Spontaneous Humour Research Articles

Kalabhavan Mani: The Metaphysics of the Acting of a Dalit Actor from South India

This monograph explores in detail the acting persona of Kalabhavan Mani (1971–2016), a prominent film actor of Dalit origin from Kerala, who acted as hero and villain in many south Indian movies. Well known and loved for his singing, acting, mimicking skills, comic anecdotes and spontaneous humour, this actor was never taken as a serious intellectual/thinker by the Kerala mainstream ostensibly because of him being a school dropout. Drawing on Jacques Lacan, Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, a methodological inquiry is made into the casteist dimension of this strategy of framing, real as well as reel, by which the metaphysics of the acting out of laughter and laughing out of acting enacted/embodied by Dalit body/discourse is contained, distorted and nullified.

Spontaneous humour and Malaysia’s democratic breakthrough in 2018

The 2018 Malaysian general election was the first democratic change of government in the nation’s modern history. The victory of the Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope – PH) coalition surprised several observers within and outside the country, especially considering the intensified repression employed by the outgoing Barisan Nasional (National Front – BN) ruling coalition leading up to the polls, including media censorship, the silencing of political opponents, and the manipulation of Islamism and ethnic Malay nationalism. This article examines the role of spontaneous, conversational humour in constructing a viable political identity for the PH. It does this by considering humorous moments during press conferences and similar media events held by the PH coalition, led by its designated choice for prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad. This article aims to contribute to the scholarship on the role of humour in identity construction and political campaigning.

Thinking Through Improvisation

As part of a larger research study investigating humour in music therapy with persons with dementia, this article details how music therapists perceive, embody and experience humour in their practice. Three focus groups with music therapists ( N = 9) were organised and resulting data analysed through arts-based reflexive methods.
 Building on Schenstead’s (2012) articulation of arts-based reflexivity, two distinct and overlapping forms of thinking through improvisation are highlighted; self-reflexivity and collaborative-reflexivity. Finlay’s (2011) phenomenological lifeworld-oriented questions are used to explicate dimensions of experiences of humour and frame broad thematic reflections. Particular correspondence between improvisation as a way of being and humour in music therapy are explored performatively through a group improvisation involving the first author.
 The findings from this synthesis offer insight into how music therapists conceive of humour in their work as supportive of relational bonding, and also experience humour as distancing and defensive behaviour. Along with the perceived risks of humour in relational therapeutic work, an intricate balance between playfulness and professionalism surfaced as part of a music therapy identity. Improvisation, while seemingly taken for granted as a part of spontaneous humour, is also problematised through the perceived seriousness of learning how to improvise as a music therapist aligning with a psychodynamic approach. The consequences of these findings are discussed in relation to music therapy pedagogy and practice along with methodological implications of thinking through improvisation.

Mastering second language humour: the ultimate challenge

This small-scale study on verbal humour takes place within a larger project entitled “From perception to oral production”, which aims to identify the links between comprehension and production processes and the sources of difficulty for French learners of English. The data consist of three comparable corpora of filmed semi-structured interviews with first (L1) and second (L2) language students: French-French L1; English-English L1; and English L1 with L2. The interviews revolve around the same extract of an American romantic comedy, which the students were asked to describe and comment upon. Instances of spontaneous humour were found to occur in all corpora and were analysed using the cross-cultural comparative model previously used for French-English comparative studies of verbal humour (Béal & Mullan 2013; 2017a; Mullan & Béal 2018a).The humour used by the native speakers of French (N=7) and English (N=7) served as the initial basis for comparison with the L2 English speakers (N=34). It was found that the humour and laughter in the L1 interviews were employed by both parties to achieve certain pragmatic functions related to this particular institutional setting: the participants used humour primarily to create a connection with the interviewer (often through implicit references, and especially where both participants were female). The French students speaking English as L2 tended to use self-oriented humour as a face-saving device to deflect from their production or comprehension difficulties.The use of humour by all L1 and L2 participants nevertheless reflected specific cultural tendencies outlined in Béal & Mullan (2013; 2017a) and Mullan & Béal (2018a), such as the prevalence of third-party oriented humour in French interactions and of self-deprecating humour in English. In sum, and perhaps unsurprisingly, we show that the French learners of English have mastered some aspects of humour in their L2, but still exhibit most of the characteristics of verbal humour from their native French.

The use of humour in teaching and learning in higher education classrooms: Lecturers’ perspectives

University lecturers' perspectives on the use of humour in teaching and learning have received little attention in the humour and higher education literature. Humour serves many roles in teaching and learning, and university lecturers' use of humour is both strategic and pedagogical in facilitating teaching. This paper explores the different types of humour that lecturers use in relation to three dominant theories of humour: the superiority, incongruity and relief theories. Intended and spontaneous humour and the various types of humour utilised to facilitate teaching and learning in the classroom are emphasised. Data for this study were collected by observing the classroom teaching of five award-winning lecturers in a university in New Zealand, who were identified and nominated by students as having a good sense of humour in the classroom. These lecturers were observed while teaching and then interviewed using Stimulated Recall Interviews (SRI) to understand their reflections-in-action concerning specific humorous moments and specific humorous behaviours while teaching. The data indicates that seven types of humour were used, either intentionally or spontaneously, to enhance student learning or to engage students' attention. These insights provide a fresh viewpoint on the use of humour from lecturers’ perspectives.

'H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, PEE! Get it? Pee!': Siblings' shared humour in childhood.

Humour is a central feature of social interactions in childhood that has received little attention. In a sample of 86 7-year-old children (M age=7.82years, SD=0.80), we investigated patterns and individual differences in spontaneous humour observed during free play with their older (M age=9.55years, SD=0.88) or their younger sibling (M age=5.87years, SD=0.96). We coded children's instances, categories, and responses to humour. We investigated the nature of children's humour on the dyadic and individual level. Humour was common, and siblings' production of humour was highly interdependent between play partners. Dyadic humour differed according to structural features of the sibling relationship (age, gender composition), and 7-year-old focal children's humour varied according to gender. This study contributes to knowledge regarding the dyadic nature of children's humour and individual patterns of humour beyond the preschool years. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Humour is an integral part of children's close and intimate interactions. Children produce humour from an early age and increasingly produce more complex humour as they develop. Few studies examine children's humour with siblings and beyond the fourth year of life. What does this study add? Children's humour during free play with siblings was common and highly dyadic. Sibling dyads' humour differed according to age and gender composition. Seven-year-old boys produced more humour than girls.

\u201cAll the world\u2019s a stage\u201d: incongruity humour revisited

Eighteenth and nineteenth century philosophers took interest in humour and, in particular, humorous incongruities. Humour was not necessarily their main interest; however, observations on humour could support their more general philosophical theories. Spontaneous and unintentional humour such as anecdotes, witty remarks and absurd events were the styles of humour that they analysed and made part of their theories. Prepared humour such as verbal jokes were rarely included in their observations, likely dismissed as too vulgar and not requiring intellectual effort. Humour, as analysed by several eighteenth and nineteenth century philosophers, was seen as part of daily life or life simulated on stage. In the twentieth century, Freud emphasized a possible ‘relief’ function of ‘prepared’ humour such as jokes. Additionally, linguists began developing theories to analyse jokes. A joke has a particular structure that is constructed with the aim of achieving a humorous effect. This structure makes jokes suitable for linguistic analysis. In the present-day humour research, jokes have become a main topic of research. This linguistically oriented joke research neglects many other forms of humour: spontaneous humour, non-verbal humour, physical humour, and many forms of unintentional humour that appear in real life. We want to survey and re-evaluate the contributions to the humour research of these eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth century philosophers and clarify that their more general contributions to the humour research have been neglected in favour of the very restricted form of prepared humour and linguistically expressed and analysed humour as it appears in jokes. We hope that the views expressed in this paper will help to steer the humour research away from joke research and help to integrate humour in the design of human-computer interfaces and smart environments. That is, rather than considering only verbal jokes, we should aim at generating smart environments that understand, facilitate or create humour that goes beyond jokes.

Farewell to Bernard Witholt, A pioneering microbial biotechnologist.

Bernard Witholt was one of the most foresighted, gifted and personable scientists I have ever known in a long academic career blessed by association with many exceptional scholars. Despite coming from different branches of microbiology – Bernard was a biochemist, I a geneticist – we followed to some extent parallel research paths, working on microbial pathogenesis (e.g. enteric toxins), environmental biotechnology (e.g. degradation of organic pollutants), biocatalysis (e.g. hydrocarbon oxidations), bioplastics (PHA) and development of enabling experimental systems (e.g. Pseudomonas as a cell factory). We also shared young scholars – Marcel Wubbolts, Menno Kok, Auxi Prieto, Birgit Kessler and Sven Panke – to our great mutual benefit and pleasure. However, it was the creation of the European Environmental Research Organisation – the EERO – that really intensified our contacts and cemented our long-term association. Although this organization, created to promote top environmental research in Europe and conceived to be analogous to the European Molecular Biology Organisation, ultimately failed to acquire sustained funding from European governments, it succeeded initially in obtaining significant funds, and in promoting environmental research by providing a number of talented young scientists with long-term postdoctoral fellowships. Bernard, along with Sascha Zehnder, Willy Verstraete, Ivano Bertini, Ralf Hutter, Bernard Dixon and I formed the first EERO Council responsible for developing the basic concept and strategy, and for obtaining funding. While most of us were discussing about the best way to finance the EERO, Bernard and Sascha immediately cut to the chase and posed the rhetorical question: when you need money, where do you go? So they went to see a Dutch banker (and a few other key figures), returning with a commitment of about 5m guilders to serve as matching funds for funds raised in other countries! I am simplifying somewhat (sorry other Council Members!), but illustrating signature qualities of Bernard, namely his can-do attitude, infectious enthusiasm for projects he was convinced about and incredible powers of persuasion. Working with Bernard was exciting and supremely pleasurable: a true privilege. As a scholar, Bernard was supremely a pioneer, combining great foresight with a rigorous biochemical approach in grasping new opportunities: he pioneered alkane degradation/oxidation and PHA production (petrochemical biorefineries, biofeedstocks, and bioplastics) years before they became hot topics. He made significant fundamental discoveries and developed proof-of-principle processes for industrial applications. And, as documented in the first tribute, he went the extra mile towards translation, by developing novel two-phase fermentation systems for reactions involving hydrophobic substrates or products, and by optimizing biocatalysis and bioproduction regimes and defining production-relevant parameters, so that he could convince potential industrial partners of the feasibility of the biotechnological processes he developed. He was also incredibly fertile in creating start-ups based on processes and ideas he developed. He was always original and creative, always at the front, and, in those rare cases where competition actually did exist, was generally well ahead. As a person, he was cosmopolitan, having roots in the Netherlands, Brazil (https://www.amherst.edu/alumni/classpages/1964/spk64/node/539153), the USA and finally Switzerland, but also a patriot with an abiding love of Holland, Dutch friends and the Dutch culture. He was a true gentleman: eloquent, cultivated, elegant, a bon viveur and gourmet. He was convivial and extremely entertaining, with a highly animated manner of articulating, a spontaneous humour and an infectious grin; it was pure pleasure to be in his company. He was a dedicated and successful rower and with Renske lived life to the full. He treated his illness as a biological activity worthy of study, was frankly open about it to friends and colleagues, and analysed his deteriorating biological parameters with academic detachment. He planned to have lunch with me in Bern only days before his death. His courage was impressive and exemplary. It is impossible to list and illustrate all the manifold scholarly and personal qualities of Bernard in a short space: suffice it to say that they have enormously enriched academic and applied research, and inspired and moulded generations of young scholars who in the meantime have become successful inspiring leaders in their own right – the Witholt School. Bernard will not have realized it at the time, but his early work, with that of just a handful of other heavyweights, essentially jump-started the emerging field of microbial biotechnology and set high and durable benchmarks of originality, significance and rigour for the field. His group was a beacon. Bernard will be sorely missed by many. But his legacy, long established in his publications and in the Witholt school of scholars, will last as long as microbial biotechnology.

Humour in health-care interactions: a risk worth taking.

Humour is a complex, dynamic phenomenon that mainly occurs in social situations between two or more people. Most humour research reviews rehearsed as opposed to spontaneous humour and rarely review the patients' perspective. We explore patients' perspectives on the use of humour in health care. We discuss the asymmetrical and divergent humour use between patients and clinical nurse specialists and posit nurses' approaches to risk as a contributing factor. A constructivist grounded theory collated researcher-provoked (interviews, observation, field notes, pre-and post-interaction audio diaries) and non-researcher-provoked data (naturally occurring interactions) over 18 months. This paper is based upon four patient focus groups. A constant comparison approach to data collection and analyses was applied using interpretative and illustrative frameworks that balanced what was 'known' and 'unknown' about humour. Patients were recruited from four patient-peer groups. Three audio-taped (n = 20) and one observed focus group interactions (n = 12) were undertaken at the groups' regular meeting places. Patients hold a broad appreciation of humour and recognize it as being evident in subtle and nuanced forms. Patients wish health-care staff to initiate and reciprocate humour. A chasm exists between what patients apparently want with regard to humour use in health-care interactions and what actually transpires. Initiating humour involves risk, and risk-taking requires a degree of self-esteem and confidence. Nurses are, arguably, risk-averse and have low self-esteem. Future research could review confidence and self-esteem markers with observed humour use in nurses and their interactions across a range of specialities.

Harsh humour: a therapeutic discourse

Humour research in healthcare has tended to focus on rehearsed as opposed to spontaneous humour. This paper reports an empirical example of spontaneous humour in healthcare interactions: a negative case analysis from a constructivist grounded theory study. Twenty Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS)-patient interactions and CNS pre- and postinteraction audio diaries provided the baseline data corpus. Follow-up interviews, field notes, focus groups and observations serviced theory generation with a constant comparison approach to data collection and analyses. Interpretative and illustrative frameworks incorporating humour theories, non-laughter humour support, discursive features and prosodical features of speech were applied to all data. This paper is based upon the negative case comprising a 90-minute follow-up interview and 10 hours of field note observations. The negative case - a CNS working with female drug users' sexual and reproductive health needs - contradicted emerging findings from the baseline data corpus. First, the negative case had greater awareness of humour, deliberately initiated humour and recognised parameters and exclusion zones. Second, a good patient personal was evident in the baseline data corpus but the negative case worked with 'bad' patients. Accordingly, a specific type of humour - harsh humour - was evident in the negative case. Harsh humour used areas of potential discord (e.g. drug use) as a focus of humour creation and maintenance. The deliberate initiation of harsh humour enabled the negative case and her colleagues to achieve their aims by engaging effectively with unpredictable, reluctant and recalcitrant patients. The negative case demonstrates how humour can be used to therapeutically enhance healthcare interactions with disenfranchised individuals. Humour is not superficial but integral to the accomplishment of key aspects of interactions. Health and social care workers should consider the potential for therapeutic humour to engage and maintain all patients - disenfranchised or otherwise - in healthcare interactions.

Evolving Grounded Theory Methodology: Towards a discursive approach

Grounded Theory Methodology (GTM) is a widely cited research approach based upon symbolic interaction with a focus on interaction, action and processes. Relatively recently, Discursive Psychology; a language-based interaction research approach also based on symbolic interaction, emerged. At present Discursive Psychology is principally cited in the social sciences literature. Given Discursive Psychology's symbolic interaction foundations, what relevance does this approach have for evolving GTM? A number of methodological challenges were posed by a study looking at humour in Clinical Nurse Specialist–patient interactions. This paper will use the phenomenon of spontaneous humour in healthcare interactions to illustrate the potential for a new form of GTM drawing on discursive approaches; Discursive GTM. First, the challenges presented by a study looking at spontaneous humour in Clinical Nurse Specialist–patient interactions are presented. Second, the research approach adopted to meet these challenges – Discursive GTM (DGTM) – is explicated and the results of the study are outlined. Third, the different GTM approaches and Discursive Psychology are compared and contrasted in relation to the DGTM approach adopted. Finally, the challenges and tensions of using DGTM as well as the opportunities afforded by the use of naturally occurring data are reviewed. The authors contend that a DGTM approach may be appropriate in analyzing certain phenomena. In particular, we highlight the potential contribution of naturally occurring data as an adjunct to researcher-elicited data. Thus, when exploring particular phenomena, a DGTM approach may address the potentially under-developed symbolic interaction tenet of language.

Why organisations need humour

This article argues that spontaneous humour should not be considered a subversive force within organisations, but rather an organisational resource. Humour plays a vital role in helping to close the communication gap between leader and followers, providing an alternative channel of communication, and helping to extract information which might not otherwise be volunteered. Humour makes organisational confusion more bearable, and draws attention to areas in need of management attention. It also enhances trust, facilitates change and encourages plurality of vision. In short, humour helps to break down barriers between people and makes an organisation more participative and responsive. It follows that an environment which is amenable to humour will also facilitate organisational learning and renewal. Fully appreciating the various functions of spontaneous humour helps executives communicate and manage change more effectively.

Spontaneous Humour as an Indicator of Paradox and Ambiguity in Organizations

Assuming that humour is built on a foundation of recognized contradiction, incongruity and incoherence, then it seems plausible that humour points to dis course capable of revealing the nature and substance of paradox and ambiguity- a topic of increasing interest to students of organization. This paper presents the method and results of a case study illustrating the interpretive possibilities of combining humour analysis with the study of paradox and ambiguity as a means to address everyday experience in organizations. Results are interpreted as indicating a paradox of control and the ambiguity of problem and solution thinking.