Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out
of it alive.
Elbert Hubbard (writer, philosopher)
One
of the things I like most about living in the UK is the everyday British humour.
It can be outright hilariously funny, but seems more commonly characterized by
understatement with a touch of sarcasm and irony. In any case, I find that humour
makes life more enjoyable- be it at work, or on a walk along the Coastal Path
in Cornwall where somebody made the best out of a hole in their garden fence,
as illustrated in the picture above.
I
thought that it would be interesting to examine the question, if and to which
degree humour enhances our subjective well-being, and I was surprised about the
volume of research which has been conducted on this topic.
What makes a funny thing funny?1,2
There
are obviously many different types of humour ranging from the slapstick-type to
dark or even morbid humour. Clearly, humour is a very difficult topic to
analyze and the question of what is needed for something to be viewed as
amusing, funny or comical has been long debated. Three different theories have
been developed to explain when a situation or event has the potential to give
rise to humour:
- Relief theory: It has been suggested that sometimes humour results from a release of nervous energy. According to this theory, we experience something as funny when we feel that our stress has been reduced in a certain way. This could explain why jokes and laughter may be used in stressful or tense situations.
- Incongruence theory: Another way to explain humour is that we experience something as funny when it surprises us, it is odd/unusual and does not fit with our normal expectations of the world, particularly if it is seen as something safe, trivial and non-threatening.
- Superiority theory: According this theory, we experience something as funny if we feel a degree of superiority or triumph over other people.
However,
we all know that the experience of humour can be very subjective. What may
appear hilarious to one person barely causes a skewed smile in another, or may
even be experienced as offensive. And it is also possible to find something
funny in one situation but then not feeling amused at all about the same thing
in a different context. This means that humour
not only depends on the actual event but also on the person perceiving it.
Humour
and laughter are to a large degree a social
phenomenon: we tend to laugh and experience humour more readily in the
presence of other people and if we are alone we often perceive a situation as
less funny. Similarly, it often depends very much who is in our company. Other variable
factors, which may have an influence on our sense of humour include our familiarity with a certain situation or social
norms (in order to appreciate an incongruence we need to have an idea of
what should happen), our mood at the time (strong negative
emotions such as fear, anger or irritation reduce our sense of humour, whereas a
playful or positive mood enhances it), our health, and our own choice as to whether we are
prepared to perceive something as funny or not. Although more difficult, humour
may sometimes be experienced even under the most difficult and dire
circumstances.3
Humour
can be experienced in a huge variety of ways: There are ‘organised forms’ of
humour such as comedies, comedy dramas, sitcoms, and stand-up comedy but then
there is also our daily life which provides plenty of opportunity for
intentional and unintentional funny situations in normal conversation, and by
sharing jokes, anecdotes, witticism, banter, puns, as well as nonverbal
accidents and mishaps.
When humour is good for us and when it is not
Being
able to see the funny side of things has been generally associated with many
positive things including a greater level of life satisfaction, better physical
health and better ability to deal with depression, anxiety or pain, as well as
helping to build further personal resources.4,5 It has also been
shown that laughter normalizes levels of the stress hormone cortisol, boosts
immune function and reduces inflammation,6 and it has been suggested
that humour can be an effective way of dealing with anger.7
However,
it turns out that the relationship between humour and well-being is complicated:
There are types of humour, which are good for us, whereas other kinds of humour
are not. Essentially, there are four different humour styles, or ways in which
we use humour. The first two humour styles listed below have been found to be
positive and beneficial to our well-being and/or that of others, whereas the
last two are considered to be largely negative and potentially dysfunctional:1,8-12
- Affiliative humour: Sharing experiences increases our enjoyment in many situations, including humour; affiliative humour is about connecting with others and strengthening our relationships with them. This humour style means sharing jokes, witty remarks or funny stories without insulting or hurting anyone. For example, somebody using an affiliative humour style will frequently laugh and joke with their friends. By amusing and entertaining others, we experience social rewards and find it easier to connect to others, which makes us feel good.
- Self-enhancing humour: With this style, we use humour as a coping mechanism and to support ourselves even in difficult life circumstances; we use humour to maintain a positive perspective on our life. Somebody with a self-enhancing humour style may say ‘when I am feeling down I can usually cheer myself up with humour’, and tries to actively find moments of comedic enjoyment within everyday experiences. Self-enhancing humour enables us to experience positive emotions. Being able to find humor even in unpleasant situations is associated with lower levels of stress, a greater subjective well-being, higher self-esteem, hope, and optimism. In short, we feel better, are able to build personal resources and become more resilient. Of all the different humour styles, the self-enhancing style appears to have the most beneficial effect for us as an individual person.
- Aggressive humour: This means using humour in order to attack, tease or belittle others. As an example, somebody using an aggressive humour style may frequently tease a person who has made a mistake, or criticize them for who they are (sometimes adding: ‘just kidding!’). This style is often used in order to hurt or manipulate others. It can also be instrumentalised between groups and contribute to group conflicts. As much as humour can be used as a ‘glue’ to strengthen social ties within one group, it can be very divisive by ridiculing or offending people outside this group. Although this kind of humour is often employed in an attempt to demonstrate superiority, it is in fact associated with a lower or unstable self-esteem, as well as depression and anxiety, and – unsurprisingly- a greater hostility towards other people.
- Self-defeating humour: This is a self-deprecating type of humour; we make fun of ourselves and engage in excessive self-ridicule. For example, someone with a self-defeating style may let others laugh at them as a way to keep their friends and colleagues in good spirit; we may use this style in order to gain acceptance from others, avoid confrontations or deal with fear or failure or other negative emotions. Just as aggressive humour, a predominantly self-defeating style is often seen in people with low self-esteem, psychological distress and hostility.
Of
course, it is possible to have more than one humour style and the boundaries
between the categories can sometimes be a little blurry. Self-defeating humour
can also sometimes have a positive function in communication, for example, it
can be deliberately used by leaders and people of high social status to show others
that they are also just human.1 So there is little point in condemning
the aggressive and self-defeating humour types per se. In fact, many people who
are considered funny by others (‘humour endorsers’) tend to make use of all
four humour styles. However, we should be aware that using aggressive and/or
self-defeating humour as our predominant
style is not good for us or others.
Another
important point is that it has also been shown that smiling and laughter is only beneficial if it is truly heart-felt.
Forced and insincere smiles (the type where only the mouth moves, but where
there is no narrowing and crinkling around the eyes), is counterproductive and
can actually be associated with poorer health.5 So it is important
to be authentic and not to fake amusement if we can truly not see anything
funny in a situation.
The Dos and Don’ts of using humour
So how can
we learn to use humour wisely and in a self-enhancing way?
- As so often, awareness is the first important step. If you notice that you commonly use self-defeating or aggressive humour, you can learn to use these unhelpful styles less often and instead employ the more positive humour types.9
- Remember that whether we find something funny or not is -to a degree- our own choice, and we can also choose to engage more in humour.2 This includes focusing on the present (funny) moment and savouring the experience, but also remembering funny events and sharing them with others.4
- Several specific humor-based exercises have been shown to increase well-being and may help you to increase self-enhancing humour (regardless of whether you feel that you have a high ‘natural’ sense of humour or not):4
- Applying humour: Focus on humor in your life and try to use it in new ways.
- Collecting funny things: Write down in detail the funniest things you have ever experienced. Include the emotions that you have felt in the situation and who was present. If possible, share the memory of this funny experience with at least one other person who was also present at the time when it happened.
- Three funny things: Write down three funny things that happen to you each day for seven consecutive days.
A truly
amazing person- What can we learn from…:13
Tom Hart Dyke and Paul Winder are two people who know a
thing or two about using humour in adversity. They met incidentally while
travelling though Central America. At the time, Paul Winder was working as a
trader in an investment bank in the City of London but his real passion was
exploring the world with backpack travelling. Tom Hart Dyke was a young botanist
with an obsession for orchids.
The
two instantly got on very well and spontaneously made the plan to travel
together to the Darién Gap, a region of forests and swamplands shared by Panama
and Colombia. This trip was not a particularly good idea, as the Darién Gap was
known to be a very dangerous area due to the presence of many armed groups,
including drug gangs, weapon smugglers, Marxist FARC guerrillas and Right-wing
paramilitaries.
However,
despite their knowledge about the risks and the warning from the Lonely Planet guide (‘Don’t even think
about it!’) the two travellers set off to the Darién Gap in search of orchids
and adventure- and promptly got kidnapped. They were held hostage in the jungle
for a total of nine months. Although they feared for their life more than once
during their ordeal (due to illness as well as being subjected to a mock
execution), they managed to keep their spirits up thanks to a healthy portion
of British humour and creativity. This included giving their captors inventive
nicknames such as The Nutter, Tooth Bird and Lost Cause; giving a camp
performance of the song ‘Always look on the Bright Side of Life’ from the Monty
Python movie The Life of Brian (and
telling the kidnappers that this was the national anthem of Great Britain); and
entertaining themselves with various games.
The
reason for the kidnapping of Tom and Paul somewhat remained nebulous. The
kidnappers did not believe their assertion that they travelled to the region
out of pure curiosity and in the search of rare flowers, and initially thought
that the two travellers may be CIA agents or drug dealers. Eventually, they
demanded a ransom of 3 million Dollars for their release. However, the two
prisoners refused to cooperate and deliberately mis-translated ransom letters,
which – as it turned out – never reached the families of the two hostages
anyway.
In the end, the captors
appeared to grow tired of the two travellers and told them to get lost, or else
they would get shot. The two hostages took this order too literally: during
their first attempt to reach safety, they truly got lost and had to return to
the guerrillas. Luckily, the kidnappers did not kill them on their return.
Instead they even gave them a small amount of money and arranged for guides to
accompany the pair to the nearest village. After 9 months in the jungle, Tom
and Paul were finally reunited with their families, who had previously given
them up for dead.
Tom
Hart Dyke and Paul Winder show us that the right type of humour can help us
through even the most difficult life situations by evoking positive feelings
and increasing our resilience. They described their dramatic but often
hilarious experiences in the Darién Gap in their book The Cloud Garden: A True Story of Adventure, Survival, and Extreme
Horticulture. I really enjoyed reading it, as it shows the best of British
humour in action!
Preview: Next week’s post is going to look closer at
the role that nature, animals and exercise can play for our well-being.
References and further reading:
1. Mayer
JC. Humor as a double-edged sword: Four functions of humor in communication.
Communication Theory. 2000;10:310-331.
2.
Martin RA. Book Reviews: What are you laughing at? A comprehensive guide to the
comedic event. Europe’s Journal of Psychology. 2014;10(3):582-858.
3. Frankl VE.
Man’s Search for Meaning. Rider Ebury Publishing, Random House, UK. 2004.
4.
Wellenzohn S, Proyer RT, Ruch W. Humor-based online positive psychology
interventions: A randomized placebo-controlled long-term trial. Journal of
Positive Psychology. 2016;11:584-594.
5. Fredrickson
B. Positivity: Groundbreaking Research to Release Your Inner Optimist and
Thrive. Oneworld Publications; Oxford, England. 2010.
6.
Seppälä E. The Happiness Track: How to Apply the Science of Happiness to
Accelerate Your Success. Piatkus; London, UK. 2016.
7.
Seligman MEP. What you Can Change and What you Can’t: The Complete Guide to
Successful Self-Improvement. Nicholas Brealey Publishing; London, UK. 2010.
8.
Ford TE, Lappi SK, Holden CJ. Personality, humor styles and happiness: Happy
people have positive humor styles. Europe’s Journal of Psychology.
2016;12(3):320-337.
9.
Maiolino NB, Kuiper NA. Integrating humor and positive psychology approaches to
psychological well-being. Europe’s Journal of Psychology. 2014;10(3):557-570.
10.
Ford TE, McCreight KA, Richardson K. Affective style, humor styles and
happiness. Europe’s Journal of Psychology. 2014;10(3):451-463.
11.
Cann A, Collette C. Sense of humor, stable affect, and psychological
well-being. Europe’s Journal of Psychology. 2014;10(3):464-479.
12.
Zeigler-Hill V, McCabe GA, Vrabel JK. The dark side of humour: DSM-5
pathological personality traits and humor styles. Europe’s Journal of
Psychology. 2016;12(3):363-376.
13.
References for the section A Truly Amazing Person: Hart Dyke T, Winder P. The
Cloud Garden: A True Story of Adventure, Survival, and Extreme Horticulture.
Penguin Random House: London, UK. 2003. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/colombia/1379036/Jungle-kidnappers-free-orchid-hunting-Britons.html
If you found this
information helpful, please consider supporting the campaign under Just Giving. Of course it
is also great if you choose to support another charity or do a practical good
deed, but it would be nice if you could let me know that you have done this
because you felt inspired by this campaign. Please also feel free to share this
post and let me know if you have any constructive feedback- good or bad!
Follow the Blog- http://followthegoodlifecampaign.blogspot.co.uk
Donations are in aid of the International Rescue Committee and the World Veterinary Service
No comments:
Post a Comment