SCHOOL OF APPLIED HUMAN

SCIENCES

REFERENCING ASSIGNMENT COVERSHEET

Student Name Nompumelelo Madondo
Student Number 223072103
Module Name INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY A
Module Code PSYC101
Module Coordinators MS NTOKOZO MNTAMBO
Campus Howard College Campus
Assignment REFERENCING ASSIGNMENT
Deadline 20 MARCH 2023: 5PM
Date of Submission 23 March 2023
Name of Tutor Not applicable for this Assignment

Quick Reminder:

 Use This Template to Complete the Referencing Assignment.

 Assignments that have not been completed on this template will not be marked.
 Use pages 2 and 3 to summarise the 3 articles.
 Use page 4 to provide a reference list of the 3 articles you have summarised.

1|Page
“Laughter is the best medicine”

It is often said that laughter is the best medicine and like an epidemic laughing is highly
contagious. Laughing on its own can initiate relationships, create strong and long lasting
bonds, improve one’s mood etc. In addition to the societal benefits, laughter also has some
health benefits that can improve one’s well-being. The purpose of this assignment is to
discuss the health benefits of laughter.

Article 1: (Professional nurses’ attitude towards humour.)

Imagine waking up one day and discovering that you have a chronic illness. This will change
your lifestyle and mentality towards life but a positive approach guarantees that you aren’t
under the authority of your illness. Some health professionals have shown little faith in
humour as means to treat patients despite the several studies conducted support the use of
humour by ‘professional nurses’. On a daily basis nurses monitor patients and this case
humour can develop a personal relationship between the patient and the nurse. Both patient
and nurse will feel at ease and more comfortable. It has been found that humour relives
anxiety, releases pent up stress, decreases muscular tension etc. The research of 204 nurses’
attitudes towards humour showed rather satisfying results. This concluded that humour can
be used in their professional practise setting. Humour establishes rapport with others and
when patients leave the hospital they can co-exist with others and utilise humour in realistic
situations to solve their problems. Being able to find humour in difficult situations increases
your chances of conquering that situation. Some psychologists and psychotherapist have
found humour helpful in dealing with psychological issues. Nurses’ can and also use humour
to release stress caused by their very demanding profession. Nurses’ positive attitude towards
humour indicates that humour can be used to threat patients and nurses’ are encouraged to
use humour handling patients.

Article 2: (Highlighting the benefits of humour: The views of tourists)

This article focussed primarily on the benefits of humour to tourists and business they attend.
We’ve had a look at the benefits of humour in the medical field and as you know humour
health wise humour plays a vital role in in dissipating tension, stress, anxiety and depression
which improves the functioning of the immune system. Typically we’d think that people
travel just to have fun and bond with their loved ones, meet knew people, relax and seek
entertainment but for others that is not really the case and don’t find travelling so gratifying.
Some people travel for work related matters, some seek refuge etc and humour can make
their stay a pleasant one. Through humour almost every tourist expectations can be met.
When on holidays people collect souvenirs in the form of picture, objects etc to remind them
of their holidays and the pleasant times they had at a certain location. The results of the study
of the benefits of humour in tourist settings showed that many tourist have seconded the use
of humour in tourist settings as humour benefits them in many ways. Humour is a great way
to engage with people, have fun experiences. For businesses the use of humour has positive
impacts on staff members of the business and tourists who visit the business. All businesses
have what we call ‘Customer Care’ which aims to provide customers with a five star service.
This is a marketing strategy in order to gain clients and more clients mean more profit for the
business. Businesses utilise humour to provide great service to customers and make sure they
visit the business again. When we look at the staff of the businesses humour can improve
staff’s interaction skills with tourists and other fellow staff members also building strong

2|Page
bonds. Humour can act as an ice breaker making communication between tourists and
businesses easy. Therefore humour is encouraged in tourism.

Article 3: (A time to weep and a time to laugh: humour in nurse-patient relationship in

an adulting setting)

Many people see cancer as a death sentence and encounter some difficulty when it comes to
dealing and coming to terms with the devastating news. This then proves that not only does
cancer affect patients physically but also psychosocially. Remaining positive throughout the
process of treatment and dealing with negative feelings such as stress, fear, isolation,
uncertainty, anxiety etc is hard for patients. Humour can act as a coping mechanism and to
support this claim a study was conducted in an adult cancer oncology ward looking also at the
importance of humour in the nurse-patient relationship. Humour helps not only patients but
also nurses cruise through difficult time in their life whilst also building a bond with the
patient. Patients feel more comfortable when they are being cared for by a nurse they trust
and have a good relationship with. A nurses’ job is to nurture a patient on a daily basis, it also
includes them becoming patients part time psychologist. Humour helps both patients and
nurses remain optimistic and patients are able to confide in the nurse about personal problems
that might be bothering them. Some nurses argued that the use of humour would compromise
their professionalism, given the benefits of humour they had to formulate a way they could
use humour but keep it strictly professional. The results showed that patients are more likely
to use humour when interacting with other patients and nurses. They perceived humour as
means to raise spirits, lighten the depressing mood in the ward or just to get nurses to like
them. A relationship formed through sharing a laugh is stronger and is less likely to fail.
Humour makes nurses’ professional lives better and gives them a good working ethic. So
nurses enjoy and find purpose in what they do. To sum everything that has been stated so far
the use of humour benefits both nurses and patients thus the use of humour is encouraged in
the medical field.

Laughter is indeed the best medicine and all the physical, socially, psychological benefits
support this theory. So every once in a while or if you are feeling a little under the weather it
is advised that you share a laugh with your loved ones, with strangers. Trust, you will feel
much better.

3|Page
Reference list

 Pabel, A. & Pearce P.C. (2015). Highlighting the benefits of humour: The views of
tourist. Tourism Management Perspective. Elsevier. www.elsevier.com/locate/tmp

 Sumner, A.D (1990). Professional nurses’ attitudes towards humour. Journal of

Advanced Nursing, 15, 196-200

 Tannay, M.A., Wiseman T., Roberts J. & Rean E. (2013 December 18). A time to
weep and a time to laugh: humour in the nurse patient relationship in an adult cancer
setting.

4|Page
5|Page