Humor Appreciation: Taking It to The Next Level

I sipped my coffee and listened to my friend vent about her company’s merger. “I was so stressed out about the new changes being implemented at work,” Susan explained while rolling her eyes. “Then someone said something silly and I just lost it.  I laughed and laughed until I was limp as a dishrag.  Nothing had changed, but I just felt better for having laughed!”

It’s becoming accepted knowledge that positive benefits can be acquired from appreciating humor and laughter. Psychologist Michele Newman supported previous studies that found humor has a buffering effect and reduces the negative effects of stress. This study extended previous findings by demonstrating that humor is beneficial even for people who do not typically choose to use it to cope with stress. This finding was consistent with the belief that the ability to use humor to cope can be acquired rather than being a fixed, unchangeable trait.”

“Humor appreciation involves responding to humor produced by others or being a good audience,” reports Newman. “On the other hand, humor production involves thinking of things on your own to amuse yourself or others.” When using humor as a coping mechanism, one cannot always count on being able to find an external reason to be amused.  “Of the two, humor production is the more portable skill,” says Newman and adds, “From the standpoint of coping, it seems to me to be less important whether you can amuse other people than whether you can amuse yourself.”

Through my years of studying humor and laughter, I’ve observed three basic levels of humor appreciation:

Passive humor appreciation: At this most basic level, we appreciate humor that happens vicariously: A coworker says something funny, we observe a child’s comical action or expression, or we experience some absurdity that happens by chance. With this most basic level of humor we enjoy many of the functions of humor and the basic physical benefits, although the humor may occur infrequently and is purely unintentional.

Active humor appreciation: At this level, our awareness level is raised and we intentionally seek humor opportunities. We make it a point to read the daily comics, we ask others to share a joke or story, we become aware of humor we might have otherwise missed if we had made the assumption: Nothing funny happens here. We incur benefits more frequently, although not necessarily on a regular basis.

Proactive humor creation: At this advanced level, conscious effort is involved.  We attempt to create humor opportunities. We schedule time for play and entertainment in our daily schedules. We purposely create situations to amuse others or ourselves. We establish goals to utilize humor on a regular basis and attempt to make humor a habit. We enjoy the positive functions and benefits of humor on a regular basis.
While we may gain benefits from humor and laughter when enjoying it passively, there are even more advantages in being active participants by producing a humorous state of mind for ourselves. By incorporating a ‘humor habit’, we gain maximum profit from the wide and wonderful range of benefits at our disposal. Why not get the most bang for your yuck? Make humor a habit!

What Trips Your Trigger?

Humor that’s constructive and doesn’t target others feels good when we experience it.  It’s a pleasurable experience usually accompanied by a smile and a laugh.  And yet experts find it elusive as to what humor really is and just what triggers that humor response within us.

There are numerous theories about what evokes a humorous response. One of those theories revolves around developmental stages.  According to psychiatrist Christian Hageseth, author of A Laughing Place, there are 3 ways to elicit the humor response: Nov-verbal interactive; the stimulation of forbidden subjects; and verbal humor (jokes and word play).

Non-verbal interactive:
What is one of the very first things that evokes a smile in a young baby?  Obviously his brain isn’t developed enough to understand the concept of absurdity or incongruity. The baby laughs at a smiling face, which in return smiles back, usually evoking even more smiles.  Pure pleasure! 
As we grow, such interaction generally continues to evoke a pleasurable response, until we are conditioned to think and respond otherwise.  Even in the advanced Alzheimer’s patient, when she’s no longer able to remember faces, dress herself or even feed herself, a big smile accompanied by eye contact will evoke that same pleasurable response and usually a smile in return.

The stimulation of forbidden subjects:
As a child develops his sense of humor, one of the first things he finds funny is body noises– particularly those that evoke a startled response in adults. Eventually, as the child grows, his sense of humor also evolves, but occasionally we meet folks that seem to become stuck at that particular phase. (Usually they are know for statements, such as “Pull my finger.”) While many find toilet humor distasteful, the movie industry makes billions of dollars each year from movies like Dumb and Dumber or There’s Something About Mary.

Many occupations, especially those that are involved with tragedy and death, have their own inside humor that others might label ‘disgusting.’  Indeed much medical humor is known as gallows humor or ‘sick’ humor, and usually involves one of three topics: body fluids, dismemberment and death. Nonetheless, this humor serves as a coping mechanism to people like Cyndi, a nurse in California, who says, “If I couldn’t laugh about the smell of poop or the texture of sputum, I’d probably be flipping burgers, and asking the person across the counter, “Do you want fries with that?”

Verbal humor (jokes and word play)
While most people think of this category first, language dependent humor actually comprises a very small percentage of what elicits a humor response. Indeed, it’s been speculated that only around 3% of the population remembers and tells jokes well. Most of shake our heads sadly and say, “I can never remember the punch line.” Fortunately jokes aren’t crucial to experiencing humor. 

 
If this tactic appeals to you, seek jokes and funny stories from others, listen to your favorite comediennes, pay attention to television sitcoms. There are joke-a-day services on the Internet. Most magazines and newspapers have a section that involves humor and word play.

And if you decide that you would like to learn the skill of joke telling, it’s really not that hard.  Start with jokes that are short and easier to remember. Practice telling the joke out loud to yourself, preferably in front of a mirror, at least 7 or more times. And once you feel confident, go out and tell your joke to your friends, family members, and those that look like they could use a good laugh!

Granted, we respond to all three categories above. But usually we can identify more with one area than another.  Our sense of humor is as unique as our thumb prints. What makes you laugh may leave another completely clueless. What’s most important isn’t what trips your trigger, but what you do with that knowledge. Merely raising your awareness about what you find fun and funny is a good first step. To gain the most benefits from humor, however, you need to move from a passive role, to an active one.  Discover what trips your trigger and causes you to experience mirth and laughter. Then seek the experience, practice positive humor and enjoy feeling good.