A LT F I N A L S

HUMOR
ALT Instructors
WHAT IS HUMOR?

P L AY F U L A COMPOSED AND THE ABILITY TO

RECOGNITION AND CHEERFUL VIEW ON MAKE OTHERS SMILE
E N J OY M E N T A D V E R S I T Y T H AT OR L AUGH.
A L LO W S O N E T O
SEE THE LIGHTER
SIDE
THEORIES BEHIND
HUMOR Humor has been studied mainly by these three fields of
study:

P H I LO S O P H Y N E U R O P S YC H O LO GY P S YC H O LO GY
THEORIES BEHIND
HUMOR
One of the popular umbrella of theories in philosophy of
understanding humor is the “relief theory”. Relief theories
attempt to describe humor along the lines of a tension-
P H I LO S O P H Y release model. Rather than defining humor, they discuss
the essential structures and psychological processes that
produce laughter. The two most prominent relief theorists
are Herbert Spencer and Sigmund Freud. We can consider
two version of the relief theory: (1) the strong version
holds that all laughter results from a release of
excessive energy; (2) the weak version claims that
it is often the case that humorous laughter
involves a release of tension or energy.

Spencer, Herbert. (1860). “The Physiology of Laughter.” Macmillan’s Magazine, 1, pp. 395-402.

Freud, Sigmund (1928). “Humor.” International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 9, pp. 1-6.
THEORIES BEHIND
HUMOR
Neuroscientists explore humor through the use of neural
basis of humor comprehension, particularly the moment
N E U R O P S YC H O LO GY of insight, by using both characters and language-free
cartoons in a functional magnetic resonance imaging
study. Insight involving jokes elicited greater activation in
language and semantic-related brain regions as well as a
variety of additional regions, such as the superior frontal
gyrus (SFG), the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), the middle
temporal gyrus (MTG), the superior temporal gyrus
(STG), the temporoparietal junctions (TPJ), the
hippocampus and visual areas.
Tian, F., Hou, Y., Zhu, W., Dietrich, A., Zhang, Q., Yang, W., ... & Cao, G. (2017).
Getting the joke: Insight during humor comprehension–evidence from an fMRI
study. Frontiers in psychology, 8, 1835.
THEORIES BEHIND
HUMOR

P S YC H O LO GY
Traditionally (during the time of Hippocrates), humors
are referred to body fluids: blood, phlegm, black bile, and
yellow bile. The mixtures of these humors in given people
were thought to be expressed in their physical appearance,
physiognomy, and proneness to disease. As medical
science progresses, this humoral theory was abandoned.
In the beginning of the 17th century up to present,
having good “humor” is now referred to the
disposition, trait, or habit of being cheerful.

Peterson, C. & Seligman, E.P. (2004). Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook of
Classification. Oxford University Press: New York
 Humor is
WHAT ARE
THE LINKED TO GOOD MOOD
Buffers the effect of life stress to us

FACTORS
ASSOCIATED HABITUAL L AUGHTER IMPROVES PHYSICAL
H E A LT H

WITH Laughter is the best medicine

HUMOR? P O S I T I V E LY C O R R E L AT E D W I T H
E X T RAV E R S I O N A N D N E G AT I V E LY
C O R R E L AT E D W I T H N E U R O T I C I S M
Differences among individuals when it comes to humor:
High humor is associated with being open to new
experiences and being outgoing and with lower tendency
to be anxious, worried, or have depressed mood.
NOW THAT
YOU HAVE Tr y t o p r a c t i c e h u m o r a s m u c h a s y o u c a n
Try to find humor or playfulness when things get uneasy

LEARNED
THESE Laugh as much as you can, when you can
Try watching funny videos before going to sleep. This

INFORMATIO could improve your mood when you wake up in the

morning.

N, WHAT W h e n t h i n g s g e t d i ffi c u l t , r e m e m b e r t o r e s t

SHOULD for a while, smile and carry on.

T h e w o r l d d o e s re s t o n y o u r s h o u l d e r s .
YOU DO? Doing your best is enough.