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Humor Theories

Humor Theories. by Don L. F. Nilsen and Alleen Pace Nilsen. THE NATURE OF HUMOR. FEATURES = CHARACTERISTICS FUNCTIONS = THE PURPOSE(S) SUBJECTS = THE TOPIC(S). AN IMPORTANT FEATURE OF HUMOR IS INCONGRUITY AND INCONGRUITY RES0LUTION. Consider an umbrella in a severe rain and wind storm.

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Humor Theories

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  1. Humor Theories by Don L. F. Nilsen and Alleen Pace Nilsen

  2. THE NATURE OF HUMOR • FEATURES = CHARACTERISTICS • FUNCTIONS = THE PURPOSE(S) • SUBJECTS = THE TOPIC(S)

  3. AN IMPORTANT FEATURE OF HUMOR IS INCONGRUITY AND INCONGRUITY RES0LUTION • Consider an umbrella in a severe rain and wind storm. • We feel tension until we put things right—at least in our mind’s eye—as with the kitten on the next slide.

  4. Machinification: Monorail LOL Cat

  5. Other Features of Humor • Ambiguity • Exaggeration • Understatement • Hostility • Incongruity or Irony • Situation-Insight • Sudden Insight • Superiority • Surprise or Shock • Tension and Relief • A Trick or Twist • Word Play • Visual Imagery

  6. Metaphor: “Pool Table” Features: • Ambiguity • Sudden Insight • Surprise • Visual Imagery • Word Play

  7. Pun: “Eye Pod” Features • Ambiguity • Incongruity • Surprise • Visual Imagery • Word Play

  8. A century ago, philosopher Thomas Hobbes said that an important feature of humor was laughing at those we feel are inferior to us. This was known as the “Superiority Theory.” • Later philosophers, including Frances Hutcheson, argue that what we are really laughing about is incongruity. • We do not go to asylums to laugh at the “inferior” beings, nor do we laugh at animals unless they resemble human beings. • We laugh at someone who slips on a banana peel not because we feel superior, but because of the incongruity between our expectations and the sudden insight.

  9. “The Rule of Three” is another common feature of humor illustrated in this cartoon.

  10. Functions of Humor PSYCHOLOGICAL • To amuse • To establish superiority • To gain control • To persuade • To save face • To test limits • To inbond/outbond INTELLECTUAL • To amuse • To teach • To make connections • To compare two scripts—one metaphorical, one straight-forward

  11. An Important Literary Function relates to Double Entendre. • “The text of a joke is always fully or in part compatible with two distinct scripts and the two scripts are opposed to each other in a special way.” • “The punch line triggers the switch from the one script to the other by making the hearer backtrack and realize that a different interpretation [of the joke] was possible from the very beginning.” Attardo and Raskin [1991] 308

  12. A Real-Life Example of the Usefulness of Two Scripts

  13. Accidental humor occurs when the creator and the receiver have different scripts in mind.

  14. The impossibility in this picture causes tension, until we realize that it is a joke.

  15. The Function of Disparaging Oneself. Self-disparagement humor illustrates how it is not always easy to recognize the functions of humor. On the surface, it appears to be humbling oneself, but oftentimes the mock-humility really puts the speaker in a position of power as in these commercials: • Terminex Pest Control: “When you think of pests, think of us.” • Twist Lemon-Menthol Cigarettes: “Our new menthol is a lemon.”

  16. Champion International Trend Carpet: “Eight million people walked all over us. And they don’t even know our name.” • Quaker Oats as a diet food: “Quaker Oats: Breakfast of losers.” • Simmons bunk beds: “Simmons beds are a lot of bunk.”

  17. Educators Use Humor To: • Relax Students • Teach Facts • Argue and Persuade • Teach Vocabulary Concepts • Teach Careful Observation • Model Problem Solving

  18. This Egg-to-Bird picture first causes tension, followed by a smile of relief as we “catch on.”

  19. Real vs. Unreal • This is an amusing lesson in careful observation. • What are the clues that it is a painting? • Were such paintings precursors to today’s PhotoShop fun?

  20. SUBJECTS OF HUMOR The subjects we joke about are the very subjects that we hesitate to talk about in real life. To test out the attitudes of new friends, we often send up “trial balloons” disguised as jokes. • Ethnic Identification • Politics • Sexual Roles and Scatology • Occupations • Religion and Belief Systems

  21. What subjects do the two fish shapes on this car speak to?

  22. Jokes Reveal Current Areas of Social Discomfort OLD TABOOS • Vulgarities • Swear Words • Body Parts • Sex • Religion • Obscenities NEW TABOOS • Lack of Patriotism • GLBTQ Issues • Disabilities • Ethnicities • Old People

  23. The epiphany comes in this political joke with the explanation that the maple leaf design is a silhouette of Jack and Jacque arguing over English vs. French.

  24. Hate Speech Vs. Humor • In conclusion, the subject matter that people choose to joke about goes a long ways in determining whether they are using humor as release of moderate levels of discomfort, or whether they are really engaging in “hate-speech” disguised as humor.

  25. HUMOR WEB SITES AMERICAN COMEDY ARCHIVES (JENNI MATZ): www.emerson.edu/comedy THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF PLAY: http://www.tasplay.org COMEDY ARCHIVES (JENNI MATZ): http://www.greaterboston.tv/features/gb_20060509_comedy.html COMEDY USA (BARRY WEINTRAUB): www.comedyusa.com THE HUMOR COLLECTION (RUTH HAMILTON): www.thehumorcollection.org

  26. HUMOR MATTERS (STEVE SULTANOFF): http://www.humormatters.com THE HUMOR PROJECT (JOEL GOODMAN): www.HumorProject.com INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF HUMOR STUDIES (MARTIN LAMPERT): www.humorstudies.org ISHS HISTORICAL SITE (DON NILSEN): http://www.uni-duesseldorf.de/WWW/MathNat/Ruch/SecretaryPage.html

  27. LAUGHING JAPAN (TILL WEINGAERTNER): http://www.tillchan.typepad.com/laughing MIRTH: HUMOR AND LAUGHTER IN TEACHING (RON BERK): www.mirthium.com PARENTING HUMOR (TIM BETE): http://www.TimBete.com A PLAYFUL PATH TO WHOLENESS (BERNIE DEKOVEN): http://www.deepfun.com SNIGLETS (RICH HALL): http://www.ziplink.net/users/wood/funny/snigglets.html

  28. References (2000-2012): Attardo, Salvatore. “The General Theory of Verbal Humor, Twenty Years After.” HUMOR: International Journal of Humor Research 24-2 (2011): 123. Attardo, Salvatore. Linguistic Theories of Humor. Berlin, Germany: Walter de Gruyter, 1994. Attardo, Salvatore. “A Primer for the Linguistics of Humor” in Raskin 2007, 101-156. Attardo, Salvatore, and Lucy Pickering. “Timing in the Performance of Jokes.” HUMOR: International Journal of Humor Research 24.2 (2011): 233-250. Beeman, William O. “Humor.” Journal of Linguistic Anthropology 9.2 (2000): 1-4.

  29. Bell, Nancy D., Scott Crossley, and Christian F. Hempelmann. “Wordplay in Church Marquees.” HUMOR: International Journal of Humor Research 24.2 (2011): 187-202. Berger, Arthur Asa. Blind Men and Elephants: Perspectives on Humor. Paperback: Edison, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 2010. Cann, Arnie, and Katherine C. Etzel. “Remembering and Anticipating Stressors: Positive Personality Mediates the Relationship with Sense of Humor.” HUMOR 21.2 (2008): 157-178. Chafe, Wallace L. The Importance of Not Being Earnest: The Feeling Behind Laughter and Humor. Amsterdam, Netherlands: John Benjamins, 2007. Critchley, Simon. On Humor. New york, NY: Routledge, 2002.

  30. Davies, Christie. “Logical Mechanisms: A Critique.” HUMOR: International Journal of Humor Research 24.2 (2011): 159-166. Doloff, Steven. “Racism and the Risks of Ethnic Humor” (Eschholz 273-275). Eschholz, Paul, Alfred Rosa, and Virginia Clark. “The Power of the Mass Media.” Language Awareness: Readings for College Writers, 10th Edition. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. Ferguson, Mark A., and Thomas E. Ford. “Disparagement Humor: A Theoretical and Empirical review of Psychoanalytic, Superiority, and Social Identity Theories.” HUMOR 21.3 (2008): 283-312. Frewen, Paul A., Jaylene Brinker, Rod A. Martin, and David J. A. Dozois. “Humor Styles and Personality-Vulnerability to Depression.” HUMOR 21.2 (2008): 179-196.

  31. Galloway, Graeme. “Humor and Ad Liking: Evidence that Sensation Seeking Moderates the Effects of Incongruity-Resolution Humor.” Psychology and Marketing 26.9 (2009): 779-792. Galloway, Graeme and Danielle Chirico. “Personality and Humor Appreciation: Evidence of an Association between Trait Neuroticism and Preferences for Structural Features of Humor.” HUMOR 21.2 (2008): 129-142. Hempelmann, Christian F., and Salvatore Attardo. “Resolutions and Their Incongruities: Further Thoughts on Logical Mechanisms.” HUMOR: International Journal of Humor Research 24-2 (2011): 125-140. Martin, G. Neil, Sharon J. Sadler, Clare E. Barrett, and Alison Beaven. “Measuring Responses to Humor: How the Testing Context Affects Individuals’ Reaction to Comedy.” HUMOR 21.2 (2008): 143-156.

  32. Martin, Rod A. The Psychology of Humor: An Integrative Approach. London, England: Elsevier, 2007. Mauldin, R. Kirk. “Alienation: A Laughing Matter.” HUMOR 21.3 (2008): 313-346. Mey, Jacob L. Pragmatics: An Introduction. New York, NY: Blackwell, 2001. Meyer, John C. “Humor as a Double-Edged Sword: Four Functions of Humor in Communication.” Communication Theory 10 (2000): 310-331. Morreall, John. “Philosophy and Religion” in Raskin 2008, 233.

  33. Morteinson, Peter. “Thoughts on the Current State of Humor Theory.” Comedy Studies 1.2 (2010): 173-180. Nilsen, Alleen Pace, and Don L. F. Encyclopedia of 20th Century American Humor. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx, 2000. Nilsen, Alleen Pace, and Don L. F. Nilsen. “Humor.” The New Dictionary of the History of Ideas: Volume 3. Ed. Maryanne Cline Horowitz. New York, NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2005, 1061-1064. Oring, Elliott. Engaging Humor. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2003. Oring, Elliott. “Humor in Anthropology and Folklore.” in The Primer of Humor Research, in Raskin 2008, 183-211.

  34. Oring, Elliott. Jokes and Their Relations New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 1992 (reissued, 2010). Oring, Elliott. “Parsing the Joke: The General Theory of Verbal Humor and Appropriate Incongruity.” HUMOR: International Journal of Humor Research 24.2 (2011): 203-222. Oring, Elliott. “Still Further Thoughts on Logical Mechanisms: A Response to Christian F. Hempelmann and Salvatore Attardo.” HUMOR: International Journal of Humor Research. 24.2 (2011): 151-158. Payne, David A. Superiority vs. Incongruity Theories of Humor: A Critical Test Conducted in the Context of Friendships. Unpublished Master’s Thesis, Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii, 2001. Perks, Lisa Glebatis. “The Ancient Roots of Humor Theory.” HUMOR: International Journal of Humor Research. 25.2 (2012): 119-132 Petrenko, Maxim S. Narrative Joke: Conceptual Structure and Linguistic Manifestations. Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University, 2008.

  35. Popa, Diana, and Salvatore Attardo. New Approaches to the Linguistics of Humour. Galati, Romania: Dunarea de Jos University Press, 2007. Raskin, Victor, ed. Primer of Humor Research. New York, NY: Mouton de Gruyter, 2008. Raskin, Victor. “On Oring on GTVH.” HUMOR: International Journal of Humor Research 24.2 (2011): 223-232. Raskin, Victor. “Theory of Humor and Practice of Humor Research: Editor’s Notes and Thoughts.” in Raskin (2008) 1-16. Rawlings, David. “Relating Humor Preference to Schizotypy and Autism Scores in a Student Sample.” HUMOR 21.2 (2008): 197-220.

  36. Samson, Andrea C., and Christian F. Hempelmann. “Humor with Backgrounded Incongruity: Does More Required Suspension of Disbelief Affect Humor Perception? HUMOR: International Journal of Humor Research 24.2 (2011): 167-186. Triezenberg, Katrina. “Humor in Literature” in Raskin [2008]: 523-542. Veale, Tony. “Incongruity in Humor: Root Cause or Epiphenomenon?” HUMOR: International Journal of Humor Research 17.4 (2004): 419-428. Viana, Amadeu. “Asymmetry in Script Opposition.” HUMOR: International Journal of Humor Research 23.4 (2010): 505-526. Wimer, David J., and Bernard C. Beins. “Expectations and Perceived Humor.” HUMOR 21.3 (2008): 347-364.

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