Nnntheories of humor pdf

At the beginning of this series, i observed that it was common to divide theories of humour. Human communication is an ostensiveinferential process, in which the hearer tries to seek the intended relevance by selecting different context assumptions. They worship the worship, too, for the only thing cooler than having a sense of humor is to know that you have such a thing and that it really matters. I had high hopes going into it of an interesting read, but it just didnt deliver. Thus, for example, john morreall says that humor always involves the enjoyment of a perceived or imagined incongruity morreall 1987b, 6, and michael clark writes.

Incongruity humor as a reaction to stimuli that contradict existing knowledge. It may be helpful to explicate further certain elements of this fundamental postulate. Victor raskins scriptbased theory of jokes ssth in his semantic mechanisms of humor. Some of the dos and donts, advantages and disadvantages of developingusing a humor philosophy or strategy in teaching will be discussed. The second main avenue of research on humor has been from an incongruity perspective. About half of all ads around the globe are considered either funny or lighthearted. Selfdisparagement humor illustrates how it is not always easy to recognize the functions of humor. The worshippers who kneel at the altar of humor never cease to marvel at the unique capacity humans have to make others laugh. Humor now refers to all forms of laughter, including jokes, standup comedy, television sitcoms, political satire, and ridicule. The philosophical study of humor has been focused on the development of a satisfactory definition of humor, which until recently has been treated as roughly coextensive with laughter.

He is the author of the rhetoric of humor, part of the bedford spotlight reader series, and the coeditor of the great recession in fiction, film, and television. Relevance theory proposes a hypothesis of relevance in human communication. Theories of humor in the wider sense are attempts to solve this problem. In 1957, the bbc aired a short documentary about a mild winter leading to a bumper swiss spaghetti crop in the town of ticino. Monros theories of humor michigan state university. Therefore, the goal of finding a precise scientific formula for funny remains elusive. The characterization of women through the telling of dirty jokes in ally mcbeal.

Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. This paper provides a tool for catego rizing functions of humor, and uses this tool to highlight statistically some interesting patterns in the humor of new zealand men and women. Todays humor research draws on elements of these primary theories and remixes them. Philosophy of humor stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. Humor, laughter, and those aha moments harvard medical school. There are 3 main theories used to explain the functions of humor. I believe that even though his observations were correct, there is something essentially right about the idea that the humorous has to do with the incongruous. This book is not a particularly funny readthough it has its momentsbut it is a. Marteinson 2006 asserts that laughter is a reaction to a cognitive impasse, a momentary epistemological difficulty, in which the subject perceives that social being itself suddenly appears no longer to be real in any factual or normative sense. The proportions of these fluids dictated the health and disposition or temperament of a person. The philosophy of humour yoking together of man and animal creates the kind of mismatch or contradiction that is often present in humour. Introduction to the psychology of humor w e all know what it is like to experience humor. Humor makes ads memorable humor is a common element in advertising, as shown below. David hector monro 19112001 pdf, professor of philosophy at monash university, victoria, australia, wrote the argument of laughter and godwins moral.

A relevance theoretic analysis of verbal humor in the big. Laughter is a distinctive, stereotyped pattern of vocalization that is easily rec2 1 introduction to the psychology of humor ch001p372564. Martin university of western ontario london, ontario. It is a short book, at just a little over 100 pages, and that is with plenty of drawings and graphs. Three traditional theories of laughter and humor are examined, along with the theory that humor evolved from mockaggressive play in apes. John allen paulos has written a number of books on mathematics, and mathematics and humor was his first, published originally in 1980.

It has been accepted for inclusion in faculty journal articles by an authorized administrator of bucknell digital commons. So this english professor comes into class and starts talking about the textual organization of jokes, the taxonomy of puns, the relations between the linguistic form and the content of humorous texts, and other past. The theory of the four humors centers around the belief that the body is made up of four fluids. Three traditional theories of laughter and humor are examined, along. The main task is to develop an adequate theory of just what humor is. From wikipedia, the free encyclopedia there are many theories of humor which attempt to explain what humor is, what social functions it serves, and what would be considered humorous.

Someone tells a joke, relates an amusing personal anecdote, makes a witty comment or an inadvertent slip of the tongue, and we are suddenly struck by how funny it is. Discover the best theories of humor in best sellers. Around half of all ads globally make use of humor it is not surprising that advertisers invoke humor, as it can make a big contribution to an ads memorability. The theory of superiority explains why we find things like the forever alone meme funny because we take some joy in making fun of others. Sep 29, 2014 the bvt integrates seemingly disparate theories of humor to predict that humor occurs when three conditions are satisfied. Although the role of humor in interpersonal relationships is well documented in research in anthropology, linguistics or psychology, it is rarely applied systematically in analyses.

Approaches to the sense of humor humour summer school. Humour a synthesis of philosophical, psychological, and. Wit is the cognitive experience, mirth the emotional experience, laughter the physiological experience. Humor and laughter are a universal aspect of human experience, occurring in all cultures and virtually all individuals throughout the world apte, 1985. The theory was that there were four body fluids referred to as humors and these humors were associated with mood. Toward an empirical verification of the general theory of verbal humor pdf. The use of humor a teaching tool in the college classroom. Laughter and mirth, according to relief theory, result from this release of nervous energy.

This is probably one of the more dismal theories of humor in that it says humans evolved the ability to laugh and make jokes simply in order to feel good about themselves at the expense of others. The best jokes, riddles, tongue twisters, knockknock jokes, and one liners for kids. Relief theory maintains that laughter is a homeostatic mechanism by which psychological tension is reduced. Functions of humor in the conversations of men and women. Depending on how amusing we perceive the stimulus to be, it might cause.

Salvatore attardo linguistic theories of humor pdf keywords. While these theories focus on the specific role that humor plays for people in situations such as dealing with misfortune, making sense of rule violations, and bonding with others, we propose that underlying each of these theories are the. The word humor actually comes from two words, the latin word umor and the in medieval word humor, meaning fluid. This paper presents a theory of humor, that certain psychological state which tends to produce laughter. Humor theories free download as powerpoint presentation. Interestingly it has been suggested that humanitys capacity for spiritual thought emerged around the same time, and that this may be related to our ability to entertain humour. The onticepistemic theory of humor oetc proposed by p. Arthur koestlers bisociation theory of humour and its reception. Humor also has the power to decrease the desire to counter argue. Contemporary linguistic theories of humour arvo krikmann abstract.

Although most people value humor, philosophers have said little about it, and what they have said is largely critical. R, 2009 humor in general has persuasive power, humorous messages are better at grabbing the audiences attention than non humor it can also increase like ability of. A fourth type of theory, which takes the central feature of humor to be ambivalence, a mingling of. Derogating humor as a delegitimization strategy in intergroup. Also, an unexpected conflict or an inconsistency between two ideas that. Philosophy basic theories of humor flashcards quizlet. Humour and release john llppitt the third article in this series looks at freuds attempt to explain humour and laughter in terms of the release of psychic energy. He has developed several tests for measuring aspects of the sense of humor, which have been translated into numerous languages and have been used by researchers around the world. Kirk boyle is an assistant professor in the department of english at the university of north carolina asheville, where he teaches courses on rhetoric and composition, american literature and culture, modernity studies, and critical theory. They tied her to a tree and started their pot to boiling. The humor occurring in 18 new zealand friendship groups was analyzed according to. Uses donald duck and the representations of huey dewey and louies relationship with their uncle and how they are brought up to believe money matters.

Arousal humor as a physiological and psychological response to the onset of an emotional state. Among the prevailing types of theories that attempt to account for the existence of humor, there are psychological theories, the vast majority of which consider humor. Humor theories and the physiological benefits of laughter. Understanding humor as play helps counter the traditional objections to it and reveals. The science of humor is no laughing matter association. The phonetic forms of laughter ha ha, hehe are strikingly similar across languages as well, which means it sounds the same whether youre at a comedy club in new york city or a bedouin tent in the desert source. Humor, according to relief theory, is used mainly to overcome sociocultural inhibitions. In the present chapter, the author means to discuss three additional theories of humor. So this english professor comes into class and starts talking about the textual organization of jokes, the taxonomy of puns, the relations between the linguistic form and the content of humorous texts, and other past and current topics in languagebased research into humor. This article is brought to you for free and open access by the faculty scholarship at bucknell digital commons. In this article, i consider the standard interpretation of the superiority theory of humor attributed to plato, aristotle, and hobbes, according to which the theory allegedly places feelings of superiority at the center of humor and comic amusement. We often equate laughter with humor, but there are many instances of laughter tickling, nervousness, etc. Types of conversational humour article pdf available in language and linguistics compass 35. The psychology of humor chapter 3 reading notes jim.

But in the brain, at least, the roadmap to raucous laughter is more direct. Interestingly it has been suggested that humanitys capacity for spiritual thought emerged around the same time, and. We also urge prejudice researchers to devote greater attention to humor, ridicule, and joke telling or risk falling into the bigots trap of passing. The impossibility in this picture causes tension, until we realize that it is a joke. Nilsen english department arizona state university tempe, az 852870302 don. Mathematicians reveal secrets of the ancient and universal art of symmetry. He has authored more than 100 scholarly journal articles, books, and book chapters, including the psychology of humor. Humors manifold applications make sense since its as fundamental to human populations as sex. Researcher identifies just 8 patterns as the cause of all. From subculture to counterculture in organizational relations. This paper will also reveal some very real benefits of using humor in the college classroom.

The theory states that humor is fully characterized by three conditions, each of which, separately, is necessary for humor to occur, and all of which, jointly, are sufficient for humor to occur. In a dry, distinguished tone, bbc broadcaster richard dimbleby narrates how even in the last few weeks of march, the spaghetti farmers worry about a late frost, which might not destroy the pasta crop but could damage the flavor and hurt prices. This theory evolved further to include major organs, seasons, elements and primal qualitiesall. Humor may thus for example serve to facilitate relief of the tension caused by ones fears. Humor theory little audrey jokes emerged 1930s basic format. I have chosen to talk about laughter as the physical processes that people seem to emit when interpreting something funny. Psychology of humor willibald ruch zurich open repository and. Chapman, mirian chapmansantana summary humor can be a useful treatment technique in the hands of some psychotherapists. There are many theories of humor which attempt to explain what humor is, what social functions. The term is used with reference to creative humor and to appreciation of jokes.

Feb 03, 2015 accidental humor occurs when the creator and the receiver have different scripts in mind. Humor s manifold applications make sense since its as fundamental to human populations as sex. Both words were medical terms referring temperament or disposition. It may help the patient to see painful life events and situations from less threatening perspectives, and can take the anxiety and guilt out of many difficult circunstances and incidents. This is where, according to fatt, a person is expecting to hear one outcome, but hears another instead. Get an answer for give an example of a humorous introduction in any literary text. Before discussing the topic of humour and its associated words laughter, comedy, jokes, etc it is probably a good idea to be clear about how these words are being used. Term paper on three theories of humor assignment incongruity theory. R, 2009 humor in general has persuasive power, humorous messages are better at grabbing the audiences attention than non humor it can also increase like ability of the humor source and in return make the humor source. An essay explaining humor and its role in expanding western ideals such as capitalism within its own society and others.