Adaptive Humor Style Analysis

Writers are constantly looking for new ways to convey their messages. Even if a piece isn’t serious, creative delivery is vital to captivating a modern audience. Humor isn’t just about becoming the next Tina Fey or Stephen Colbert. Adding comedic elements to writing can set an argument apart--in both negative and positive ways. Laughter may not be the best medicine, but it definitely can help convey an argument. While the goal may be to improve an argument or message, it can sometimes be a disadvantage as well, especially when discussing education.

"Successively, Selekman explains that fostering therapist-client cooperation is purposive use of self-disclosure, the use of humor, normalizing, demonstrating cultural and gender sensitivity, and therapeutic compliments. Mark Twain once said, 'Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand.' Humor can help generate a relaxed atmosphere, influence the client from his or her concerns, and heal those in pain. Madanes (1984) contend that what makes change possible is the therapist's ability to be confident and to see what is funny or desirable in a dire situation'. Laughter releases hormones from the

Norman Cousins said, “Laughter is a powerful way to tap positive emotions" (Moss 1). Humor is studied by many researchers in sociology, psychology, art, literature, and medicine. When people wonder whether humor aids in areas other than health, a treasure trove of possible benefits to the learning or educational community is opened up. Humor can be used as a tool to promote learning.Research speaks to the many benefits of humor in healing, to its benefits in the classroom or boardroom, from reducing stress of students or employees, to boosting self-esteem and feelings of camaraderie. Additionally, studies show that those who use humor to convey a message are often more favorably perceived. Humor helps deliver the presenter's message to

People always say that laughter alleviates tension. If this is the case, then it makes sense that the use of humor when discussing uncomfortable topics can make the conversation easier and more light-hearted. One of Mark Twain’s most frequently used devices in works such as “Advice to Youth”, “To the Person Sitting in Darkness”, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is satire, which can provide society a method to bond over uncomfortable topics, and facilitate the ability to sustain that bond through an easier way to create discussion.

Comedy is an integral part of our daily lives and routines. It can be as simple as telling a joke to our friends to as complicated as a political cartoon depicting a satirical image of a president committing a crime. However, according to author Alain de Botton, comedy is a conduit that is used to express ideas that society is not generally willing to propound in public. It is clear that the role of humorists is not only to humor an audience, but also to provide a channel for the expression of ideas that are not necessarily ones that we would say to the public, making their role crucial to the functionality of society.

In a study conducted by Kuiper & Harris (2009), the extent to which humor styles can predict different components of physical health was examined. A sample of 105 undergraduate students within the age range of 17-34 years was selected for the study. The different components of physical health included physical symptoms, attitudes about physical health issues, and coping strategies for dealing with a variety of common physical health ailments and complaints. Adaptive and maladaptive humor styles were expected to show differential relationships with the components of physical health. It was found that humor styles were unrelated to the number of physical symptoms experienced by the participants. The results also showed that higher levels of adaptive

Humor, the quality of being amused, the ability to make existence enjoyable. All people have their own kind of humor, and they use it in different and intriguing ways. Some people use it to brighten the room, some use it to orate harsh things, and some even use it to avoid pain. An author who is a expert at the use of humor is Sherman Alexie. It is evident in his book The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, where “He uses humor--or his characters use humor--to reveal injustice, protect self-esteem, heal wounds, and create bonds.”

Research by Samson, Gross (2012) discussed that positive humor would be more effective at regulating negative emotions than negative humor. The author also discussed another study, which was conducted to remove various limitations of the previous study including the potential effects of differences in difficulty between the two humors conditions. Current research used participant's expectations or social desirability to measure such limitation. Although it seems like the author has analyzed everything to support the following hypothesis, this particular research still lacks credibility in various aspects.

There are some studies which show biological role of coping humor in health status. In one such study conducted by Lai et al. (2010), coping humor was found to exert effects on health. Coping humor was found to have a significant effect on the overall cortisol level in the awakening period of participants. Participants scoring high on coping humor exhibited lower levels of cortisol in the awakening period as compared to those scoring low on coping humor. The loss of hormone, cortisol, has been found to result in progressive decline in the ability to fight with diseases. Therefore, these findings suggest coping humor to have significant effects on

Most often as people age, life happens, and their social world changes; therefore, so do their sources for humor. Thankfully researchers observed that less humor led to a less enjoyable life. One particular study of “laughter therapy” done by Kuru and Kublay showed positive outcomes in nursing home residents. The National Cancer Institute defines laughter therapy as one that “uses humor to relieve pain and improve well-being. It may include laughter exercises, clowns, and comedy movies, books, games, and puzzles.” Kuru and Kublay concluded that “[a]fter the laughter therapy intervention, general and subscales (physical functioning, role-physical, bodily pain, general health, vitality, social functioning, role-emotional and spiritual health) quality-of-life scores of residents in the experimental group significantly increased in comparison with the pretest.” If nothing else, this conclusion should motivate nursing home administrators to incorporate some type of laughter or humor therapy into the daily schedule of their

During this study researchers Rod A. Martin and Herbert M Lefcourt accomplished three similar but separate studies. The first study was on how much humor reduces stress in life situations among college students. The second was on the application of a humorous situation and how much it would relate to their use of humor in “real life” situations. The third and final study was a follow up from study one and more accurately assessed the participants use of humor in stressful situations.

I have finished grading and entering the Humorist Argument Timed Essay from last Thursday. However, several of you will notice that your essay grade is missing in Synergy. Don't worry! Your essay is not "missing", but your peer review and self-scoring from Friday's class is. I will not enter your score without knowing that you have read, reviewed, and critiqued your own paper. Some of you were absent on Friday. Others did

Now when I think of the question “Does self deprecating humor help individuals cope with the feeling of depression, I still am unsure of the answer. After the research I have conducted and the fieldwork I did I have only been pointed in a direction. What I have taken away from my research and field work is that there is a more than likely possibility that self deprecating humor is an affective coping mechanism. After reading about various studies where the use of humor made a positive impact on those who were suffering from mental health conditions, I became firmer in my own beliefs about self deprecation.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of laughter/humor therapy on the outcomes of the adult patient population including biological, psychological, and the nurse-patient relationship, by analyzing current research. Implementation of complimentary

Imagine a vast concert hall filled with people. The audience excitedly clamor in anticipation for the main star of this event. The event they paid so much money for, cleared up time in their schedule for, spent time getting to the event for. As the lights dim, the spotlight shines on the center stage. Then an average person emerges on the stage with a thousand eyes’ on him. He only has with a microphone in his hand. Just a typical person, with a normal gait and normal sense of fashion. However, after speaking a few words in the microphone, the crowd bursts into a cacophony of laughter. No matter how ordinary or extraordinary the person, entertainment through humor is universal. Utilizing humor, an extensive language of amusement, to open perspectives and challenge what is conceived right or wrong can be impactful- if done correctly. Dave Sedaris accomplishes that goal when he uses humor to illustrate his dilemma because of his identity. Despite being an accomplished successful comedian, author, radio show host, certain people look down at him as just a homosexual freak. Rather than gravely addressing his opposition, Sedaris utilizes a jovial yet relatable anecdote called “Chicken in a Henhouse”. Incorporating ideas from Ardian Bardon’s “The Philosophy of Humor”, specifically, the three theories of humor: superiority theory, incongruity theory and relief theory, Sedaris argues that the American public stereotypes homosexuals as pedophiles and ,as a result, they feel