Humor is a complex cognitive function which often leads to laughter. Contemporary humor theorists have begun to formulate hypotheses outlining the possible innate cognitive structures underlying humor. Humor’s conspicuous presence in the behavioral repertoire of humankind invites adaptive explanations. This article explores the possible adaptive features of humor and ponders its evolutionary pa...

Incongruity resolution is one of the most widely accepted theories of humour, suggesting that humour is due to the mixing of two disparate interpretation frames in one statement. In this paper, we explore several computational models for incongruity resolution. We introduce a new data set, consisting of a series of ‘set-ups’ (preparations for a punch line), each of them followed by four possibl...

This study assessed the concurrent and prospective (fall to spring) associations between four different humor styles to assess the degree to which stable friendships are characterized by similarity, and to assess whether best friends' humor styles influence each other's later use of humor. Participants were aged 11-13 years, with 87 stable, reciprocal best friend dyads. Self-report assessments ...

While a veritable flood of general books on creativity have been released in the past few years (e., it's rare that a text is released that focuses in depth on one particular manifestation of creativity. The Psychology of Humor by Rod A. Martin is such a book, focusing (obviously) on humor. Although not a particularly funny read—though it has its moments—it is a very well-written, well-organize...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES The present study examined the relationship between social anxiety and the appreciation of specific types of humor. It was expected that social anxiety would hinder the enjoyment of jokes particularly if the resolution of incongruity involves processing social cues and assessing the (false) mental states of others. Fifty-six participants rated three types of cartoons a...

Humor operates through a variety of techniques, which first generate surprise and then amusement and laughter once the unexpected incongruity is resolved. As different types of jokes use different techniques, the corresponding humor processes also differ. The present study builds on the framework of the 'tri-component theory of humor,' which details the mechanisms involved in cognition (compreh...

Throughout the literature, humor has demonstrated positive effects on memory and learning, as well as physiological and psychological well being. Research has described improvements in communication and trust through the use of humor in the nurse-patient relationship. The utilization of humor with certain populations, including those with anxiety disorders, cancer patients and mood disorders ha...