COMM 613: HUMOR
Study
Questions
1)
3 Basic theories explaining humorous amusement
§ Relief
Theory
ü People
laugh to reduce physiological tension
o laughter
helps relief nervous energy
o and
Reveals suppressed desires/overcome sociocultural inhibitions
§ Incongruity
Theory
ü People
laugh at things that are surprising and unexpected
ü Absurdity,
nonsense, and surprise are key themes
§ Superiority
Theory
ü 2
conditions for evocation of mirth
o Disposition
towards disparaged party should not be positive
o Amusement
contingent on disparagement in some form
ü Emotional
explanation
ü Strongest
amusement when extremely disliked victim is disparaged by extremely liked
victor
ü Grievous
harm usually results more pity than amusement
ü Macabre
humor
2)
Preconditions for humorous amusement according
to superiority theory/affective disposition theory
§ An
ill-intentioned fool and an ill-intentioned wit must both come to harm
§ Well
intentioned fool and well-intentioned wit must come to glory
3)
How does group membership influence humor
enjoyment
§ We find
jokes not about us funny but we disike seeing ourselves humiliated
4)
What formats can humorous entertainment have
(drama/miniature)?
5)
What is the comic frame of mind
§ Light-heartded
attitude to relax fun-hampering empathic restraints
6)
What is the unfairness doctrine
§ If you
see someone getting a lot of things easy in life, you would think it were
unfair
§ Seeing
someone who is high-positioned get into a humiliating situation is usually
funny
7)
How is comedy related to social rules according
to Freud
§ 2 ways
to evoke amusement
ü Superiority
theory
ü Incongruity
theory
§ We do
not know what makes us laugh
§ All
those feelings: that we like to see the bad person being humiliated aren’t
usually expressed outright
8)
What are transient benefits of humor/laughter?
§ It
makes us feel good to see others humiliated
§ It
makes us feel good about ourselves
§ Helps
regulate moods
Slides Outline
Popularity 3
general theories What is
Comedy Disposition
theory/negative partiality Traditions
of empirical research Comic
frame of mind Comic
miniatures Transient
benefits of laughter/social comparison theory Deconstructing
depression Unfairness
doctrine Problem
dissolution Freedom
of expression Health
benefits of amusement
Text Notes/Slides
