Cognitive processes in selecting humorous punchlines: A comparative study of humor and creativity

Abstract

Humor generation represents the application of creative cognition in spontaneous, real-life contexts. This study sought to explore the cognitive processes involved in humor generation, with a special focus on the selection of humorous punchlines, by comparing humor and creativity. Employing a daily dialogue Question-Answer paradigm, participants were presented with four types of alternative answers for each dialogue: humorous, novel (non-humorous), routine, and irrelevant. Utilizing eye-tracking technology, the study tracked participants' eye movement trajectories during the selection of humorous punchlines, with a focus on fixation durations on the four answer types at different time intervals. Fifty participants were randomly assigned to either the group tasked with selecting humorous answers or the group tasked with selecting novel answers. The findings indicated that the humor group initially spent more time fixating on novel answers than humorous ones when selecting humorous punchlines; however, in the later stages, fixation duration on humorous answers surpassed that on novel answers. This dynamic underscores a competitive relationship between these two types of associations, shedding light on the cognitive distinctions between humor and creativity. Conversely, the novel group consistently exhibited a preference for humorous answers throughout the punchline selection process. The preference for humorous semantics in the novel group underscored cognitive similarities between humor and creativity. This study sheds light on the cognitive processes involved in selecting humorous punchlines and provides valuable insights into the cognitive parallels and distinctions between humor and creativity.