In a research by Martin et al. (2003), the development and validation of the Humor Styles Questionnaire was described. The Humor Styles Questionnaire assessed the four dimensions relating to individual differences in the use of humor, namely, affiliative, self-enhancing, aggressive and self-defeating humor. The researchers were of the opinion that in order to study the relationship between humor and psychological health, it is very important to examine the ways in which humor is used by individuals in their daily lives. One of the primary aims of the investigation was to study how an individual’s tendency to use humor as a coping strategy was related to different humor styles. For the purpose, humor styles were studied in relation to other …show more content…
In addition, the Coping Humor Scale was also used to assess humor as a coping strategy. Data for the study was collected from a sample of four hundred and thirty five Lebanese residents. According to the researchers, Lebanon is a collectivist culture in which importance is given to harmony and affiliation whereas hurting someone is avoided (Kazarian, 2005). On the basis of previous findings in the Lebanese context, it was expected that coping humor would be positively correlated with affiliative and self-enhancing humor. It would be positively correlated with self-defeating humor to a lesser degree and would not be correlated with aggressive humor. The inter-correlational analysis revealed that coping humor was significantly and positively correlated with affiliative humor, self-enhancing humor and self-defeating humor. It was found to be uncorrelated with aggressive humor. Moreover, coping humor showed a stronger correlation with self-enhancing humor. The findings suggested that among Lebanese, affiliative humor, self-enhancing humor and to a lesser extent self-defeating humor represented the forms of humor used to cope with stress. According to the researchers, even though the overuse of aggressive and self-defeating humor styles are considered to be maladaptive, individuals may employ these maladaptive humor styles to temporarily enhance their feelings of well-being in stressful situations. Therefore, these results suggest that Lebanese are more likely to use self-defeating humor to enhance their sense of interdependence by permitting others to laugh at
In Dillion’s article, he uses Humor when he quotes Mr. Morrison saying, "I was too wordy, I liked long, convoluted passages rather than simple four-word sentences. And I had a predilection for underlining words and throwing in multiple exclamation points. Finally, Roger threatened to rip the exclamation point off my keyboard" (Dillion 417). This clearly demonstrates humor because ripping someone’s exclamation point off their keyboard seems a bit drastic and of course he was only being sarcastic. When the reader sees this, it brings an amusing vibe to the article instead of a serious tone that the audience has already received in the beginning.
All the time we giggle at individuals in light of the fact that they have some coming up short or deformity, or on the grounds that they discover themselves off guard somehow or endure some little incident. The grumpy person, the epicurean, the lush are every stock figure of parody; so is the henpecked spouse or the man who gets hit with a custard pie. We giggle, as well, at slip-ups: at schoolboy howlers, flawed elocution, awful language structure. These are all genuinely rough illustrations, yet it might be that even the most unpretentious diversion is simply an improvement of this, and that the joy we take in funniness gets from our inclination of predominance over those we giggle at. As indicated by.
In the historical fiction novel, Dead End in Norvelt, by Jack Gantos humor is a recurring element. The novel is based on real events revolving around a 12 year old boy who is grounded all summer, and yet still manages to have the craziest, funniest summer of his life. Humor is seen in many scenes and displayed by many characters. Without humor the novel would be bland. Not only is one kind of humor used, but many types are displayed.
Bardon argues that the relief theory can be used to explain why we find awkward or situations saturated with tension humourous. He states, “The relief theory is the view that humorous laughter is a manifestation of the release of nervous excitement or emotional tension” (Bardon 468). By recognizing that laughter is “manifestation” of our stress and tension, Bardon recognizes that we need to release our anxieties and humor is a good way to allow the reader to cope with their current problems. This epitomized in Sedaris’ essay when he explains how he used to deal with situations that made him nervous. Sedaris writes, “We were alone now, and something unpleasant entered my mind.
In “Good Country People”, O’Connor uses humor. The humor is found among the characters. She uses humor to create plot twists. The way the humor is set up ends in a tragic event.
Humor is the ingredient that keeps it all moving, holds the bigger picture, inspires and brings a sense of gratitude for life. Aspiring to these qualities illuminates the lack of them at times. When I hit this kind of wall or low, I turn to the smile and humor to elevate my
Humor relates to the Super-Ego through the acknowledgment of oneself being ridiculous. “Superego has gone under ‘maturation’ maturity that comes from learning to laugh at
A humorous tone, achieved through the use of diction, allows Pi to see events in such a way that they become amusing, rather than confusing or frightening. For example, after hearing
The use of humor to alleviate the dull reality of life is used in Ken Kesey’s novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, which supports the idea that one's own humor creates happiness in others and relieves stress much like in the critically acclaimed Christmas classic, Elf, starring Will Ferrell. Humor is used by Ken Kesey very prominently especially when the patients do not seem to have the ability to laugh at anything nor find anything funny. The patients live a very dull life in which they repeat their monotonous cycle of life in the ward. They no longer have known what it is like in the norm because of the Big Nurse wears them down with the oppressive nature of the Combine.
But why do they laugh? " asked the Savage in a pained bewilderment. Because they have been desensitized to human suffering, the citizens of the World State find it funny—even entertaining. "Charming!
Sometimes, it can also take the form of self-derision. It is one of the oldest themes on the basis of which humor is analyzed. According to this theory, a person can be found comical is therefore considered to be inferior, if he or she is inadequate according to a set of agreed-upon group or societal criteria. Both Plato and Aristotle wrote about humor as a form of mockery or disdain, usually self-directed, which should be kept at a minimum (Janco, 1984). The expression of humor as superiority can either serve the mechanism of control or a form of
One of the most valuable aspects of personality is humor – we value one’s sense of humor and make friends often based on finding certain things funny. But how and why do we consider things to be funny at all? Human beings have strived to uncover fundamental truths about human nature for centuries – even millennia – but humor itself is still yet to be pinpointed. Henri Bergson is only one of many who has attempted this feat, and his essay Laughter: an essay on the meaning of the comic from 1911 breaks down comedy into what he believes to be its essential forms and origins. While Bergson makes many valid points, Charlie Chaplin’s film Modern Times that was brought to screens only twenty years later seems to contradict many of Bergson’s theories, while Bergson seems to contradict even himself over the course of his essay.
Verbal humour is understood as that produced by means of language or text (Raskin, 1986), which includes jokes, witticisms, puns, and so on. Jokes, or humour are something that make people laugh. Also, it is a basic means of social interaction such as building social connections or dealing with unfamiliar situations. In this assignment, I would focus on the semantic aspects of how jokes, particularly verbal and written ones, can evoke laughter.
All of these touchy subjects use humor as a mechanism to cope, allowing humor to tell a sad story. A prominent example in the story was Brod. “[Brod] had to satisfy herself with the idea of love—loving the loving of things whose existence she didn't care at all about. Love itself became the object of her love” (80). She had experienced many life difficulties and hardships which contributed to her hopelessness of finding and having love.
Another positive for freedom of speech for comedians is that the jokes made can lighten the mood of the subject. A comedians function in society is to challenge authority, and talk about subjects that may be unacceptable (Hartsell). Comedians are expected to go too far, but when they do, they are disapproved for it. Although, the audiences may only laugh at a joke because of how awkward it is going to be if no one did. “People like to mask their feelings due to not wanting others to really know how they feel—so people may laugh in times of nervousness because they are trying to balance their anxious feelings” (Kaminski).