Psychology and Humor by Don L F Nilsen
Psychology and Humor by Don L. F. Nilsen and Alleen Pace Nilsen 1
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What is normal? 3
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Emotions: Anger & Fear 6
Real Fear 7
Surprise & Skepticism 8
Curiosity 9
Love 10
Sadness 11
Desire 12
Smugness 13
Anticipation: Birds & Snakes 14
Coffee-Induced Emotions 15
Android Emotions 16
Happiness 17
Happiness The Happiness Machine: http: //www. youtube. com/watch_popup? v=lq. T_d. PApj 9 U 18
Surprise 19
Emotions: Narcicism & Sexy Face 20
Goofiness (Allen Klein) 21
But the important thing is balance: 22
Modern Humans Scholars separate modern humans from primitive humans by giving them these three characteristics: • Homo Erectus (upright human) • Homo Sapiens (thinking human) • Homo Ridens (laughing human) 23
The Id, the Super Ego, and Tendentious Jokes • Willibald Ruch says that the Id is a reflection of our desires and drives. • The Super Ego is a reflection of society and parental influence. The Super Ego forces not to do things that are socially unacceptable. It doesn’t allow the direct expression of sexual and hostile impulses. • Ruch concludes that individuals repressing their sexuality or aggression should show a preference for sexual and aggressive jokes. 24
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Traits, States, and Behaviors Seriousness vs. Playfulness • TRAITS: A “serious person” wants to function exclusively in the bona fide mode of communication. This is not true for a “playful person. ” • STATES: We can be in a serious or pensive mood, or a silly mood. • BEHAVIORS: We can tell a joke or clown around. 26
States • Playful Mood = Cheerful, Hilarious • Serious Mood = Earnest, Pensive, Sober • Bad Mood = Sadness, Melancholy, Ill-Humor 27
Moods (States) • Willibald Ruch says that an ill-humored person, like a serious one, may not want to be involved in humor. However person in a sad mood may not be able to do so even if he or she would like to. • While the sad person is not antagonistic to a cheerful group, the ill-humored one may be. • Bad mood is also associated with certain forms of humor, such as mockery, irony, cynicism, and sarcasm. ” 28
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Salience 30
Types of Humor • Ruch says that “Affiliative Humor” involves the tendency to say funny things, to tell jokes, and to engage in spontaneous witty banter. • “Self-Enhancing Humor” is a coping mechanism. • “Aggressive Humor” involves sarcasm, teasing, ridicule, derision, put-downs or disparagement. • “Self-Defeating Humor” is when people allow themselves to be the butt of other people’s jokes. 31
Non-Enjoyment Smiles Differ in Appearance Ruch says that people smile for a variety of reasons, for example, when they are: • enjoying a disgusting or frightening film, • masking negative emotions of sadness, anger, or fear, • flirting, • feeling sadistic pleasure, • embarrassed, • complying to something contemptuous, • have mixed emotions, • feel under social pressure. 32
Children Smiling 33
Ruch has described various “Humor Styles. ” Think about comedians you know. Tell us about a comedian who fits the description on the left vs. someone who fits into the right column. Socially Warm vs. Reflective vs. Competent vs. Earthy vs. Benign vs. Socially Cold Boorish Inept Repressed Mean-Spirited 34
Laughter • Robert Provine says that most laughter is not a response to jokes or other formal attempts at humor. • Salvatore Attardo adds that laughter may be caused by all sorts of non-humorous stimuli including tickling, laughing gas, and embarrassment. • It can also be triggered by watching or hearing other people laugh, which is why sound tracks were invented to help radio audiences get into a laughing mood. 35
Tom Mullica: Smoking Magic Card Trick: http: //maggiesfarm. anotherdotcom. com/archives/17251 -Theres-A-Card. Trick-In-There-Somewhere. -Lets-Smoke-It-Out. html 36
Laughter 37
• People also laugh when they are in social situations that make them feel anxious, ignorant, or apologetic. It could be a sign of false bravado by people being teased who want to show they can “take a joke. ” • People never get the giggles, and seldom laugh, when they are alone. We are complimenting someone on e-mail if we tell them, “You made me laugh out loud. ” In reality, we are more likely to have smiled. • Jodi Eisterhold has discussed the “principle of least disruption, ” which “enjoins speakers to return to a serious mode as soon as possible. ” Nevertheless, public speakers like to make the audience laugh because it is an invitation to “come closer” in an emotional sense. 38
LAUGHTER VS. SMILING • Because smiles can sometimes evolve into laughs and laughs can taper off into smiles, some people think that laughter is merely a form of exaggerated smiling. • However, smiles are more likely to express feelings of satisfaction or good will, while laughter comes from surprise or a recognition of an incongruity. • Furthermore, laughter is basically a public event while smiling is basically a private event. 39
Perspective 40
Different Philosophers Have Different Points of View 41
PHILOSOPHERS’ STATEMENTS ABOUT LAUGHTER • Throughout time, philosophers have made many statements about laughter that are not true of smiling. • Each one has defined laughter in a different way as shown in this chronological listing. THOMAS HOBBES: Laughter is the sudden glory arising from the sudden conception of some eminency in ourselves, by comparison with the infirmity of others. Leviathan, 1651 42
IMMANUEL KANT: Laughter is an affection arising from a strained expectation being suddenly reduced to nothing. The Critique of Judgment, 1790 WILLIAM HAZLITT: The essence of the laughable is the incongruous, the disconnecting one idea from another, or the jostling of one feeling against another. Lecture on the Comic Writers, Etc. of Great Britain, 1819. ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER: The phenomenon of laughter always signifies the sudden apprehension of an incongruity between a conception and the real object. The World as Will and Idea, 1844 43
Henri Bergson: Something mechanical encrusted on the living causes laughter. Laughter, 1900 Sigmund Freud: Laughter arises from the release of previously existing static energy. Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious, 1905 44
Psychology, Magic and Selective Attention COLOR-CHANGING CARD TRICK: http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=asx. Ut. X 8 Hyd 4&feature=related Selective Attention Test # 1: http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=v. JG 698 U 2 Mvo Selective Attention Test # 2 http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=ub. NF 9 QNEQLA 45
James Agee classified laughter into six categories Incipient or Inner, Inaudible Laugh Loud and Unrestrained • THE HOWL • THE SIMPER • THE YOWL • THE SMIRK • THE SHRIEK • THE OLYMPIAN LAUGH 46
TICKLING • People who laugh from being tickled are not necessarily put in a more receptive mood for enjoying the humor in jokes because laughing from being tickled occurs in a part of the brain different from where laughter that is intellectually stimulated occurs. • People cannot tickle themselves because the cerebellum in the lower back of the brain somehow sends an interfering message to the part of the brain that controls laughter. 47
FINAL CONTRAST OF LAUGHTER AND SMILING Anthony Chapman did a study in which he compared the actions of a group of children who knew they were being observed with a group who did not know they were being observed. The children who knew they were being watched laughed four times as often as did those in the other group. However, they smiled only half as much. 48
A PARADOX • Chapman concluded that laughter can be good or bad, depending on the situation. • But he also concluded that humor is both the cause for laughter, and the result of laughter. • This is why in people’s minds, humor and laughter are so closely associated. 49
Dark Psychology by “banksy” 50
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New Yorker Cartoonists Therapy Session http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Wdts_HG 7 e 2 Y 52
Mary Kay Morrison 53
Elliott Oring 54
Willibald Ruch 55
A Rorschach Joke • PSYCHIATRIST: “What does this picture remind you of? ” • PATIENT: • “Sex. ” 56
PSYCHIATRIST: “And this picture? ” PATIENT: “Sex. ” 57
• PSYCHIATRIST: • “And this picture? ” • PATIENT: • “Sex. ” 58
• PSYCHIATRIST: • “And these pictures? ” • PATIENT: • “Sex. ” 59
PATIENT: “What are you writing down. ” PSYCHIATRIST: “That you have many sexual fantasies? ” PATIENT: “Why me? You’re the guy with all of the dirty pictures. ” 60
Motivation: Profit vs. Purpose Why Facebook, Google, Internet, Skype, Southwest Airlines and Wikipedia are so Successful: http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=u 6 XAPnu. Fj. Jc&feature=relmfu 61
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