Humor Appreciation Research Articles

Comparison between Theory of Mind and Integrative Approach on Humor Appreciation of Individuals with Schizotypal Personality

본 연구에서는 분열형 성격 대학생들을 대상으로 실행기능과 마음이론뿐 아니라 Martin(2008)의 통합적 접근을 활용하여 유머의 인지적․정서적 이해에 대해 다각도로 살펴보고자 한다. 이를 위해 대학생 643명에게 한국판 분열형 성격척도를 실시한 뒤, 선행연구들에서 사용한 선별 방식을 적용하여 상위 10%(35점)는 분열형 고성향군, 하위 10%(5점)는 저성향군으로 분류하였다. 그 중 실험 참여에 동의한 총 70명(고40/저30)을 대상으로 실행기능검사, 마음이론 과제, 사회적 맥락파악과제, 정서지능척도, 유머이해 과제(인지적/정서적/전반적)를 실시하였다. 연구 결과, 분열형 고성향군은 저성향군에 비해 전반적 유머이해과제에서 유의하게 낮은 수행을 보였다. 이는 분열형 고성향군이 유머 이해에서 인지적․정서적 측면을 통합해서 이해해야 답할 수 있는 복합적인 과제에서 수행이 낮아진다는 것을 의미한다. 둘째, 실행기능 중 보속성, 마음이론능력 중 등장인물의 생각과 의도를 파악하는 능력, 그리고 사회적 맥락파악능력이 분열형 고성향군의 낮은 전반적 유머 이해도를 설명해주는 요인으로 나타났다. 본연구는 유머러스한 상황에서 분열형 고성향군이 겪을 수 있는 어려움이 신경 및 사회인지적 요인들과 복합적으로 연관되어 있음을 시사하며, 나아가 이는 저성향군과는 다른 양상을 보여 분열형 특질이 지닌 고유한 인지적․정서적 특징을 탐색해볼 수 있는 계기가 되었다.

Edgy humour in the classroom: a case study of risks and rewards

The purpose of this study was to explore the role of humour in the classroom from a learning climate perspective, allowing for greater risk and spontaneity. A case study was devised in a UK primary school where the teacher would give humour top priority in planning, without any self-censoring or limitations placed on ideas of taste or appropriateness. Such an extreme situation was made possible by opt-in participation. Evaluation was by a mixed-methods approach, drawing on video analysis of laughter responses in the class, teacher observation, and student evaluations. Arguing that humour research has previously focussed too much on positivist experimental approaches at one extreme and polemic anecdotal evidence at the other, the study aimed to strike a balance and explore approaches useful to action researchers. The exploratory nature of the research was also posited on the idea that a case study in which humour use was exaggerated would help to provide a measure of transferability for practitioners wishing to experiment with humour. Humour used in the classroom is therefore categorised according to whether it is produced by the teacher or a student, related to the learning goal of the lesson, or if it could be considered potentially offensive. The results indicate that an overcautious approach can limit the effectiveness of humour in the classroom. Moreover, an element of edginess can contribute to a learning climate in which students and teachers both feel more excited by the lesson, engage in spontaneous generation of content-relevant humour, and express greater ratings for satisfaction, enjoyment and perceptions of learning. Appreciation and usefulness of humour in education is presented as both supported by, and a vehicle towards, a learning climate which rewards risk and spontaneity whilst at the same time encouraging an inclusive enjoyment of the learning experience.

Sex differences during humor appreciation in child-sibling pairs

The developmental origin of sex differences in adult brain function is poorly understood. Elucidating neural mechanisms underlying comparable cognitive functionality in both children and adults is required to address this gap. Humor appreciation represents a particularly relevant target for such developmental research because explanatory theories apply across the life span, and underlying neurocircuitry shows sex differences in adults. As a positive mood state, humor is also of interest due to sex differences in rates of depression, a disorder afflicting twice as many women as men. In this study, we employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate brain responses to funny versus positive (and neutral) video clips in 22 children, ages 6–13 years, including eight sibling-pairs. Our data revealed increased activity to funny clips in bilateral temporo-occipital cortex, midbrain, and amygdala in girls. Conversely, we found heightened activation to positive clips in bilateral inferior parietal lobule, fusiform gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, amygdala, and ventromedial prefrontal cortex in boys. Many of these effects persisted when looking at sibling-pairs only. We interpret such findings as reflecting the presence of early sex divergence in reward saliency or expectation and stimulus relevance attribution. These findings are discussed in the context of evolutionary and developmental theories of humor function.

Humor, Laughter, and the Cerebellum: Insights from Patients with Acute Cerebellar Stroke

Extent of cerebellar involvement in cognition and emotion is still a topic of ongoing research. In particular, the cerebellar role in humor processing and control of laughter is not well known. A hypermetric dysregulation of affective behavior has been assumed in cerebellar damage. Thus, we aimed at investigating humor comprehension and appreciation as well as the expression of laughter in 21 patients in the acute or subacute state after stroke restricted to the cerebellum, and in the same number of matched healthy control subjects. Patients with acute and subacute cerebellar damage showed preserved comprehension and appreciation of humor using a validated humor test evaluating comprehension, funniness and aversiveness of cartoons ("3WD Humor Test"). Additionally, there was no difference when compared to healthy controls in the number and intensity of facial reactions and laughter while observing jokes, humorous cartoons, or video sketches measured by the Facial Action Coding System. However, as depression scores were significantly increased in patients with cerebellar stroke, a concealing effect of accompanying depression cannot be excluded. Current findings add to descriptions in the literature that cognitive or affective disorders in patients with lesions restricted to the cerebellum, even in the acute state after damage, are frequently mild and might only be present in more sensitive or specific tests.

The Laughter-eliciting Mechanism of Humor

The appreciation of humor is a dynamic interaction between the humor recipient and the humor object. It is a multi-geared problem-solving process in which the punch-line, which is incongruous with the body of the text, must be detected and then reconciled with the lead, in the end of which a pleasurable emotional state is obtained with the resolution of the incongruities and with the release of tension built up during the preceding intellectual effort. The laughter eliciting mechanism of humor can be summarized as: (1) The humor object contains incongruities; (2) Through script-switch or logical mechanism the incongruities are resolved. (3) Pleasure arises along with the resolution of the incongruities and with the release of tension built up during the preceding intellectual effort. Incongruities are regarded as the prerequisites of the humor, and the recipient’s cooperative interpretation of the humor object - resolution of the incongruities - ensures the success of a humorous event.

Towards compatibility between artificial and psychometric personality models

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the statistical link between an artificial personality model and the leading psychometric model.Design/methodology/approachAn online survey was conducted made of two parts: a 40‐sentence humor appreciation survey corresponding to the artificial personality model, and a 50‐sentence Big 5 psychometric survey. The cross‐correlation between the scales of the two parts was computed, and exploratory factor analysis performed on the Big 5 scores using three different sample age spreads.FindingsThe cross‐correlation coefficients between the artificial and psychometric personality scores supported the suggestion that there is compatibility between the two, albeit their absolute values were not as high as other studies due to the small sample size. Also, when computing factor analysis on Big 5 scores it was found that the loading of two factors identified as motivational went down systematically with the size of the sample, which empirically supports the suggestion that motivational and cognitive factors are distinct.Research limitations/implicationsThe size of sample was not sufficient to reach a conclusive decision but the evidence was supportive and promising for additional research.Practical implicationsThe compatibility between the artificial and psychometric personality models means that psychometric scores of real persons can be uploaded into artificial personalities in order to mimic real conversation and behaviour.Social implicationsImprovement of man‐machine interface, facilitating education.Originality/valueCorrelating the scores of different personality scores is not new, but correlating with artificial personality dimensions defined by humor appreciation scores is new. The suggestion that there is qualitative difference between factors of well established psychometric model is new and could have far reaching implications.

Taking Back Power: Using Superiority Theory to Predict Humor Use Following a Relational Transgression

Superiority theory has explained and predicted receivers’ appreciation of humor; this study utilized a superiority framework from a source orientation and explored humor following relational transgressions. College students (N = 220; 60% male) completed questionnaires about a relational transgression in a close friendship or romantic relationship. Results indicated that use of negative humor targeted at the relational transgressor was positively related to severity of the transgression (r = .15) and levels of punitive power (r = .34), as well as aggressive humor style (r = .39). Superiority theory was supported as a viable framework for investigating humor production in interpersonal relationships.

Can ethnic humour appreciation be influenced by political reasons? A comparative study of the Basque Country and Calalonia

The aim of this paper is to compare the appreciation of humor that a sample of citizens in Spain has expressed about two different types of ethnic humor produced by two successful television programs from two autonomous communities in Spain: the Basque Country and Catalonia. Both regions are well-known in the Spanish society for their specific cultural and political features, which are seen as different from the rest of the country. To some extent, their particular character is fixed in the Spanish collective imaginary by some particular stereotypes, represented in stupidity and canniness jokes, following the model investigated by Christie Davies. In contrast to these jokes, the present study focuses on the ethnic humor circulated in these two regions, a kind of humor that is based on their specific identity and where it is possible to combine elements of self-deprecating humor and elements of aggressive humor towards Spain. More specifically, this work tries to test if the political background that these two regions represent in Spain –societies that dares the cohesion of the Spanish identity, even fighting for nationalist recognitions of political rights- could influence or not in the appreciation that the Spanish citizens as a whole have of this ethnic humor that Basques and Catalans produce.

Unveiling the humor mind of the “starving Armenians”: Literary and internet humor

AbstractThe international fame of the “starving Armenians” has overshadowed this biblical nation's ardent love for humor and wit. The geography and distinctive language of the Armenians have also veiled the Armenian humor mind from international humor scholarship. In the present article, contemporary Armenian humor forms and expressions of Armenian humor in literary work (fable, satire and dark humor) and the internet are described. This illustration of Armenian humor forms and means of communication is informed by contemporary Western humor theory and research. The analysis of Armenian humor dispels the stereotype of the Armenian as poor and starving and reveals a rich culture full of varied forms of humor from ancient times to the internet age. A contemporary Armenian humor mind that is open to humor appreciation and expression is reflected in the designation and veneration of Gümri as the humor capital of Armenians, and the recognition of April 1 as a national day of humor and wit.

From Ice Age to Madagascar: Appreciation of slapstick humor in children with Asperger's syndrome

AbstractThe aim of the present study was to examine whether children with Asperger's syndrome differ from typically developing children in the appreciation of and behavioral responses to simple slapstick type humor, in which cognitive requirements that are commonly impaired in autism spectrum disorders are reduced to a minimum. Short slapstick scenes and matched non-humorous control scenes were extracted from popular movies to produce an appropriate humor assessment material. Twenty-four boys with Asperger's syndrome (5 to 14 years) and 24 age-matched typically developed controls were tested. The results indicated that children with Asperger's syndrome enjoy humorous material as much as healthy children do, if the humor elements are simple and the incongruence can be perceived independently from theory of mind requirements, inferential demands, or language abilities. However, similar funniness ratings and behavioral expressions of mirth to the humorous scenes, but relatively higher values in response to the non-humorous scenes, suggested that the autistic children did not discriminate non-humorous from humorous stimuli as sensitively as the typically developing children did. Moreover, in autistic children, the outwards displays of emotion did not match their reports of subjective amusement. This dissociation may relate to the social interaction and communication difficulties in autism spectrum disorders.

Seven decades after Hans Asperger's observations: A comprehensive study of humor in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders

AbstractThe aim of the present study was to better understand humor in individuals with Asperger's syndrome. Therefore, various humor and laughter related phenomena were investigated by means of various standardized humor instruments. Forty individuals with AS and 113 controls filled out several self-report questionnaires and tests. The results revealed that individuals with AS scored significantly lower on trait cheerfulness and higher on trait seriousness (both describing the susceptibility to humor). Furthermore, they scored low on scales related to social communication (affiliative humor, humor entertainment) and portrayed a more socially cold humor style. In addition, individuals with AS scored low on mean-spirited humor, and used less adaptive (self-enhancing) and more maladaptive humor styles (self-defeating humor). Finally, they preferred incongruity-resolution humor, representing a more reality-oriented processing style. These findings add to previous studies on humor and expand the knowledge of components associated with successful humor appreciation.

Humor preference and the Autism Quotient in an undergraduate sample

AbstractMost previous studies relating autism and humor have compared responses to jokes or cartoons in autistic children and controls. The present study used the Humor Appreciation Measure (HAM, Rawlings 2008), which measures responses to hypothetical real life situations, as well as jokes; and employed the Autism-spectrum Quotient (AQ, Baron-Cohen et al. 1995), a self-report instrument which assumes that autism exists on a continuum. In an undergraduate sample (N = 126), substantial correlations were reported between the total AQ score and the “unpleasant/aversive” ratings of potentially humorous, non-violent situations involving other people and the self. Correlational and regression analysis indicated that the strongest relationships with humor variables involved the Attention Switching sub-scale. The overall importance of Attention Switching was further examined by correlating individual sub-scale items with relevant humor variables. It is argued that the correlation between humor and Attention Switching is dependent on participants' relative tendency to avoid situations associated with the novel or unpredictable.

Attachment Orientations and Individual Differences in Humor

Two studies examined associations between attachment orientations and humor. In Study 1,121 Israeli undergraduates completed measures of attachment orientations, big five personality traits, and trait-like characteristics of humor. In Study 2, 185 Israeli undergraduates completed measures tapping attachment orientations and subjective experience of humor-eliciting situations. Findings revealed that participants scoring higher on attachment anxiety scored lower on humor generation, social humor style, and the use of humor for distress regulation, scored higher on self-defeating humor style, and held ambivalent feelings toward humor-eliciting situations. Participants who scored higher on avoidant attachment scored lower on humor appreciation, social humor style, and the use of humor in close relationships, and held a more aversive experience of humor-eliciting situations. These associations were not explained by high-order personality traits. Theoretical implications of the findings were discussed.

Sharing a joke: The effects of a similar sense of humor on affiliation and altruism

Cooperation requires that individuals are able to identify, and preferentially associate with, others who have compatible preferences and the shared background knowledge needed to solve interpersonal coordination problems. This body of shared knowledge constitute a substantial proportion of what is called ‘culture’. It has been argued that, for this reason, individuals prefer to associate with others who share their culture, and also that shared appreciation of humor provides a particularly effective means of identifying others with the relevant preferences and knowledge. The present experiment uses a ‘dummy rating procedure’ to compare the effects of sharing an appreciation of non-humorous (first lines of novels) and humorous (jokes) cultural stimuli on interpersonal affiliation, altruism and assessment. The results show that the degree of shared appreciation for both sets of stimuli had a positive effect on Affiliation; only humorous stimuli had an effect on Altruism; and neither effected the Assessment of others' personal traits. Thus, the results support the general theory that shared culture promotes affiliation, and provide evidence of the special role of humor in interpersonal relations.

A funny thing happened on the way to the scanner

The detection and appreciation of humor is a complex cognitive process that remains poorly understood. Although functional neuroimaging studies have begun to map the brain systems involved in humor appreciation, there are virtually no data on the structural correlates between gray matter volume and this capacity. Using voxel-based morphometry, the present study examined the association between gray matter volume and the ability to detect and appreciate humor. Fifty-nine healthy adults aged 18-45 years (30 men) underwent structural MRI and completed the University of Pennsylvania Humor Appreciation Test (HAT). After controlling for age and sex, gray matter volume of the left inferior frontal gyrus, left temporal pole, and left insula correlated positively with the appreciation of visual and verbal humor on the HAT, whereas the gray matter volume of the right inferior frontal gyrus correlated only with verbal humor appreciation scores. There were no negative correlations between gray matter volume and HAT performance. These data support a neurobiological basis for humor appreciation, particularly involving left-hemispheric cortical systems, and further suggest that individual differences in humor appreciation may be related to differences in regional gray matter volume.

Character Strengths in Israel

The Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS) has been extensively used to assess character strengths. We adapted a Hebrew translation and analyzed its psychometric properties and associations with life satisfaction, personality traits, and positive and negative affect, and examined its factorial structure in 635 Israeli adults. Results indicated the following: (1) All 24 subscales had satisfactory reliabilities (αs > .72). (2) Hope, gratitude, vitality, curiosity, and love had the highest associations with life satisfaction, whereas modesty, appreciation of beauty, fairness, humor and honesty, had the lowest. (3) Women scored higher than men on love, appreciation of beauty and gratitude, with men scoring higher on creativity. (4) A five-dimensional model best represented the factorial structure. Most findings replicated previous findings in other countries, supporting the use of the Hebrew version.

On Appreciation of American Humor

American humor is a mirror that reflects American culture to a certain extent. To help enhance readers’ understanding, corresponding methods are introduced as shown in the detailed analysis of writing skills and characteristics that involve pun, anticlimax, incongruous juxtaposition, comic simile and comic metaphor, comic definition, trick, understatement, antithesis, irony, malapropism, hyperbole. As for appreciation of American humor, three aspects discussed are appropriate psychological distance, perceiving incongruity, and commanding reading rhythm.

Self-deception inhibits laughter

How does self-deception affect the appreciation of humor and laughter? Fifty-nine undergraduates at Rutgers University (33 females, 26 males) were videotaped while watching a stand-up comedian for 28min. Positive emotional expressions associated with laughter were analyzed for short sections of the act (total: 8min or 14,400 video frames) and were scored for each subject using the facial action coding system (FACS). Participants who scored lower on a self-deception questionnaire (low self-deceivers) laughed significantly longer and more intensely than those who scored higher on the questionnaire (high self-deceivers). This was true when corrected for measures of impression management, extraversion, mood and how much a person laughs in their everyday life. If self-deception evolved to deceive others and laughter is a hard to fake signal of preferences, then suppressed laughter by self-deceptive individuals may serve to mask ones preferences. More generally since humor often involves seeing life or a person from a novel angle and self-deception tends to reduce such angles, self-deception will naturally tend to reduce ones sense of humor.

Differentiation of stages in joke comprehension: Evidence from an ERP study

This study aimed to investigate the mechanisms underlying joke comprehension using event-related potentials (ERPs). Fourteen healthy college students were presented with the context of a story without its joke or nonjoke ending, and then, when the story ending was presented, they were asked to make a funny/unfunny judgment about these endings. The behavioral results showed that there was no significant difference between funny and unfunny items, which meant that subjects could understand funny items as easily as unfunny ones. However, the ERP results showed that funny items initially elicited a more negative ERP deflection (N350-450) over frontocentral scalp regions. Dipole analysis localized the generators in the left temporal gyrus and the left medial frontal gyrus; it is suggested that these areas might be involved in detecting the incongruent element in joke comprehension. Between 600 and 800 ms, funny items subsequently elicited a more negative ERP deflection (N600-800) over frontocentral scalp regions and a more positive ERP deflection (P600-800) over posterior scalp regions. Dipole analysis localized the generator in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), an area involved in the breaking of mental set/expectation and the forming of novel associations. Finally, funny items elicited a more positive ERP deflection (P1250-1400) over anterior and posterior scalp regions. Dipole analysis localized the generators in the middle frontal gyrus and the fusiform gyrus, areas that might be related to the affective appreciation stage in joke process. Unlike that of Coulson and Kutas (2001), the present study might support the hypothesis of a three stage model of humor processing (humor detection, resolution of incongruity and humor appreciation).

Neural Correlates of Humor Detection and Appreciation in Children

Humor is a vital component of human well-being. Neuroimaging studies conducted with adults indicate that humor activates specific brain regions, including the temporo-occipito-parietal junction (TOPJ), involved in incongruity resolution, and mesolimbic regions, involved in reward processing. However, no study to date has used neuroimaging to examine humor in typically developing children. Here, we illuminate the neural network involved in the detection and appreciation of humor in childhood. Fifteen typically developing children (ages, 6-12 years) were invited to watch and respond to video clips while neural activity was imaged with a 3T GE Discovery MR750 scanner. Before presentation during functional imaging, the clips were evaluated by age-matched controls and were representative of three categories: Funny, Positive (enjoyable but not funny), and Neutral (not intended to evoke any emotional response). We found TOPJ and mesolimbic activation in children's response to humor, suggesting these regions may form a humor-essential neural network already present in childhood. Furthermore, in a novel comparison of Funny to Positive stimuli, we found that bilateral TOPJ activation may be specific to humor processing and not part of a general constellation of neural activity in response to reward. Finally, we observed greater activation in the inferior frontal gyrus and nucleus accumbens in younger participants, indicating humor activation intensity changes during development. By providing a crucial link in studying the neurodevelopment of humor processing across the lifespan, our findings contribute valuable information about the evolution of how children understand their world.