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test 1
Psychology of Humor
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Humor | anything that makes you feel amused |
| 2 things sense of humor has to do with | production of humor appreciation of humor |
| 4 parts of humor process | stimulus event ie funny thing happens cognitive-perceptual process ie mentally process it, have to "get" it emotional response ie humor associated w/ pleasant emos (amusement) but can also be neg (offended) expression of response ie laugh/frown |
| 4 types of humor | performance humor jokes spontaneous conversational humor aka wit unintentional humor |
| performance humor | stage humor created/performed to make ppl laugh ie sitcoms or comedian shows |
| jokes | have specific form: need set-up and punchline, make up very little of everyday humor |
| types of spontaneous conversational humor aka wit | really common anecdotes, wordplay, irony, satire, over/understatement, self-deprecation, teasing, nonverbal behavior |
| history of humor | came from Latin humorem meaning fluid, Galen said there were 4 humors in body that needed to be in balance if out of balance in 16th century you were odd/eccentric and viewed as object of laughter 18th century preferred wit not aggression |
| humorist | object of laughter |
| man of humor | imitated humorist to get a laugh |
| laughter in Bible | scorn, mockery, contempt |
| history of humor 19th century | humorist became funny person 1930s valued sense of humor, essential to good mental health, desired in potential mate, politicians used it |
| Gordon Allport | 1930s- thought humor essential for self-awareness/coping/etc |
| classic theories | Arousal/Relief -> motivational Psychanalytic -> motivational Superiority -> motivational Incongruity -> cognitive |
| arousal/relief theory of humor, and theorists | nervous energy (pressure) is built up and needs to be released Spencer, Gregory, Berlyne |
| arousal theorist Spencer | 1860, said laughter is specialized way to get rid of nervous energy |
| arousal theorist Gregory | 1924, said laughter is release from tension, some tensions comes from trying to figure out joke, some tension is hoping you get the joke, laugh is partly b/c you "get" it |
| Berlyne's Modern Arousal theory | humor has collative variables ie variables that simultaneously have diff meanings, in humor they're any surprise/complexity/incongruity/redundancy, strongly attract attention + cause arousal laughter is releasing energy and optimal arousal pleasure |
| Berlyne's inverted u relationship | b/tw psych arousal and subjective pleasure, too little/much arousal is less pleasurable, arousal boost when collative variables boost arousal, arousal jag when arousal elevated beyond optimal level and becomes aversive, punch line resolves |
| Modern Arousal Theory | Berlyne |
| Psychoanalytic Theory | Freud |
| Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory 3 assumptions | psychic determinism ie everything happens for a reason, influence of unconscious mind ie id = brain impulses we can't access influence every behavior personality dynamic but closed system ie fixed amnt of psychic energy we just move around |
| Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory 3 types of laughter-related phenomena | wit/jokes- tendentious part speaks to id + makes psychic energy, non-tendentious/jokework part distracts superego humor- highest coping mechanism for stress comic- slapstick physical humor, childhood impulses to play |
| tendentious | parts of a joke ppl think are inappropriate ie sexual/aggressive |
| Freud Psychoanalytic Theory 2 hypotheses | ppl w/ repressed aggression/sex impulses find aggressive/sexual jokes funniest, humor is catharsis highly repressed ppl should prefer jokes w/ complex jokework to distract superego |
| Superiority Theory | Aristotle, Hobbes, Gruner, Zillman and Cantor |
| Aristotle's Superiority Theory | comedy is imitation of ppl who are "worse than average", a way to be mean to others + keep them in line |
| Hobbes "Sudden Glory" Superiority Theory | misfortune of others causes us joy b/c makes us look better in comparison, needs to be both sudden and superiority, fear of laughter b/c don't want to be made fun of, laughter used to keep ppl in line w/ social standards |
| Gruner's Superiority Theory | advocate for Hobbes hypothesis, links amusement to enjoyment of sport/game humor involves conflict keeping tension high AND swift conclusion = winner victory + loser defeat |
| Zillman and Cantor Dispositional Model Superiority Theory | superiority theory + individual attitudes depends on 2 things: attitudes to joke-teller (funnier if like, less if dislike), attitudes to person joke is about (funnier if dislike, less if like) attitudes more important than membership in group ie gender |
| Incongruity Theory | Sul |
| Koestler | called incongruity "bisociation" |
| Sul's Incongruity Resolution Model | things that are incongruous/surprising/unusual are funny, but incongruity isn't necessarily enough says incongruity needs resolution to be funny, 2 stages |
| Sul's Incongruity Resolution Model, stage 1 | detection story/cartoon setup -> outcome prediction -> if ending is predicted then no surprise, if ending isn't predicted then surprise |
| Sul's Incongruity Resolution Model, stage 2 | resolution surprise at unpredictable ending -> find rule that makes ending follow setup -> if no rule then puzzlement, if rule found then laughter |
| New Yorker cartoons | are known for not having any resolution |
| contemporary theories | reversal theory comprehension elaboration (woodzicka's least fave) benign violation theory |
| Reversal Theory | Michael Apter |
| Apter's Reversal Theory | humor is how adults play but need to be put in paratelic state by environmental cues, we reverse b/tw paratelic and telic states all day, needs synergy but no resolution as long as 2nd interpretation diminishes 1st |
| paratelic state | playful + safe state of mind, present-oriented, enjoy w/out looking for goal, high arousal enjoyable |
| telic state | goal-oriented and future-oriented state, high arousal unpleasant |
| synergy | Apter's term for incongruity |
| Comprehension Elaboration Theory | Wyer and Collins |
| Wyer & Collins Comprehension Elaboration | cognitive theory, humor develops thru how ppl perceive event then reinterpret based on new info, incongruous humor makes us use info not in original schema, comprehension based on abilities to interpret + incongruity + reinterpret |
| Wyer & Collins Comprehension Elaboration, amnt of humor depends on... | reinterpretation of 2nd thing diminishes importance of 1st thing type and amnt of cognitive elaboration ie more=funnier degree to which event is hard to understand, inverted u shape so moderate difficulty is funniest |
| Benign Violation Theory | McGraw and Warren |
| McGraw & Warren Benign Violation, 3 conditions facilitate humor | evoked by violation ie threats/norm breaches/taboo stuff occurs in contexts perceived to be safe/playful/benign requires interpretive process labelled bisociation/synergy/incongruity |
| McGraw & Warren Benign Violation hypothesis | 3 conditions suggest humor is aroused by benign violations, 3 conditions necessary/sufficient to make humor (violation + safe + simultaneously) |
| violation | anything that threatens how the world "should be" ie to personal dignity, linguistic/social/moral norms |
| benign | one norm says it's wrong but another says it's acceptable, or if violation is distant (spatially, socially, temporally, hypothetically) |
| McGraw & Warren Benign Violation predictions | humors increases w/ distance for tragedies + humor increases when close mishap is near sweet spot for humor (ie temporal: too close to tragedy isn't funny and after too long it stops being funny) |
| distance | spatial social temporal hypothetical |
Created by:
WrenSO
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