Low, L., Goodenough, B., Fletcher, J., Xu, K., Casey, A., Chenoweth, L., Brodaty, H. (2014). The Relief Theory claims the cause of laughter is the release of tension caused by one's fears makes one laugh. Humor and oncology. There are three major families of theories of humor: humor as release, humor as aggression, and humor as incongruity. The four-stage model comprises the expectation, incongruity, resolution, and elaboration stages of humor processing. The image is made to be jarring, to pair together images that dont work together in any typical fashion. The most prominent neurocognitive theory of humor is the incongruity theory , which begins with detection and resolution of conflicting alternatives in the frontal lobes followed by humor appreciation in pleasure/reward areas. This book assesses the adequacy of the traditional theories of laughter and humor, suggests revised theories, and explores such areas as the aesthetics and ethics of humor, and the relation of amusement to other mental states. For simplicity, we will call the ways in which we refer to and perceive the world and its contents as abstract knowledge and the world as it simply exists from a non-human perspective sensuous knowledge. (I know, the Whites frog has now totally expired) If you count them up, there are a number of incongruities in play here. Its not without its issues or critics. Children have reported such benefits, noting that humor increases their ability to cope with stressors associated with relationships, school-related activities, and life at home (Dowling, 2014). According to the Benign Violation Theory (BVT), something is perceived as humorous when it hits the "sweet spot," where there is not only a violation, but where the violation is also perceived as benign. But the incongruity theory says that our perceptions of things in the real world only ever relate to part of that thing- they are incomplete. There is no shortage of quotes about humor (and humorous quotes) available online; here are eight terrific examples: If I had no sense of humor, I would long ago have committed suicide. Incongruity theory, which focuses on the cognitive mechanisms of perception and interpretation, posits that it is the perceptions of incongruity that explain humor (Martin & Ford, 2018). The child will continue playing with that rhyme substituting words here and there both with others and by themselves. Request Permissions. Laughter and mirth, according to relief theory, result from this release of nervous energy. Humor was the weapon of those whose lives were utterly in the hands of the executioners, those who were powerless to rebel or resist in any other way.. Roughly the general idea is this. Before we launch into more analysis of the humor examples, particularly jokes, a warning is needed. It also is advantageous for both elderly and child populations. To you, the brush would seem comically small for the task at handeveryone knows it's a toothbrush, not a toilet brush. For instance, my children loved to take nursery rhymes that they knew well and then not say the expected words at some point. In another study examining the effectiveness of humor among individuals with mental illness, a humor-based activity involving clowns (i.e., the therapeutic clown approach) was implemented among psychiatric ward inpatients. Just as the surrealists might have liked. Klein, D., & Kuiper, N. (2006). 1 : the quality or state of being incongruous 2 : something that is incongruous Synonyms contradiction dichotomy paradox See all Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus Example Sentences she's an incongruity: an impeccably groomed woman who keeps a messy house Incongruity theory is believed to be the most influential humor theory, with some proposing that incongruity is at the core of all humor (Zhan, 2012, p. 95). Hopefully this tour has shown how and why IT is the leading candidate for explaining humor perception. You need to know something about it. Humor as a character strength among the elderly. The superiority theory is concerned with the affective response that often accompanies comic amusement, which it maintains is an enjoyable feeling of superiority to the object of amusement. The joke teller then delightfully admonishes the implied silliness of the listener to have been making owl noises rather than responding appropriately to the joke form. Recent scholars have proposed several theories explaining the underlying mechanisms of humor. The most important theory of humor analysis and synthesis is called Incongruity and Incongruity resolution. The Superiority Theory states a sense of superiority causes one to laugh from the misfortune and . They are reviewed along with neurolinguistic approaches, evolutionary theories of humor and a few mixed and partial theories that have been presented. Before you continue reading, we thought you might like to download our three Grief Exercises [PDF] for free. Humor in the home and in the classroom: The benefits of laughing while we learn. The Incongruity Theory of Humor. You know its coming. As I noted above, the child is playing around with the expectation of the well-known lyric and substituting their own words. Mauriello, M., & McConatha, J. T. (2007). What are you allergic to? queried a stressed nurse as a gunshot victim was rushed into the ER. People with a sense of humor tend to be less egocentric and more realistic in their view of the world and more humble in moments of success and less defeated in times of travail. This is specifically a wordplay used as a witticism. Defense mechanisms are believed to protect the ego from emotional pain through the unconscious minds distortion of reality. IT needs cognition, belief, and expectation to work. In K. S. Cameron & G. M. Spreitzer (Eds.). A Subtreasury of American Humor. My son used to change the last word of the first line of the famous Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star rhyme. For example, the mechanism of denial, when used by addicts, serves as a barrier to accepting the addiction and seeking help. Abel, M. H. (2002). With this collection of information, it is the hope that readers will better understand humor and its many benefits, while maybe even enjoying a few chuckles along the way. It's not without its issues or critics. The incongruity theory of humor suggests that we find fundamentally incompatible concepts or unexpected resolutions funny. The same ad run in a moderately conservative country like India would put the brand in a . There are samples, in the provided dataset, that uses the incongruity to create humor . The Incongruity Theory reveals the affinity between philosophy and comedy and rebukes the argument that humor is "hostile and irresponsible" (Morreall) . Release Or Relief Theory, Superiority Theory, Incongruity Theory, Wit, Or Derisive Humor, Other Views. This does not mean that IT is not without its problems. Comparison, as noted, requires two things. HubPages is a registered trademark of The Arena Platform, Inc. Other product and company names shown may be trademarks of their respective owners. Humor theories and the physiological benefits of laughter. Positive humor was found to buffer the impact of work stress on mental health, as well as to promote more effective functioning on the job. So far, youve read about some other attempts to explain the cognitive/mental processes behind the phenomenon of humor. Maybe it's a toilet brush, maybe it isn't. One says to the other: Does this taste funny to you?. The use of humor in medicine has also been studied from the perspective of healthcare workers. Ostrower, C. (2015). Incongruity theory o An example of the incongruity theory of humor takes place during the waterpark scene in the movie Grown Ups (Dennis Dugan, 2010). I went to buy some camouflage pants the other day but I couldnt find any. More specific workplace benefits of humor included lower stress, burnout, and subordinate work withdrawal, and increased coping effectiveness, health, team cohesion, and job performance and satisfaction. We struggle to understand why. They then proceed to pour their drink over you. Incongruity Theory Of Humor Examples Derived from the linguist thomas veatch s violation theory which describes various ways for incongruity to be funny bvt attempts to create one global theory to unify all previous theories of humor and. Humor plays an essential role in buffering the impact of stress and is important for positive wellbeing among both children and seniors. In this way, humor results from feelings of triumph over the errors or misfortune of others, which promotes self-enhancement and feelings of superiority. https://youtu.be/4K8EH0GAA9Q (0:0 - 1:34) The clip begins with a group of women staring at an attractive, muscular man across the waterpark. The joke teller does not do as expected and supplies a clever homonym to who in the sound hoo. Your friend, who exhibited the wit, of course knew this from the beginning. But not for them. Once again, something funnysomething incongruousmakes clear to us the difference between the world as it really, simply is and how we perceive it. (2009). First, relief theory focuses primarily on the motivational mechanisms of interpersonal needs, positing that humor provides relief of tension. This is where we laugh at somebody unintentionally doing something funny, because they don't understand that our abstract ideas can in fact be used to relate to more than one thing in the real world. The role of coping humor in the physical and mental health of older adults. Maiolino, N., & Kuiper, N. (2016). Humor also may function as an adaptive ego defense by enabling people to perceive the comical absurdity in highly challenging situations. As is widely known, theories of humour are traditionally divided in three branches: (1) Theories of incongruity, or inconsistency, or contradiction, or bisociation. In the first part, we learn the various theories of humor, and learn that the author favors Incongruity Theory (i.e. For example, during the Holocaust, victims reported using humor in ghettos, concentration, and death camps to better cope with extreme trauma and adversity (Ostrower, 2015). Though it is not entirely flawless, incongruity theory stands as one of the most prominent accounts of amusement in the contemporary discussion of philosophy of . Along the same lines . Inside of a dog its too dark to read. Trust me, it'll make it simpler in the long run! There are five different theories that categorize the different reasons why find things humorous. We can give two forms to the claims of the superiority theory of humor: (1) the strong claim holds that all humor involves a feeling of superiority, and (2) the weak claim suggests that feelings of superiority are frequently found in many cases of humor. Humor as character strength and its relation to life satisfaction and happiness in Autism Spectrum Disorders. He would giggle with sheer delight. Quoted in Huemer n.d. Really almost any placid, extraordinarily dry, joke from Wright might stand as a counter-example to the Relief theory. In comedy, this often means that any kind of logic or familiarity is going to be replaced with something entirely different. It says that we are nding humor in perceiving something unexpected (incongruous) that violates expectations that were set up by the joke. One is called 'wit' and the other 'folly'. Talbot, L., & Lumden, D. (2000). Cooper, C., & Sosik, J. This is a practical application of the theory. When is a coping technique seen as a way to manage, and when is it seen as a defense mechanism? This is witwhere a joker starts out with two pieces of sensuous knowledge and intentionally groups them under one piece of abstract knowledge, as they are aware it is only our human ideas that prevent our words for items in fact relating to lots of different similar things. In the second, the author discusses the debate over whether humor is an emotional experience, or something else. This page titled 2.4: Got IT?- Introducing Incongruity Theory is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Michael K. Cundall, Jr. (Lighthearted Philosophers' Society) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request. THEORIES OF HUMOR IN THE MOVIE STEP BROTHERS 4 Another theory visible in Step Brothers is the incongruity theory. for an online course and found your article really helpful.Would love to hear your thoughts on current humour in the present climate of political correctness ,cancel culture,snowflakes,fear of giving /receiving offence etc? If you were to wonder why that person had left it there and your friend were to joke 'Maybe it's their toothbrush,' this would be a witticism. There are numerous positive benefits of humor, such as enhanced positive mood, life satisfaction, self-esteem, job performance, creativity, social bonding, and. This play then leads to a feeling of delight in the form of humor or mirth. Describes the works of dermot bolger, e.m. forster, and kazuo ishiguro. Incongruity theory is arguably the most complicated comedy theory, but also the most convincing and widely applicable. How is this word play an incongruity? Engaging in a humor exercise is associated with a positive mood (Edwards, 2013) and positive cognitive appraisals (Maiolino & Kuiper, 2016). The question alone is utterly nonsensical. . But what matters here is that something is at odds with another. School-age children talking about humor: Data from focus groups. The belief that laughter heals the mind has been around for centuries. Lovorn, M. (2008). ("full resolution") b) Resolution makes the original incongruity less incongruous. If my son had substituted an adjective or conjunction it would have been odd. Along with the Holocaust, dark humor has been used as a coping and survival mechanism across a broad range of life-threatening situations. Most texts will package the three main theories of humor comprehension in a sort of triumvirate that includes the superiority, release, and incongruity theories as the main contenders. Superiority theory, relief/arousal theory, and incongruity theory, propose different reasons as to what makes a situation humorous. The joke makes sense, if in a different or atypical way. As an important high-level cognitive activity, humor plays a crucial role in human social life. First the doctor told me the good news: I was going to have a disease named after me. Once they begin college, humor is predictive of better college adjustment (Hickman & Crossland, 2004). From the audience, you shout "You're on fire!" Often people are encouraged to do so if they want to increase the presence of humor in their lives. other humor theories began to challenge the dom-inance of the superiority theory: the relief theory and the incongruity theory. Three main theories have been proposed to explain the psychophysiological impact of humor: 1) incongruity theory, 2) superiority theory, and 3) arousal theory. Along with helping to promote resilience and cope with stress and illness, humor also serves as an invaluable strength associated with various indices of psychological wellbeing, work-related benefits, learning, and creativity. Give yourself a pat on the back! The comedian isnt giving enough clues to indicate that this is supposed to be funny. Superiority Theory. They have to understand what the rhyme overall means. This seems fairto think about something as a human is to have a certain understanding or perception of that thing. The barman says Sorry we dont serve food in here.. Ostrower (2015, p. 184) describes humor coping within this context as a defense mechanism that under the nightmare circumstances of living in the ghettos and camps during the Holocaust, laughter was a form of rebellion against reality. The concepts involved must be related in some way or else the audience will be confused. In the first chapter, I summarize historical and contemporary theories, and show how each either 1) fails to give any definition of humor, 2) fails as a theory of humor, and/or 3) underappreciates, dismisses, Accessibility StatementFor more information contact us atinfo@libretexts.orgor check out our status page at https://status.libretexts.org. The LibreTexts libraries arePowered by NICE CXone Expertand are supported by the Department of Education Open Textbook Pilot Project, the UC Davis Office of the Provost, the UC Davis Library, the California State University Affordable Learning Solutions Program, and Merlot. Therefore, it is suggested that the absence of detrimental humor is equally important to the presence of prosocial humor styles (Martin, 2019). Sensuous knowledge refers to the world as it exists from no perspective at all. Internalizing criticism erodes self-esteem, a process that may be inhibited by a good sense of humor. So far so good for IT. The predictive nature of humor, authoritative parenting style, and academic achievement on indices of initial adjustment and commitment to college among college freshmen. This idea is borne out by research such as that by Liu (2012), who conducted a study with undergraduate students in Hong Kong. However, from a neutral unshaped perspective, it is simply a brush. Instead, laughter occurs in response to unexpected punchlines or those that go against usual patterns (Wilkins & Eisenbraun, 2009). Remember, regardless of whether we are talking about wit or folly, what makes us laugh is the incongruity we realise exists between abstract and sensuous knowledge. The humor in a pun is the surprise in discovering the dual meaning, or perhaps embarrassment in having chosen the wrong meaning first. In this respect, humor serves as both a defense mechanism and a way of coping with adversity. Relief theory maintains that laughter is a homeostatic mechanism by which psychological tension is reduced. (2014). If you can figure it out, please skip the rest of this paragraph, but there may be more incongruities than you initially think. In M. W. Gallagher & S. J. Lopez (Eds.). At least not the clocks I know. For example, research by Ganz and Jacobs (2014) indicated that attending a humor therapy workshop was associated with positive mental health outcomes among seniors. By Steve Buissinne, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. Think about whats required for you to get a joke. Sense of humor, stable affect, and psychological well-being. They lean too close to a candle and their sleeve catches fire. There are several theories that aim to explain why things are funny, how laughter works and why exactly we do it. The Theories of Humor and Laughter. Humor in the classroom also is believed to promote social and emotional development among children (Lovorn, 2008), and we share a few ideas in our article Activities to Stimulate Emotional Development. The realisation our abstract knowledge isn't able to fully link to/account for sensuous knowledge is pleasurable to us because abstract knowledge is an exhausting filter through which to see the world. The IT is still the best working theory out there that has general acceptance. Top humor theories are described, along with the role of humor as both a defense mechanism and character strength. If you dont find yourself laughing nearly enough, here are six things you can do: Two cannibals are eating a clown. Philosophers are a notoriously surly bunchheck, even our patron saint, Socrates, did his best to show everyone was wrongand that landed him a heaping glassful of hemlock juice, which isnt too helpful if living is your goal. But then the coda of the joke, in attempting to explain the answer muddies the conceptual space. . There are 3 main theories used to explain the functions of humor: (1) the relief theory, (2) the incongruity theory, and (3) the superiority theory. The next day, it transpires they have broken into the teacher's office and found it out by stealing the information from the test answers, where you simply meant them to Google it. Incongruity denotes the incoherence between the interpretation of two parts of a joke, namely, its setup and punchline. It is a combination of all three concepts that attempts to fully encapsulate the complex subject of racial comedy. Without it, IT isnt much. Cambridge University Press is committed by its charter to disseminate knowledge as widely as possible across the globe. 2, surprised and amused (and sometimes offended) the public by breaking with the expectation that an artist's job was to . Happiness and humor group promotes life satisfaction for senior center participants. 1970 Royal Institute of Philosophy Participants were categorized into either high or low sense of humor groups. Similarly, in their review, Stieger, Formann, and Burger (2011) reported that self-defeating humor was linked to depression and loneliness, whereas self-enhancing humor was related to beneficial outcomes. For example, you could buy five pigs. These findings have been supported by other research studies, such as that by Maiolino and Kuiper (2016), who investigated the ability of humor to predict positive outcomes. In fact, when you get a joke, so the objection goes, there is no incongruity at all. Bizarre or absurd as types of incongruity are a bit more difficult to describe as they are, well, bizarre, but they are definitely further refinements, or subsets of the incongruous. As with other forms of illness, it is logical to propose that humor enhances coping among individuals dealing with mental health issues. Built with love in the Netherlands. Incongruity is a mismatch between what we see or understand to be true and what we (consciously or unconsciously) expected. Ok, that wasnt simple. It surely has some and we will briefly cover those next. Wanzer, M., Booth-Butterfield, M., & Booth-Butterfield, S. (2005). The researchers found that greater wellbeing was related to affiliative and self-enhancing humor, whereas reduced wellbeing was linked to aggressive and self-defeating humor (Maiolino & Kuiper, 2016). Many of these journals are the leading academic publications in their fields and together they form one of the most valuable and comprehensive bodies of research available today. Babies can go from laughing to crying in no time when being tickled [9]. While there is a paucity of research addressing humor among older people, there is some evidence of its potential to enhance the quality of life within this group. This objection, if true, radically undermines IT. Incongruity Theory. they are based on some objective characteristics of a humorous text or other act (situation, event, picture, etc.). Adaptive humor is linked with increased stable positive mood and decreased stable negative mood (Cann & Collette, 2014). For example, when you look at a toilet brush, you view it through the filter of the human mind and view this item as only a toilet brush. This joke would have found itself quite at home in some of Lewis Carrolls works. If we didnt use humor, wed cry: Humorous coping communication in health care settings. Contributions of humor as perceived by the terminally ill. Hickman, G., & Crossland, G. (2004). Incongruity theory, which focuses on the cognitive mechanisms of perception and interpretation, posits that it is the perceptions of incongruity that explain humor (Martin & Ford, 2018). The joke uses the idea of a surrealist (artists who tried to pair together ideas that were often extremely different) in order to get the listener to be prepared for absurdities. Abstract knowledge refers to the way we understand things through our human filtersour words for things in the world and the categories we assign them into. Humor's Bad Reputation 2. Truth plays an important role as well: The juxtaposition of the two things often gives people a new insight into a familiar situation, he notes. For example, in a famous scene on the Mary Tyler Moore Show, Mary is distressed by the death of Chuckles the Clown, who, while dressed as a peanut, was killed by an elephant in a circus parade.