
One thing that I really liked that was in the chapter was the listing of the categories of humor. They were so much fun to read because I could think of an example that’s happened to me or to a friend for almost every one of them, and so it made me smile and laugh to think about them.
I think what I disliked most about the chapter was the brief history. There were some facts that I found interesting, but for the most part, it was the least fun for me to read.
By reading the first chapter, I don’t think anything really changed what I thought about humor; there weren’t any opinions or viewpoints that I had that were completely turned around or that even changed slightly by the chapter. But I definitely learned more and expanded my knowledge and it made me more enthusiastic about digging deeper into humor and learning more about it.
Prior to this class my thoughts about humor weren’t focused around the concept of psychology. The first thing that came to my mind regarding humor was the ability to see something as funny. I think that the ability find things humorou is an important quality to possess. If someone were completely incapable of finding things humorous they would live a miserable life because humor evokes positive emotions.
Laughing is one of my favorite things to do and it doesn’t take much to get me to laugh. I find many different forms of humor amusing. The book groups humor into three categories: jokes, spontaneous conversational humor, and accidental or unintentional humor. My favorite category is probably spontaneous conversational humor. One of my favorite comedians is Chelsea Handler. She tends to use a lot of sarcasm and satire towards celebrities on her talk show which I find entertaining. I also find accidental and unintentional humor to be entertaining because it’s raw and spur of the moment.
Something I definitely will remember from this chapter is that there is evidence that suggest that humor and laughter in humans are a product of natural selection and is an essential part of what it means to be human. I will remember this because prior to this class I believed that humor was an important quality to possess and this piece of information supports my belief. I will also remember that humor can be used as a coping mechanism. The book explains that mirth, the positive emotion that is evoked by humor, has the ability to replace negative emotions such as anxiety and depression. With these negative emotions replaced it then makes it easier for an individual to think clearly and deal with their problems. Mirth can also lead to physiological benefits as well. This information will remain with me because I think it’s important to know different methods of handling stress. I will also remember that there is no common name for the emotion elicited by humor. The author of this book uses mirth, but scholars have yet to agree upon a technical term. This piece of information was surprising to me. I guess I never realized that laughing was simply the behavior elicited by humor and not the emotion.
One thing that I really liked in this chapter was reading about the universality and evolutionary origins of humor. I found it interesting that developmentally laughing is one of the first social vocalizations; I hadn’t put much thought into the significance of this detail before reading this chapter. Also the fact that other mammals (apes) are capable of laughing and having a sense of humor is fascinating. I didn’t necessarily dislike anything about this chapter, but my least favorite part was the brief history of humor. I just didn’t enjoy reading it as much as the other areas covered. Reading this chapter has in ways solidified what I previously thought about humor and definitely expanded my knowledge on the subject.
Humor to me has always been kind of like gravity. I was aware of its existence and how it affected me but i never put an immense amount of thought into what humor is from an academically psychological perspective. In my opinion humor is as abstract of an idea as they come. Even the book has trouble finding words to describe the emotional response to funny stimuli. The authors toss around words like exhilarated and amused before finally settling on mirth as the most acceptable term to describe simply how we feel when we laugh. The fact that the debate over the semantics of how to describe this feeling takes up over a page in our book suggests that humor is such an abstract concept that describing it simply in words provides an incomplete picture of what humor is to us on both personal and social levels.
What I usually find funny is pretty run of the mill: excessive violence, swearing, jokes embedded in everyday life. My roomate is a fan of shock humor, he just says the most unbelievable or offensive thing he can think of and then laugh. Sometimes the reactions he gets are pretty funny.
I found the historical differences between "wit" and "humor" interesting. I think most people nowadays would lump them together and maybe just say that wit is a verbal type of humor. But the historical perspective of "wit" as an aggressive type of amusing stimuli makes sense. Generally someone who is witty today might be referred to as a "smartass".
The book emphasizes the social aspect of humor and to a degree that is obvious, all emotion probably has a social base. But humor is also so closely linked to mood that it provides, in theory, health benefits to the individual as well.
It seems to me like the book is working really hard to classify specific but mundane details. It specifies two or three humor devices that I would put under an umbrella of 'sarcasm'. It seems like it would be more productive to focus on more broad concepts.
All in all I have not really ever thought too in depth into humor I just let it happen. The book, although it is a bit dry, dissects humor into the emotional, physical and cognitive experience. Everything about us has evolved for some sort of reason and the systematics of humor seems to be mysterious enough to have fun with.
Before taking this class, like pretty much everyone else, I didn’t really think or know much behind the psychology of humor. In a social psychology class I took a few semesters ago, we discussed a study where participants read an article and either held a pencil with their teeth (forcing them to smile) or hold it by making an “O” shape with their mouth (not smiling). Those participants who held the pencil with their teeth, although their smile was not provoked by something that made them happy, like smiles usually are, reported that they found the task more enjoyable then those who held the pencil with their lips. Smiling goes along with laughing which is an expression of humor, and this demonstrates that we can somewhat ‘trick’ ourselves into thinking that we are having fun or make ourselves into a better mood. Another example that I could think of was how sometimes when a child falls or slightly injures themselves, adults might attempt laughing to try and trick the child into thinking that if those around them are laughing and having fun, then they are too, and takes their mind off the pain of their injury or prevents them from crying.
I think that humor is very subjective and can be found pretty much everywhere. I think that humor is any intentional or unintentional event or conversation that produces laughter or enjoyment from a person. My favorite type of humor tends to be things that happen spontaneously and usually involving myself or those around me, but I also enjoy many other types. I like to usually surround myself with people that I find humorous because laughing is an enjoyable activity and very important, especially when going through stressful or unhappy times.
From this chapter I will definitely remember how they author brought together all the different branches of psychology. Humor plays a role developmentally, socially, biologically, and cognitively in a person along with others. I thought that the book did a good job just giving a feel for all of these different types with a short example or story.
I also will remember the fact that the psychology of humor is a somewhat under appreciated topic in psychology. Martin mentioned that when doing a search on Psych Info he found about 3400 peer-reviewed articles from the last 4 years that contained ‘humor’ or related keywords. Despite this body of knowledge I haven’t really heard anything about the psychology of humor up until this course. Tying back into the previous memorable point that I took from reading this chapter, I would think that it would at least be mentioned during other courses because almost any psychology course could find relevance with this topic. I think that this might be partially due to the fact that it finding things humorous and being happy can overlap sometimes. People may unconsciously attribute their laughing and mirth as being happy.
I will also remember that there are many different kinds of humor. I guess I had never really thought about it but the book gave 11 types of spontaneous humor, but once I read them I could think of an example of each, not to mention other types of humor like jokes or accidental types. I enjoyed reading the authors examples for some of the different types, but I wish he would have given them for all of them, not that they were particularly funny, but they were just kind of corny jokes and broke up the chapter making it a little easier and more enjoyable to read.
As mentioned before, I really remember how the author integrated the different subcategories of psychology. I enjoyed this because everyone in the class will be interested in a wide variety of specific topics, which works for this class because typically in a classroom setting, students are pretty diverse with their own interests.
Although I’m sure the history of the word humor is important and relevant to this class, I found myself forcing myself to read that section. I thought the author devoted more of the chapter than necessary to the historical events and how humor and laughter have evolved. I understand that it is advantageous to have an understanding of the history, but I just couldn’t really make myself interested in it.
After reading the first chapter, I feel like I have a better understanding of this class overall. Prior to reading this, I wasn’t really sure exactly what to expect, or how much was known about the history of psychology. Now, I know what to look forward to learning about both in class and the Web.
I do not feel like I put a lot of thought into truly laughing at something. Humor can be something that is so simple to the people enjoying it, but incredibly trivial and inappropriate to those who are not humored. Perhaps humor is a cognitive process as far as understanding the purpose of the laugh, but specifically the laugh can be seen as an emotional process to express the true feeling of something being funny. I feel humor is also something like beauty in that is according to one’s perception. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and maybe whether something is humorous depends on the one perceiving the joke or funny comment. This is probably why there is a right place and a wrong place for most good jokes and commentary. Also, I think whether someone is going to laugh or be amused in some way can have a lot to do with their current mood.
One thing I will definitely remember from Ch. 1 is the information on humans not being the only animal that laughs. The book mentions that primatologists have found and studied a form of laughter made by young chimps which has also been observed in apes, bonobos, orangutans, and gorillas. The book goes on and explains that apes have the capacity for a rudimentary sense of humor through the teaching of sign language. The chimps and gorillas have been observed as using the signs in playful ways that are reminiscent of humor. Another thing I will have no trouble remembering from the chapter is the information on tension relief and coping with adversity. Clearly humor and positive emotion have played an incredible role in the survivors of extreme situations in history, such as those placed in concentration camps. To think that finding something funny about your oppressor was a possible way to endure such hardships. Also worth mentioning is the evolution of humor and laughter through history. It seems in the past laughter and humor was seen as aggressive, inappropriate, and overall ridiculous behavior. Over time laughter and humor have come to be seen as a positive, psychologically and physically healthy, and socially desirable. I suppose people have realized or time that there is a right time and a wrong time for almost all types of humor.
Something I really enjoyed in chapter 1 is the information on how the events of a particularly stressful day are discussed among a group of close friends later in the evening, difficulties that earlier seemed stressful and incredibly upsetting can become the basis of a humorous conversation later on. This reminds me of family stories that involved quite different emotions than humor at the time, but later on when telling the story it becomes a thing of hilarity that relieves tension for all. One thing I did not enjoy was some of the history, but that was expected. History is a necessary part to understanding anything; including humor and the reasons we laugh. My thoughts on humor have become broader after going through this chapter. The chapter has sparked my curiosity in the power of laughter and the everyday bits of humor we may experience. How does laughter effect are health and the health of others?
Before taking this class I had not given much thought to what humor really meant. The only thing I really knew about humor was that laughter has been thought to help in the recovery of illnesses and those with a good sense of humor are thought to live longer. I believe that the reason for me to not have thought much about the concept of humor is due to the little amount of research that has been conducted on the topic. The book stated that there have been few empirical studies conducted to test the effects of humor and the impression that it has on one's life. Furthermore, I have never had a class that even touched on the importance and universality that the idea of humor has for people. I thought that all humor depended on was how a person interpreted a joke in order to decide whether or not the joke was funny. For example, I laugh when I see people getting mildly hurt or put in pain. I realize that not everyone finds people being in pain funny, but I thought that was just a result of my personality type. I think people getting hurt is funny because of the shock value that it provides. When a skater crashes while attempting a new trick and fails, I for some reason find it funny to see the crash that happens at the end. I am not sure why I feel this way, I only know that I laugh whenever I watch any of the "Jackass" movies. Three things that I will not forget that were in this chapter was the idea that humor can be used as a way to include and leave people out of a group; that there are three ways that humor occurs in everyday social interactions: as jokes, as spontaneous conversational humor, and as accidental or unintentional humor; and lastly, I learned that laughter is fundamentally a social behavior and if there were no people to communicate with, there would be no need for laughter. Even laughing by one's self is considered to be pseudo-social. I found these three things to be interesting because after reading this chapter, I can see how each of these characteristics have been evident in my life in relation to humor. One thing that I found to be extremely interesting was the notion that humor and laughter may be co-opted for the purpose of enhancing group identity by enforcing social norms within the group. I found this idea to be interesting because I understand how humor may play a large role in how a person picks friends or relationship partners. Furthermore, the idea that humor can depict what is considered normal within a social context explains why different ethnicities and cultures find dissimilar topics funny and exclude those who do not hold those same views. This also explains why people with the same ethnicity tend to hang out with people that have the same cultural background. I did not dislike any of the ideas in this chapter because of the fact that all of the material was so new to me. I found the majority of the concepts that were covered in this chapter to be interesting and relevant. Even the history of humor was interesting because it gave a good background that helped in understanding how humor has evolved to what it is known as today. This chapter has changed how I view humor because I know now that there is a lot more to understanding how humor and laughter impact a person's life. After reading this chapter I can see how humor may positively or negatively impact a person's life and how it may have long lasting effects on someone throughout his or her life.
Prior to this class I associated humor with laughing, telling jokes, and making sarcastic comments. I thought this because I never looked for a deeper meaning about what the definition of the word really meant and the emotions associated with it (as described in chapter 1). Things that are funny to me are unexpected events (like someone who is tripped), stand-up comedians, and intellectual and sarcastic comments. I really don’t like the “canned” jokes as much. Three things I remember from the chapter are that there is evidence that apes may even have the capacity to understand some forms of humor (in social play), that there are emotional ties to humor (described as “mirth”), and that there are many forms of humor (jokes, spontaneous conversational humor, and accidental or unintentional humor). I will probably remember these things because I wouldn’t have thought there was so much depth to humor and that it is now being studied scientifically. One thing I really liked in the chapter was the history and how humor has changed over time (how it was once looked down upon to laugh and engage in a humorous situation, to changing views of wit versus humor, and how it is considered good to have a sense of humor today). One thing I disliked was the discussion of some of the ways aggression is associated with humor, and “laughing at” others instead of with them because they are looked upon as different from the population making jokes at their expense. I dislike this because using humor as means to make fun of others is a negative way to use it as a tool. I think reading this chapter has changed my views on humor because I now see there is more to it than simply practical jokes and it takes many different forms and may be used in multi-purpose ways.
Before taking this course I thought that humor was simple as it was easy for people to obtain. I believed humor was something that people acquire and have a wonderful time with. Also something that kept people sane and emotionally sound for most cases. I thought humor was simple do to the fact that it was always an easy task to make people laugh with things I say or do. Being raised by humorous people, I think that the environment had an effect on the ability to obtain a positive since of mirth. I’m the type of person who can find humor in just about anything that crosses my path. That can be a pro and con in dealing with humor. For example, in church you’re not supposed to laugh at people but the black church it the biggest comedic experience you can get!! I take a little note pad everywhere I go just in case something funny happens I can write it down especially to church!!!!! These things are humorous and funny because of people’s actions, the dumb things that people say, and sometime peoples appearance.
If I was to remember something about this chapter it would be that Humor was derived from the Latin word Humorem which means some sort of fluid or liquid. This was intriguing because there was a Greek physician who believed that Humor was the father of medicine. He believed that good health was contingent on four fluids. So I could always remember where the word originally came from because people always say Laughter is a good medicine and it doesn’t cost you that much. Something else that grabbed my attention was the many forms of humor which were jokes, spontaneous conversational humor, and accidental or unintentional humor. Jokes consists of two variables a setup and punch line in which are essential for a joke to be funny or humorous. If a person doesn’t understand both of the variables the joke wouldn’t elicit an emotional response of mirth which is crucial in the humorous experience. Spontaneous conversational humor is where most of my humor comes into play. The chapter talked about a study that was conducted in which people had to record in a daily diary every time they laughed over a three day time period. Results showed that 72% were aroused by spontaneously during social interactions that were triggered by funny comments people made or amusing anecdotes that they were able to relate to. Spontaneous conversational humor has a variety of forms in which conversational humor can be captured. Anecdotal is relating a hilarious story about yourself or another person. Another was wordplay which is consists of wisecracks, puns and witty responses. Wordplay is sometimes used to play around with various meanings of different words. Irony is used as a statement in which the literal meaning is different from the intended meaning. An example of this would be a “that’s what she said statement.” Unintentional Humor is basically mirth and laughter that arises from the things people say and actions that are made to be funny. A lot of people enjoy accidental humor such as seeing people getting hurt which is an example of a physical form. I get a kick out of people saying stupid stuff such as “THE ALARM WENT OFF” Why is this stupid? Because your alarm didn’t go off it went on. This shows an example of the linguistic form of unintentional humor.
I really enjoyed understanding the difference between wit and humor and how they were used. I enjoyed this part of the chapter because I love learning the difference between words we commonly use incorrectly or misplace. Wit was seen as comedy that is merely based on intellect and sarcasm. Wit was associated with People who were generally wealthier and had a higher stature. Whereas Humor was more sympathetic and had more feeling this was seen as being a greater positive basis for laughter. Also this was used by the middle class people.
I particularly didn’t some of the repetition used by the author and some of his choices of words. Something’s are repeated to enhance memorization, but I felt that it made that chapter feel longer. The terms used or the style of writing can become a bit aversive because it takes away the fun out of learning about humor. Maybe if the author would take live situations and refer them back to what we need to know it might have been funnier and intriguing. Something that would make Psychology of humor more hilarious would be applying humor to the topic.
This chapter opened my eyes as to all the different things that go a long with laughter and humor. Another thing was that it took something I thought was so simple and made me cognizant of the various aspects that are essential for a positive sense of mirth. By analyzing what’s needed for humor to occur, this actually assists in making someone a funnier person.
What is humor? The book argues that it is hard to capture humor. The author states that humor is basic; it is an enjoyable and playful emotion we all experience. We response to humor with feelings of “well-being” or what the author coins as “mirth”. Humor is very pervasive within our daily lives. It can bring a lot of benefits to our social relationships, and our emotional and cognitive state. Humor and Laughter are a universal aspect of human life, meaning it occurs in every culture throughout the world. Furthermore, it clearly has evolutionary origins as it appears as one of our first social noises as infants after crying and even our evolutionary ancestor, the apes display laughter. However we human, with our evolved “intellectual and linguistic abilities” we are able to create mental play with our ideas and words that none of our primate ancestors can. Thus bringing more humor to everyday life than just rough and tumble play. Also humor is shaped by our social interactions within our culture. We can learn social norms and what topics are considered culturally appropriate for humor by our interactions. This enhances an in-group (people within the culture) and an out-group.
So to answer in-depth what humor is the book cites four questions: 1. A social context 2. A cognitive-perceptual process 3. An emotional response 4. The vocal-behavioral expression of laughter
Socially, we use humor. We laugh at movies or situations , and joke much more with other people. We often take stimuli from our environments and create humor for others, or engage in play. This also the cognitive side of humor. For example if we intake an “event, situation or idea” to be playfully incongruent we will find it humorous. Emotionally, humor can cause an increase in positivity and increase in mood, “mirth” is what the author calls the emotion that is accompanied with humor. Laugther is an vocal-behavioral expression of mirth, laughter and smiling are the outwad physically expression of mirth. However mirth can always be associated with such bodily changes as “biochemical changes in the brain, autonomic nervous system and endocrine system”, all have many potential health benefits.
The second question the book asks is, what do we use humor for? It categories its use to individuals into three categories; benefits of positive emotion of mirth, use it for communication with others, and finally for tension relief and for coping. However humor and laughter did not always have the same functions as it has today, before the 18th century, it was viewed by most authors in completely negative terms. It was all thought to be form put down or ridicule. However in the 18th century, the British middle-class revolutionized humor, and the idea of laugher as a part of everyday conversation, it can to be known as clever and gamesmanship. Whereas wit became the only meaning of ridicule, humor because the word for friendly, emotionally and health social interaction and play. Now we see humor as an essential for healthy and important to study.
Prior to taking this class, I viewed humor as a result for how one is able to create laughter and happiness. Before reading this chapter, I believed that humor was a term that could be interchangeable with laughter, happiness, joy, mirth, etc. I did not realize that humor was such an intricate and under studied area of learning. Furthermore, I did not realize how important humor was for a person’s health. Before this class, I believe that the reason I did not accurately understand what humor was might be that I never really gave much thought to the subject. I knew that different people preferred different types of humor; however, I did not realize how much one’s sense of humor was a reflection of that person’s personality. For example, my favorite style of humor is one that is sarcastic and dry witted. I enjoy a style of humor that is not typically laugh-out-loud humor. The reason I enjoy a more hidden type of humor is probably that I do not typically like to show a lot of emotion. I am not the type of person who wears my “feelings on my sleeve;” therefore, I enjoy humor that requires a person to make a joke while keeping a straight face. This style of humor makes a person think twice before laughing because it is never obvious whether or not the one telling the joke is being serious or not.
Chapter 1 was interesting to read because it opens the door for what the rest of the textbook is going to be discussing in subsequent chapters. Three things I found to be the most interesting in Chapter 1 about humor was how it is in all areas of life, how laughter may be a form of communication, and the different forms of humor. As stated in the text, humor has importance in all types of psychological fields of study. For instance, cognitive psychologists may be interested in the mental processes involved in the perception, comprehension, appreciation, and creation of humor. Personality researchers might study humor to examine individual differences in humor and their relation to others types of traits and behaviors. Even more interesting is the role that humor plays in mental and physical health and its importance for potential applications in psychotherapy, education, and the workplace. It was interesting to read the different areas for humor to apply to the study of psychology because it helps to show why the material that is covered is important to understand. Secondly, I enjoyed the statement that laughter is fundamentally a social behavior. If there were no other people to communicate with, there would be no need for laughter. The text went on to say that even laughing at something funny on T.V. is a form of pseudo-communication because the one laughing is interacting with the television. The text noted a Sociologist named Michael Mulkay who stated in1988 that humor may be a form of interpersonal communication that is frequently used to convey implicit messages in an indirect manner and to influence people in various ways. The text goes on to say that humor and laughter have been co-opted for the purpose of enhancing group identity by enforcing social norms within the group and excluding members of out-groups, a function of humor that is still evident today. Therefore, humor may be used as a means of deriving emotional pleasure that can be used for both amiable and antagonistic purposes. Lastly, I enjoyed reading the different forms of humor. Humor that occurs in everyday social interactions may be divided into three categories: jokes, which are prepackaged humorous anecdotes that people memorize and pass on to others; spontaneous conversational humor, which is created intentionally by individuals during the course of a social interaction, and can be verbal or nonverbal; and third, accidental, or unintentional humor. All three of these points are interesting because each point highlights the importance for studying humor and how one might notice humor in every day social interactions.
One aspect that I really enjoyed in this chapter was the idea that humor may be used as a way to enhance group identity by enforcing social norms. I enjoyed this point the most because it is the most easily noticeable aspect of negative humor. Since being the target of others’ laughter is painful and something most people try to avoid, aggressive forms of humor can also be used as a method of coercing people into conforming to desired behaviors. This idea of negative humor may be more noticeable in adolescence, but it is also evident in adult social groups. People use humor as a way to poke fun at those they wish to ostracize out of a group. This aspect of humor creates the paradox of humor. On one hand, a person may use humor to strengthen relationships, or smooth over conflicts. On the other hand, a person may use humor to ostracize, humiliate, manipulate someone, or to build up a person’s own status in a group at the expense of others. I enjoyed reading how humor may be a paradox of good and bad emotions and goals. Since this chapter is my first time being exposed to the study of humor, I did not find any part to be uninteresting because all of the material was so new. However, I did find the history of humor to be a little boring. I did not find any of the evidence to be concrete. I believe it is possible to categorize humor as it is today, but I do not believe it is possible to try to trace back the origin of what humor may have been in the past. Considering this area of study is so under-developed, I think there needs to be a more concrete understanding of humor as it is today before we are able to study what it once was without hard evidence for how it has evolved. This chapter has changed how I originally thought of humor because I no longer see humor as a result for how one is able to express laughter and happiness. I now understand that humor is a process that incorporates many dissimilar and intricate areas of life.