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Chem 343 Pka values
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Terms in this set (30)
Definition of superiority theory
We laugh at flaws in others
We find humor in fools, idiots, morons, etc.
What makes someone a fool or idiot? What makes someone laughably inferior?
Deficiency in intelligence (stupid)
Deficiency in knowledge or sense (ignorant)
Deficiency in appearance or manner (eccentric, ridiculous)
Deficiency in competency (inept, blundering)
Deficiency in character (ignoble, irksome)
Deficiency in circumstance (hapless, miserable)
Examples of deficiency in intelligence
Zoolander, dumb and dumber
Examples of ignorance
Tammy (hasn't heard of Neil Armstrong, thinks it's Lance Armstrong's brother)
Examples of deficiency in appearance
Tammy's weight, Tammy's poor physical coordination
Example of deficiency in competency
People failing to do something, really off-key flute player in YouTube video
Example of deficiency in character
Judging someone's basic personality traits (i.e. vanity, talks too much, etc.)
Virtues of superiority theory
1. Applies to many instances of humor
2. Seems to make evolutionary sense (disadvantage of others signals our relative advantage with regard to well-being survival, status, power, procreation, etc.; learning from the mistakes of others is adaptive; communal apprehension and affirmation of behavioral norms and standards is adaptive)
What are the problems with the superiority theory
1. Not all humor accentuates superiority over others; some humor (such as wit) showcases superiority, not inferiority
2. Humor may hinge on a sense of identification-(when something bad happens but have to pretend like it didn't--in knocked up Seth Rogan yells at Paul Rudd for ruining his chance with a girl but then Paul has to go out and sing happy birthday to his daughter)
3. Sometimes we feel pity and sadness for the character rather than superiority
How is the superiority theory showcased in Kingpin?
1. In the final Championship both the characters had ridiculous comb-overs that were all over the place (deficiency in appearance)
2. When Ishmael became a male stripper (ignorance)
3. Ismael sitting backwards on the urinal (inferior at common sense)
How does Kingpin have conflicts with the superiority theory?
1. Feeling superior doesn't work in a lot of the scenes because we feel empathy
-Roy's hand getting cut off
-Roy losing the final championship
-Claudia is used as a sexual object quite often
Definition of release/relief theory
1. Humor is attached to situations that are normally tense
2. X is funny because it discharges nervous energy/tension associated with societal prohibitions and taboos
3. Freudian view: Society constrains natural drives and impulses--pressure builds--humor provides a safety-valve outlet
Transgression vs. Regression
-Transgression: Violates prevailing rules and norms governing morality, civility, sexuality, decency, hygiene, etc.
-Regression: Unleashes desires, impulses, and behaviors evoking pre-socialized mode of infantile egocentrism
Key taboos and prohibitions
1. Antisocial behavior (harming others, aggression, anarchy, abusiveness, irresponsible self-indulgence and/or selfish egocentrism)
2. Bodily functions and substances
3. Sexuality, obscenity, perversion
4. Sacrilege
5. Disrespecting the dead
What are the virtues of the release/relief theory?
1. Applies to many instances of humor
2. Seems to make evolutionary sense
-Helps maintain socio-psychological restraints in the real world by granting a "moral holiday"- means that we can laugh at things that we aren't allowed to think are funny in the real world
-Reminding us that everyone is restrained just like us
-By understanding-through communal laughter-that everyone recognizes the same social norms and is alert to deviations
What are the problems with the release/relief theory?
1. Fails to account for all instances of humor
2. Not all transgressions generate humor (some are offensive, averssive, etc.) so the theory must clarify the difference between funny and unfunny instances
3. Some humor may increase nervous tension, not relieve it (i.e. cringe humor)
4. Would predict that the most repressed people would be the most responsive to humor but that's not the case
5. Lacks scientific basis
Definition of incongruity theory
-Presents a striking discrepancy between a stimulus and our habitual schemas pertaining to it
-We laugh at curious and surprising oddities or abnormalities (phenomena that disrupt conventional norms and expectations)
-Often but not always a "set-up" work to generate an erroneous expectation, which is then shown to be a mistake
Definition of cognitive schema
Our default notions, conceptions, inferences, and expectations (everything we know/assume/expect without conscious thought)
What are some examples of the incongruity theory?
-Adams family values
-Store that sells only spatulas
-TED-talking bear that behaves like an adult rather than a child's toy
What are the virtues of the incongruity theory?
1. Applies to many instances of humor
2. Accounts for baby laughter better than other theories
3. Seems to make evolutionary sense
-Expect the unexpected
-Laughter may have evolved as special signal for non-threatening anomalies-False alarm, Nevermind!
-Attending to incongruity makes us smarter and wiser (reveals potential flaws in our normal habits of thought)
What are the problems with the incongruity theory?
1. Not all incongruity is humorous; people need to have a basis of what "normal" is
2. In some cases, incongruity doesn't seem to be the driving factor behind humor
3. factors emphasized by other theories typically coexist with incongruity
4. Standard version of incongruity theory (as deviation from the norm) overlooks the importance of congruity in some instances. Humorous stimuli generally are incongruous in some respects and congruous in others.
What is Bergson's theory of humor?
-Ties together aspects of the superiority theory and the release/relief theory
-But with a new emphasis on the underlying function of humor (social correction)
In Bergson's theory of humor, what elicits laughter?
1. Other humans-ones who appear to be automatic or mechanical-inflexible, rigid, unable or unwilling to adapt to circumstances
2. Overly fixed or fixated in temperament or egocentric concerns (1-dimensional stereotypes-too miserly, jealous, grandiose, pedantic, etc.)
3. Inattentive, imperceptive, insensitive, "absent-minded"-not attuned to others; lacking self-awareness
4. Eccentric-unable or unwilling to conform to social norms and conventions
5. Lacking control of self or body
Bergson's social-corrective theory of humor definition
X is funny because it portrays forms of eccentricity and maladaptability inviting social correction in the form of laughter
What are the virtues of Bergson's theory of humor?
1. Applies to many instances of humor
2. Seems to make evolutionary sense
-Promotes social cohesion by communally focusing on (and discouraging) non-conforming outliers
What are the problems with Bergson's theory of humor?
1. Doesn't apply to all humor (stand-up comedy, wit, certain kinds of incongruity)
2. Fails to differentiate between supposedly beneficial social-corrective humor and cruel/unethical humor (ridiculing social outsiders, minorities, people with disabilities, etc.)
3. Overlooks comedy's tendency to applaud eccentric non-conformists (as creative and playful) and ridicule social conformism-theoretically awkward that humor, framed as an instrument of mainstream dominant society, tends to mock characters epitomizing that society
4. Theoretically awkward that laughter itself-an uncontrollable bodily reflex-constitutes a kind of automatism of the sort Bergson thinks comedy aims to correct through ridicule
Play theory definition
-X is funny because it presents features or qualities of play
-Humor evolved out of rough and tumble play
What features or qualities does humor share with play?
1. Fun
2. A mind frame of alert arousal and expectancy
3. A dynamic of heightened unpredictability, surprise, volatility-experience of being caught off guard or thrown off balance-followed by rapid recovery, readjustment, reorientation, etc.
4. Mock aggression... imagined hostility and conflict without real-world peril and pain
What functions does humor share with play?
1. Enhance skill, agility, coordination, and imagination
2. Foster interpersonal connection and group-cohesion
How are laughter-at-play and laughter-at-humor similar?
1. Signal enjoyment and invite more of the same
2. Signal awareness that real-world frame is offline
3. Signal that you are joking, not serious
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