Media and Humor

Abstract

“Humor and media,” an extremely broad area of study, encompasses multiple humor types and media outlets. Four humor mechanisms—incongruity, superiority, arousal, and social currency—have been identified, and audience members' multidimensional patterns of humor appreciation are related to media habits and social attitudes. In the study of sources of humorous mass media, two branches of inquiry are apparent—(i) humor in interpersonal interactions, which may apply to social media uses, and (ii) filmmakers/auteurs as the most studied media professionals creating humorous content. Analyses of comedy content have shown no consensus of a typology across media. Systematic content analyses have largely been limited to studies focusing on narrowly defined types of humor and studies examining the simple presence or absence of humorous intent. Assuming an active audience, studies of the utility of humor in media for meeting spectator needs have included the impact of personality traits and the role that mood management plays in audience selective exposure. The effects of humor have been examined, with particular focus on political humor and humor in advertising. Regarding political humor , there is evidence of increased political knowledge, positive attitudes, and political participation interest following exposure to political satire. Concerning humor in advertising , experimental studies have found exposure to humor to predict greater attention, more positive attitudes toward the advert and brand, greater general positive affect, and enhanced purchase intent. However, humor has generally not been found to have a positive impact on source credibility, attitude toward the advertiser, comprehension, recall, recognition, nor purchase behavior.