Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Full Ebook of Humor and Laughter 2Nd Edition Hugh C Foot Online PDF All Chapter
Full Ebook of Humor and Laughter 2Nd Edition Hugh C Foot Online PDF All Chapter
Full Ebook of Humor and Laughter 2Nd Edition Hugh C Foot Online PDF All Chapter
C Foot
Visit to download the full and correct content document:
https://ebookmeta.com/product/humor-and-laughter-2nd-edition-hugh-c-foot/
More products digital (pdf, epub, mobi) instant
download maybe you interests ...
https://ebookmeta.com/product/engineering-design-planning-and-
management-2nd-edition-hugh-jack/
https://ebookmeta.com/product/explorations-in-humor-studies-
humor-research-project-1st-edition-marcin-kuczok/
https://ebookmeta.com/product/management-of-diabetic-foot-
complications-2nd-edition-clifford-p-shearman-editor/
Surgical Exposures in Foot and Ankle Surgery The
Anatomic Approach 2nd Edition Richard Buckley
https://ebookmeta.com/product/surgical-exposures-in-foot-and-
ankle-surgery-the-anatomic-approach-2nd-edition-richard-buckley/
https://ebookmeta.com/product/on-one-foot-linda-glaser/
https://ebookmeta.com/product/an-introduction-to-passive-
radar-2nd-edition-hugh-d-griffiths/
https://ebookmeta.com/product/ultrasound-of-the-foot-and-
ankle-1st-edition-editor/
https://ebookmeta.com/product/cinderella-s-big-foot-laura-north/
Antony JREEL Hugh C. Foot
Editors
https://archive.org/details/humorlaughtertheOO000unse
Humor and
Laughter
Theory, Research,
and Applications
Antony J. Chapman
and Hugh C. Foot
Editors
With a new introduction by Peter Derks
TRANSACTION PUBLISHERS
New Brunswick (U.S.A.) and London (U.K.)
New material this edition copyright © 1996 by Transaction Publishers, New
Brunswick, New Jersey 08903. Originally published in 1976 by John Wiley &
Sons, Ltd.
Introduction . RP Fi yer
Antony J. Chapman and Hugh C. Foot
Index 343
Introduction to the Transaction Edition
THEORY
This background indicates that personality was a first and important step to get
theory, then application, off the ground. A model that related humor to personal-
ity through content was only a beginning, however, and not very satisfactory at
that. From the standpoint of philosophical, rational theories, to say that jokes
about a topic are appreciated by someone with an interest in that topic seems to
say little about the basic mechanism of humor.
Manipulation of salience
As for the salience of content, sexual humor is the third dimension of the 3-
WD. Although extraversion, following Eysenck, cannot be rejected as a pre-
dictor of the amusement of sex it is not strongly correlated either. Instead, the
more obvious factors of sexual activity and enjoyment determine the apprecia-
tion of sexual humor.
For example, Prerost (1984) managed to find people to fill groups based on
sexuality and involvement. There were those who were engaged in a sexual
relation and enjoying it, those who were not engaged in a sexual relation and
were perfectly happy about it, those who were not engaged in a sexual relation
and sorry about it and, even sorrier, those who were enga ged in a sexual relation
xii
and did not like it. Salience of content was fairly equivalent here, but funniness
was highly related to the quality of that salient factor. “Unenjoyed” sex resulted
in lower humor ratings for sexual material.
Extraversion does make a more general contribution to overall enjoyment.
Although humor type, including sex, may not differentiate extraverts from intro-
verts, extraverts laugh more and give higher ratings overall to 3-WD items (Ruch,
1993b). An important discovery from this line of research is that, properly mea-
sured and observed, the subjective ratings of how funny something is do agree
significantly with overt expressions of amusement. Ruch (1995) has shown that
it is important to calculate the correlations of laughing and rating within subjects
to reduce the role of individual differences. Furthermore, the proper observation
of the overt response also requires the assessment of the crinkle around the eyes
that accompanies a genuine laugh. This realization is thanks to rediscovery of
the “Duchenne smile” by Ekman (Duchenne, 1990/1862; Ekman, 1992; Frank
and Ekman, 1993).
Progress, then, has been made in determining the nature of the iceberg outlined
by these emergent peaks. Structure in humor depends on incongruity (Shultz,
1976, chapter 1, this volume). People enjoy it more if it is resolved or at least,
not seen as a problem (Rothbart, 1976, chapter 2, this volume). Still there is fun
in just playing with the situation and making it even more nonsensical, the es-
sence of children’s humor. In fact, from the production standpoint, incongruity
production is easier than incongruity resolution.’
Content plays a dual role. Primarily the material should be familiar. The cog-
nitive state of the audience can, however, be manipulated. It is valuable to have
“real world” (ecologically valid) examples of the effect of salience and motiva-
tion. The salience of enjoyable sex and justified aggression is readily available.
Many people do like to feel superior and to disparage those they do not like
(La Fave, Haddad, and Maesen, 1976, chapter 4, this volume; Zillmann and
Cantor, 1976, chapter 5, this volume). Zillmann and Bryant (1980) directly
demonstrated this aggressive tendency in humor. They invited college stu-
dents to participate in the evaluation of toys for advertising. One set of partici-
pants was greeted by a female research assistant and treated in a professional,
polite manner. Another set was treated in a condescending manner by the same
researcher acting rudely. Then she exited bruskly to show them the toys on a
closed-circuit TV. The two groups of toy evaluators saw one of three episodes
that had been videotaped for the experiment. In one incident the research as-
sistant had an accident handling a box and spilled hot tea on herself. In another
instance the box flew open and a jack-in-the-box jumped out. There was no
spilled drink in this case. In the third episode the box flew open and the jack-
in-the-box jumped out and caused the tea to spill on the assistant. For the
polite research assistant, the spilled tea alone resulted in very little mirth by
the observers. The jack-in-the-box alone was not particularly funny either. In
xiii
fact, this condition did not produce much response from the people who had
been treated rather rudely by the research assistant. They did, however, find
the spilled tea alone mildly amusing. The politely treated subjects also found
the tea spilled by the jack-in-the-box somewhat amusing. The big hit was the
tea spilled by the jack-in-the-box on the obnoxious assistant. In this instance,
the observers showed a “strong mirth reaction.” Humor expressed aggression
in a salient “real life” experimental situation.
It has also been shown that salient affiliation can play a role in humor. Raven
and Rietsema (1957) studied the value of individuals knowing what they are
doing in appreciating working on some task. Does it help the workers accept the
task if they know where it fits into a broader scheme, even if the task is trivial?
Their participants were instructed to cut pieces of colored paper into various
shapes. They received their instructions over a speaker while alone in a booth.
This arrangement was supposed to eliminate interpersonal variables such as fa-
cial expressions and eye contact. In fact, each participant was alone in the ex-
perimental situation, and the request for colored shapes, like the activity of the
assistant in Zillmann and Bryant’s study, had been tape-recorded earlier. The
difference here was the participants’ knowledge of what was being done with
the colored shapes. For some, no goal was specified. Cutting the shapes was an
end in itself. For others, they were to be used to construct a little model house.
Admittedly this was not very stimulating intellectually, but it was enough to
make the participants more interested and involved in their task.
Laughter was manipulated almost by accident. In the original recording of the
tape that gave directions, one of the actors gave an involuntary and rather loud
burp. This led to much merriment among the other actors on the tape. If the
person cutting out paper shapes was uninformed and disinterested, the laughter
was usually ignored. Those who “knew what was going on” frequently laughed
along with the people on the tape, joining in with the merry, prerecorded crew.
Amore direct example of both affiliative and aggressive laughter comes from
a study by Lefcourt, Sardoni, and Sardoni (1974). Lefcourt investigated differ-
ences between people who believe they control their own destiny and people
who believe they are victims of circumstances. In other words, how does it af-
fect behavior if one’s “locus of control” is internal as opposed to external? One
difference is in how much one laughs. When asked to free associate to a list of
words the external locus-of-control “victims” apparently saw this as an imper-
sonal, irrelevant requirement and participated with a relatively straight face. The
internal locus-of-control “masters of their fate,” however, were quite animated
and laughed frequently at the beginning of the study. Furthermore, the laughter
had a “quality of warmth,” the eyes were “wide open,” the “teeth visible,” and
there was a “body lean toward (the) experimenter.” The laughter of these self-
confident individuals was social and affiliative.
As the list of words continued the experimenters added double entendres;
words with progressively more obvious sexual interpretations. The aim seemed
to be to make the experimental situation into a kind of joke. The last list of items
for association was quite obscene and sexually rich with not such subtle mean-
xiv
ing. At this point, the “external locus of control” people did laugh a little. It was
mostly “tension relief,” however, with a “strained smile,” a “quizzical facial
expression,” “fidgetiness,” and so forth.
On the obscene part of the list those with a self-image of personal control
laughed even more. Some of their laughter was social and some was tension
relief. The majority of their laughter, however, was with “challenging looks—
intense with narrowed eyes” and a “pleased or prideful look.” As the salience of
the situation changed, their laughter changed to match, from friendly to asser-
tive, from affiliative to aggressive. Their response did not match the mood of the
list but revealed their own control of the circumstances.
Along with the situation, then, the type of individual is still important. Not
only are control, conservatism, and sensation-seeking relevant, but so are the
concerns of the individual, such as sex, aggression, and affiliation. As these
studies indicate, the relative contribution may vary but the general interaction
will be consistent.
APPLICATION
The paradigm to assess the value of humor is the inverse of that for determining
its nature. Humor is presented and its effects on happiness, health, creativity,
and so forth are measured. Although Cousins (1979) did not invent either the
paradigm or the hypothesis, “laughter is the best medicine,” he certainly fo-
cused attention on their possibilities. As has often been reported, he watched
“Candid Camera” episodes to relieve a rheumatism-like inflammation of the
vertebrae that results in immobility and pain (ankylosing spondylitis). The treat-
ment was a success. What is not always mentioned is that he also took massive
doses of vitamin-C and took charge of his situation by checking out of the hos-
pital and into his own room. Langer (1989) has shown that such “mindful” ac-
tion can relieve symptoms by itself. The role of humor as a monolithic panacea
Xvi
was left uncertain through lack of control and, amazingly, lack of a replication.
Goldstein (1987) has given a sobering evaluation of the topic. More significant
than the humor manipulation was Cousins’ (1989) contribution to the whole
concept of psychological concern for the patient as well as the physiological
treatment of a disease.
In essence, the paradigm suffers from two related problems. First, since hu-
mor had not been well defined, the type of humor used has not always been
evaluated. There were, however, exceptions. For example, Baron (1978a) found
that while hostile humor would increase the amount of shock that a person was
willing to give an obnoxious confederate, less hostile humor would reduce it.
Even “exploitive” sexual humor reduced the administration of an apparent shock
(Baron, 1978b). Therefore, humor type was critical in determining its “thera-
peutic” value.
Second, the selection of the individuals with their different experiences and
personalities and their consequent reaction to the different humor types was
usually left to chance. This analysis was the goal of the humor-personality tests.
The practical jokes that were the basis for “Candid Camera” were usually ag-
gressive, and Cousins was fond of practical jokes. This appropriate match of
salience is not usually manipulated.
Consequently, one of the most successful efforts to evaluate humor has bypassed
the first problem and carefully measured the second. Martin and Lefcourt (1983)
developed the Coping Humor Scale (CHS) to measure the extent to which indi-
viduals would use humor, never mind what kind, to deal with problems in gen-
eral. They also proposed the Situational Humor Response Questionnaire (SHRQ)
for an estimate of how often humor would be used in specific situations; that is,
seeing an old friend on the street or getting a low grade on an exam (Martin and
Lefcourt, 1984). The CHS and the SHRQ correlate positively, but not highly (.3
to .4).
The tests have been extensively validated and do indicate something about
people who use humor in their lives, both to cope with specific situations and in
general (Lefcourt and Martin, 1986). The extraverted laughers of Ruch and Deck-
ers (1993) scored high on the SHRQ as well as on sensation seeking. Extrover-
sion is most clearly related to the scores on these humor use tests (Ruch, 1994).
Such individuals tend to have a positive self concept (Kuiper and Martin, 1993)
and a positive view of life (Martin, Kuiper, Olinger, and Dance, 1993). The
more general CHS was more stable in relation to self-esteem. The SHRQ, with
its specific instances, may have been more influenced by daily changes in affec-
tive state. Yovetich, Dale, and Hudak (1990) found that low scorers on the SHRQ
were most relieved by a comedy tape while waiting for a painful electric shock.
If humor use is already a trait, introducing irrelevant amusement in a situation
may not help much. As a state manipulation for the unhappy, it may be more
valuable. Nezu, Nezu, and Blissett (1988), for example, reported that anxiety
xVii
was not particularly affected by the strategies implied by high scores on the
CHS or the SHRQ, that is, frequent humor use. In contrast, depression following
negative life events showed relative alleviation. Anxiety about the future is no
laughing matter and best translated into excitement (Apter, 1982). Depression
about the past is a waste of time and best transformed into optimism (Seligman,
1991). Humor has been found to correspond to denial, reversal, replacement,
and other-directed blame (Rim, 1988). These defensive styles all correspond to
the rejection of personal responsibility in a particular situation at a specific time
that Seligman reports the optimist uses to handle failure. The SHRQ does corre-
late with a measure of optimism (Korotkov and Hannah, 1994). Thus, using
humor as a trait seems to go along with self-confident, extraverted optimism and
the laughter helps distance the individual from the problem. Ruch (1993a) makes
a strong argument that the appropriate emotion should be called “exhilaration.”
Although perhaps a bit extreme, that is certainly the direction that we are taken
by humor.
There is some evidence that humor, even undifferentiated, can have positive
effects not only on emotional state but on physical well-being. Martin and Dob-
bin (1988) found that high scores on the CHS and SHRQ indicated a resistance
to the reduction in immune function that usually goes with stress. Stress was
assessed by a questionnaire about the presence of frustrating inconvenience, the
Daily Hassles Scale, and immune function by the salivary amount of secretory
immunoglobin-A, important in the body’s defence against upper respiratory in-
fections. In a situational study, Berk, Tan, Fry, Napier, Lee, Hubbard, Lewis,
and Eby (1989) found increased immune activity and white cell vitality in on-
line blood samples while the participants watched a comedy routine.
Such research is demanding and difficult to repeat. Since these are just a few
of the available studies, from a meta-analytic standpoint, the effects seem real if
not robust. There is some evidence that similar benefits may be obtained from
viewing tragedy, eating chocolate, or doing aerobic exercises (Weisenberg, Gerby,
and Mikulincer, 1993; Zillmann, Rockwell, Schweitzer, and Sundar, 1993). The
placebo demand characteristics are also difficult to eliminate. It is important,
then, to evaluate the individual, the situation, and the humor type and include
appropriate controls when examining these applications. What worked for Norman
Cousins probably will not work for everybody.
Health, either mental or physical, is not the only area where attempts have been
made to apply humor. Another issue that would also benefit from a concern for
the relation between humor type and the individual is the role of entertainment
in the acquisition and use of knowledge. Humor’s role in education has received
extensive examination, with mixed results. Several reviews suggest that the overall
effect of humor is probably positive as it often improves attention in the class-
room (Chapman and Crompton, 1978; Zillmann and Bryant, 1983). The humor,
in other words, should be salient with the material to be learned. From a direct
perspective humor has been shown to improve memory for shapes and for sen-
tences over just meaningfulness alone (McAninch, Austin, and Derks, 1992-93;
Schmidt, 1994). It also seems to improve mood and flexibility of thinking in that
it makes people more creative (Isen, Daubman, and Nowicki, 1987; Ziv, 1976,
1984). Again the effect seems to derive from salience (attention) and incongru-
ity resolution (flexibility).
Another topic relating knowledge and humor is the role of funny messages in
opinion change. Does all that editorial sarcasm really help educate the masses?
Since humorists are probably liberal sensation-seekers and use nonsense to criti-
cize people they do not like, is it likely to have an impact on the conservatives
who look for resolved incongruity? Since even before his masterful review, Gruner
(1976, chapter 13, this volume) had found “not much.” He has continued his
investigation and has reported that one way at least to understand sarcasm is to
be a member of a fraternity or sorority (Gruner, 1989). It is not surprising that
frequent exposure to irony, subtle deprecation, and just plain kidding should
lead to an awareness of sarcasm (Lyman, 1992). Still other variables, like intel-
ligence, that might have been expected to be influential, were not. There are still
many questions to be answered about attitudes and humor.
The last twenty years of humor research have resulted in real progress, per-
haps more in the understanding of humor itself than in its applications. A re-
reading of Leventhal and Safer (1977) as well as the first ten chapters of Chapman
and Foot (1976a, this volume) and the first five in Goldstein and McGhee, (1972)
does show the good foundation referred to earlier. With the evaluative tools of
Willi Ruch, Rod Martin, and their colleagues an even more solid platform has
xix
been constructed. It is appropriate to the multidimensional nature of humor that
a measure of humor appreciation and a measure of humor use do not seem to
correlate (Deckers and Ruch, 1992).
The little stories in experimental situations may be derived from, and intro-
duce, the investigation of literature and art. A most encouraging prospect for the
future of humor research is the potential for interdisciplinary cooperation and
understanding. In the last analysis humor is fun. It is disturbing to think that the
upswing in interest in humor might be powered by the appeal of the negative;
the aggressive, hostile, dark side of humor as an escape from the “tenderness
tabu” (Allport, 1960; Chapman and Foot, 1976b, introduction, this volume).
The multifaceted, multidimensional, multidisciplinary nature of humor reveals
the positive, pleasant side as well. Instead of eliminating our joy in the salient
incongrtuities of life, the study of the bright, colorful reflections of humor will
enrich our appreciation and focus our use of the “pert challenge” as a central and
critical aspect of human nature. This volume remains an excellent place to start.
PETER DERKS
July 1995
NOTES
Thanks to Kim Binsted, Willi Ruch, and Rod Martin, as well as the editors of this volume,
for their willingness to give assistance and advice. Their information and suggestions are
appreciated although they were not all used or taken.
1. Thanks to W. Larry Ventis for making this point explicit.
2. Thanks to Howard Pollio for emphasizing this distinction.
REFERENCES
Allport, G. W. (1960). The Individual and His Religion. New York: Macmillan.
Apte, M. L. (1985). Humor and Laughter. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Apter, M. J. (1982). The Experience of Motivation: The Theory of Psychological Reversals.
San Diego: Academic Press
Attardo, S., and Raskin, V. (1991). Script theory revis(it)ed: Joke similarity and joke repre-
sentation model. Humor: International Journal of Humor Research, 4, 292-347.
Babad, E. Y. (1974). Multi-method approach to the assessment of humor: A critical look at
humor tests. Journal of Personality, 42, 618-631.
Baron, R. A. (1978a). Aggression-inhibiting influence of sexual humor. Journal of Person-
ality and Social Psychology, 36, 189-197.
Baron, R. A. (1978b). The influence of hostile and nonhostile humor upon physical aggres-
sion. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 4, 77-80.
Bergson, H. (1911). Laughter: An Essay on the Meaning of the Comic. New York: Macmillan.
Berk, L.S., Tan, S.A., Fry, W.F., Napier, B.J., Lee, J.W., Hubbard, R.W., Lewis, J.E., and
Eby, W.C. (1989). Neuroendocrine and stress hormone changes during mirthful laughter.
The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, 298, 390-396.
Bick, C.H. (1989). An EEG-mapping study of “laughing”: Coherence and brain dominances.
International Journal of Neuroscience, 47, 31-49.
Binsted, K., and Ritchie, G. (1994). A symbolic description of punning riddles and its com-
puter implementation. (Report No. 688). Edinburgh, UK: University of Edinburgh De-
partment of Artificial Intelligence (to appear in Humor).
Boring, E. G. (1957). A History of Experimental Psychology. (2nd Ed.) New York: Appleton,
Century, Crofts.
Carson, R. C. (1989). Personality. In M. R. Rosenzweig and L. W. Porter (Eds.), Annual
Review of Psychology, Vol. 40. Palo Alto, CA: Annual Reviews.
XX1
Carroll, J.L. (1989). Changes in humor appreciation of college students in the last 25 years.
Psychological Reports, 65, 863-866.
Cattell, R. B., and Luborsky, L. B. (1947a). The validation of personality factors in humor.
Journal of Personality, 15, 283-291.
Cattell, R. B., and Luborsky, L. B. (1947b). Personality factors in response to humor. Jour-
nal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 42, 402-421.
Chapman, A. J. (1976). Social aspects of humorous laughter. In A. J. Chapman and H.
mh hae (Eds.), Humour and Laughter: Theory, Research and Applications. London:
iley.
Chapman, A. J. (1983). Humor and laughter in social interaction and some implications for
humor research. In P. E. McGhee and J. H. Goldstein (Eds.), Handbook of Humor Re-
search: Vol I. Basic Issues. New York: Springer-Verlag.
Chapman, A. J., and Crompton, P. (1978). Humorous presentations of material and presen-
tations of humorous material: A review of the humor and memory literature and two
experimental studies. In M. M. Gruneberg, P. E. Morris, and R. N. Sykes (Eds.), Practi-
cal Aspects of Memory. London: Academic Press.
Chapman, A.J., and Foot, H.C. (Eds.) (1976a). Humour and Laughter: Theory, Research
and Applications. London: Wiley.
Chapman, A.J., and Foot, H.C. (1976b). Introduction. In A. J. Chapman and H. C. Foot
(Eds.), Humour and Laughter: Theory, Research and Applications. London: Wiley.
Chapman, A.J., and Foot, H.C. (Eds.) (1977). It's a Funny Thing, Humour. Oxford: Pergamon
Press.
Cousins, N. (1979). The Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by the Patient. New York:
Norton.
Cousins, N. (1989). Head first: The Biology of Hope. New York: Dutton.
Deckers, L. (1993). On the validity of a weight-judging paradigm for the study of humor.
Humor: International Journal of Humor Research, 6, 43-56.
Deckers, L., and Buttram, R. T. (1990). Humor as a response to incongruities within or
between schemata. Humor: International Journal of Humor Research, 3, 53-64.
Deckers, L., and Ruch, W. (1992). The situational humor response questionnaire (SHRQ) as
a test of “sense of humor”: A validity study in the field of humor appreciation. Personal-
ity and Individuals Differences, 13, 1149-1152.
Duchenne, G-B. (1990). The Mechanism of Human Facial Expressions or an Electro-physi-
ological analysis of the expression of emotions (R.A. Cuthbertson, Editor and Transla-
tor). New York: Cambridge University Press (first published 1862).
Eastman, M. (1936). The Enjoyment of Laughter. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Ekman, P. (1992) Facial expressions of emotions: New findings, new questions. Psycho-
logical Science, 3, 34-38.
Eysenck, H. J. (1942). The appreciation of humor: An experimental and theoretical study.
British Journal of Psychology, 32, 295-309.
Eysenck, H. J. (1943). An experimental analysis of five tests of “appreciation of humor.”
Educational and Psychological Measurement, 3, 191-214.
Eysenck, H.J. (1972). Foreword. In J.H. Goldstein and P.E. McGhee (Eds.), The Psychol-
ogy of Humor. New York: Academic Press.
Eysenck, H.J., and Wilson, G. (1976). Know Your Own Personality. New York: Barnes &
Noble.
Fine, G. A. (1983). Sociological approaches to the study of humor. In P. E. McGhee and J.
H. Goldstein (Eds.), Handbook of Humor Research: Vol I: Basic Issues. New York:
Springer-Verlag. } :
Forabosco, G. (1992). Cognitive aspects of the humor process: The concept of incongruity.
é
Humor: International Journal of Humor Research, 5, 45-68.
Foot, H. C., and Chapman, A. J. (1976). The social responsiveness of young children in
humorous situations. In A. J. Chapman and H. C. Foot (Eds.), Humour and Laughter:
Theory, Research and Applications. London: Wiley.
xxii
Frank, M. G., and Ekman, P. (1993). Not all smiles are created equal: The differences be-
tween enjoyment and nonenjoyment smiles. Humor: International Journal of Humor
Research, 6, 9-26.
Fry, W.F. (1994). The biology of humor. Humor: International Journal of Humor Research,
7, 111-126.
Fry, W. F., and Allen, M. (1975). Make ’em Laugh: Life Studies of Comedy Writers. Palo
Alto, CA: Science and Behavior Books.
Fry, W. F., and Allen, M. (1976). Humour as creative experience: The development of a
Hollywood humorist. In A. J. Chapman, and H. C. Foot (Eds.), Humour and Laughter:
Theory, Research and Applications. London: Wiley.
Giles, H., Bourhis, R. Y., Gadfield, N. J., Davies, G. J., and Davies, A. P. (1976). Cognitive
aspects of humour in social interaction: A model and some linguistic data. InA.J. Chapman
and H. C. Foot (Eds.), Humour and Laughter: Theory, Research and Applications. Lon-
don: Wiley.
Godkewitsch, M. (1976). Physiological and verbal indices of arousal in rated humour. In A.
J. Chapman and H. C. Foot (Eds.), Humour and Laughter: Theory, Research and Appli-
cations. London: Wiley.
Goldstein, J. H. (1987). Therapeutic effects of laughter. In W. F. Fry and W. Salameh (Eds.),
Handbook of Humor and Psychotherapy. Sarasota, FL: Professional Resource Exchange.
Goldstein, J.H. and McGhee, P.E. (Eds.) (1972). The Psychology of Humor. New York:
Academic Press.
Goldstein, J. H., Suls, J. M., and Anthony, B. (1972). Enjoyment of specific types of humor
content: Motivation or salience? In J. H. Goldstein and P. E. McGhee (Eds.), The Psy-
chology of Humor. New York: Academic Press.
Grammer, K. (1990). Strangers meet: Laughter and non-verbal signs of interest in opposite-
sex encounters. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 14, 209-236.
Grumet, G.W. (1989). Laughter: Nature’s epileptoid catharsis. Psychological Reports, 65,
1059-1078.
Gruner, C. R. (1976). Wit and humour in mass communication. In A. J. Chapman and H. C.
Foot (Eds.), Humour and Laughter: Theory, Research and Applications. London: Wiley.
Gruner, C. R. (1989). A quasiexperimental study of the effect of humor preference and other
variables on understanding/appreciation of editorial satire. Psychological Reports, 65,
967-970.
Hall, G.S., and Allin, A. (1897). The psychology of tickling laughter and the comic. Ameri-
can Journal of Psychology, 9, 1-42.
Hehl, F-J., and Ruch, W. (1985). The location of sense of humor within comprehensive
personality spaces: An exploratory study. Personality and Individual Differences, 6,
703-715.
Heim, A. (1936). An experiment on humour. British Journal of Psychology, 27, 148-161.
Hoppe, R. A. (1976). Artificial humor and uncertainty. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 42,
1051-1056.
Isen, A. M., Daubman, K. A., and Nowicki, G. P. (1987). Positive affect facilitates creative
problem solving. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 1122-1131.
James, W. (1896). The Principles of Psychology. New York: Henry Holt.
Jones, J. M., and Liverpool, H. V. (1976). Calypso humour in Trinidad. In A. J. Chapman
and H. C. Foot (Eds.), Humour and Laughter: Theory, Research and Applications. Lon-
don: Wiley.
Katz, B.F. (1993). A neural resolution of the incongruity-resolution and incongruity theo-
ries of humor. Connection Science, 5, 59-75.
Keith-Spiegel, P. (1972). Early conceptions of humor: Varieties and issues. In J. H. Goldstein
and P.E. McGhee (Eds.), The Psychology of Humor. New York: Academic Press.
Korotkov, D., and Hannah, T.E. (1994). Extraversion and emotionality as proposed
superordinate stress moderators: A prospective analysis. Personality and Individual Dif-
ferences, 16, 787-792.
XX111
Kuiper, N. A., and Martin, R. A. (1993). Humor and self-concept. Humor: Internationa
l
Journal of Humor Research, 6, 251-270.
La Fave, L., Haddad, J., and Maesen, W. A. (1976). In A. J. Chapman and H. C. Foot
(Eds.),
Humour and Laughter: Theory, Research and Applications. London: Wiley.
Langer, E. J. (1989). Mindfulness. Reading, MA: Addison Wesley.
Lefcourt, H. M., Sardoni, C., and Sardoni, C. (1974). Locus of control and the expression of
humor. Journal of Personality, 42, 130-143.
Lefcourt, H.M., and Martin, R.A. (1986). Humor and Life Stress: Anecdote to Adversity.
New York: Springer-Verlag.
Leventhal, H., and Safer, M.A. (1977). Individual differences, personality, and humour
appreciation: Introduction to symposium. In A. J. Chapman and H. C. Foot (Eds.), It’s a
Funny Thing, Humour. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
Levine, J. (Ed.) (1969). Motivation in Humor. New York: Atherton.
Lyman, P. (1992). The fraternal bond as a joking relationship. In M. Kimmel and M. Messner
(Eds.), Men's Lives. New York: Macmillan.
Martin, L. J. (1905). Psychology of aesthetics: I. Experimental prospecting in the field of
the comic. American Journal of Psychology, 16, 35-118.
Martin, R.A., and Dobbin, V.P. (1988). Sense of humor, hassles, and immunoglobin-A:
Evidence for a stress-moderating effect of humor. International Journal of Psychiatry in
Medicine, 18, 93-105.
Martin, R.A., Kuiper, N.A., Olinger, L.J., and Dance, K.A. (1993). Humor, coping with
stress, self-concept, and psychological well-being. Humor: International Journal of Hu-
mor Research, 6, 89-104.
Martin, R.A., and Lefcourt, H.M. (1983). Sense of humor as a moderator of the relation
between stressors and moods. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45,
1313-1324.
Martin, R.A. and Lefcourt, H.M. (1984). The Situational Humor Response Questionnaire:
A quantitative measure of the sense of humor. Journal of Personality and Social Psy-
chology, 47, 145-155.
Martineau, W. H. (1972) A model of the social functions of humor. In J. H. Goldstein and P.
E. McGhee (Eds.), The Psychology of Humor. New York: Academic Press.
Masten, A. S. (1989). Humor appreciation in children: Individual differences and response
sets. Humor: International Journal of Humor Research, 2, 365-384.
McAninch, C. B., Austin, J. L., and Derks, P. L. (1992-93). Effect of caption meaning on
memory for nonsense figures. Current Psychology: Research & Reviews, 11, 315-323.
McGhee, PE. (1983). The role of arousal and hemispheric lateralization in humor. In P.E.
McGhee and J.H. Goldstein (Eds.), Handbook of Humor Research: Vol.1. New York:
Springer-Verlag.
McGhee, P. E., and Chapman, A. J. (1980). Children's Humor. London: Wiley.
McGhee, P. E., and Goldstein, J. H. (Eds.) (1983a). Handbook of Humor Research: Vol. I.
Basic Issues. New York: Springer-Verlag.
McGhee, P. E., and Goldstein, J. H. (Eds.) (1983b). Handbook of Humor Research: Vol. II.
Applied Studies. New York: Springer-Verlag.
Miller, G. A., and Isard, S. (1963). Some perceptual consequences of linguistic rules. Jour-
nal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 2, 217-228.
Mindess, H. (1976). The use and abuse of humor in psychotherapy. In A.J. Chapman and
H.C. Foot (Eds.), Humour and Laughter: Theory, Research and Applications. London:
Wiley.
Rides H., Miller, C., Turek, J., Bender, A., and Corbin, S. (1985). The Antioch Humor
Test: Making Sense of Humor. New York: Avon Books.
Mintz, L. E. (1985). Standup comedy as social and cultural mediation. American Quarterly,
37, 71-80.
State Uni-
Morreall, J. (Ed.) (1987). The Philosophy of Laughter and Humor. Albany, NY:
versity of New York Press.
XX1V
Mulkay, M., Clark, C., and Pinch, T. (1993). Laughter and the profit motive: The use of
humor in a photographic shop. Humor: International Journal of Humor Research, 6,
163-193.
Nerhardt, G. (1970). Humor and inclination to laugh: Emotional reactions to stimuli of
different divergence from a range of expectancy. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology,
11, 185-195.
Nerhardt, G. (1976). Incongruity and funniness: Toward a new descriptive model. In A. J.
Chapman and H. C. Foot (Eds.), Humour and Laughter: Theory, Research and Applica-
tions. London: Wiley.
Nevo, O., and Nevo, B. (1983). What do you do when asked to answer humorously? Jour-
nal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44, 188-194.
Nezu, A.M., Nezu, C.M., and Blissett, S.E. (1988). Sense of humor as a moderator of the
relation between stressful events and psychological distress: A prospective analysis. Journal
of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 520-525.
Norrick, N.R. (1993). Conversational Joking: Humor in Everyday Life. Bloomington, IN:
Indiana University Press.
O’Connell, W.E. (1976). Freudian Humor: The eupsychia of everyday life. In A.J. Chapman
and H.C. Foot (Eds.), Humour and Laughter: Theory, Research and Applications. Lon-
don: Wiley.
Otta, E., Lira, B. B. P., Delavati, N. M., Cesar, O. P., Pires, C. S. G. (1994). The effect of
smiling and head tilting on person perception. The Journal of Psychology, 128, 323-331.
Pollio, H.R., and Edgerly, J.W. (1976). Comedians and comic style. In A.J. Chapman and H.C.
Foot (Eds.), Humour and Laughter: Theory, Research and Applications. London: Wiley.
Posner, M.L., and Raichle, M.E. (1994). Images of Mind. New York: Freeman.
Prerost, F. J. (1984). Reactions to humorous sexual stimuli as a function of sexual activeness
and satisfaction. Psychology, 21, 23-27.
Raskin, V., and Attardo, S. (1994). Non-literalness and non-bona-fide in language: An ap-
proach to formal and computational treatments of humor. Pragmatics & Cognition, 2,
31-69.
Raven, B., and Rietsema, J. (1957). The effect of varied clarity of group goal and group path
upon the individual and his relation to his group. Journal of Human Relations, 10, 29-45.
Rim, Y. (1988). Sense of humor and coping styles. Personality and Individual Differences,
9, 559-564.
Rothbart, M. K. (1976). Incongruity, problem-solving and laughter. In A. J. Chapman and
H. C. Foot (Eds.), Humour and Laughter: Theory, Research and Applications. London:
Wiley.
Ruch, W. (1992). Assessment of appreciation of humor: Studies with the 3WD Humor Test.
In C.D. Spielberger and J.N. Butcher (Eds.), Advances in Personality Assessment, Vol. 9.
(pp. 27-75). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Ruch, W. (1993a). Exhilaration and humor. In M. Lewis and J. M. Haviland (Eds.), The
Handbook of Emotions. New York: Guilford.
Ruch, W. (1993b). Extraversion, alcohol and enjoyment. Personality and Individual Differ-
ences, 16, 89-102.
Ruch, W. (1994). Temperament, Eysenck’s PEN system, and humor-related traits. Humor:
International Journal of Humor Research, 7, 209-244.
Ruch, W. (1995). Will the real relationship between facial expression and affective experi-
ence please stand up: The case of exhilaration. Cognition and Emotion, 9, 33-58.
Ruch, W., and Deckers, L. (1993). Do extraverts “like to laugh”?: An analysis of the Situ-
rare oe Response Questionnaire (SHRQ). European Journal of Personality, 7,
Ruch, W., and Hehl, F-J. (1983). Intolerance of ambiguity as a factor in the appreciation of
humour. Personality and Individual Differences, 4, 440-449.
Ruch, W., and Hehl, F-J. (1986a). Conservatism as a predictor of responses to humor—I. A
comparison of four scales. Personality and Individual Differences, 7, 1-14.
XXV
Ruch, W., and Hehl, F-J. (1986b). Conservatism as a predictor of responses to humor—II.
The location of sense of humor in a comprehensive attitude space. Personality and Indi-
vidual Differences, 7, 861-874.
Ruch, W., Ott, C., Accoce, J., and Bariaud, F. (1991). Cross-national comparison of humor
ee France and Germany. Humor: International Journal of Humor Research, 4,
1-414.
Russell, R. E. (1987). Life, Mind, and Laughter: A Theory of Laughter. Chicago, IL: Adams.
Schmidt, S. R. (1994). Effects of humor on sentence memory. Journal of Experimental
Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 20, 953-967.
Seligman, M.E.P. (1991). Learned Optimism. New York: Knopf.
Sherman, L. W. (1988). Humor and social distance in elementary school children. Humor:
International Journal of Humor Research, 1, 389-404.
Shultz, T. R. (1976). A cognitive-developmental analysis of humour. In A. J. Chapman and
H. C. Foot (Eds.), Humour and Laughter: Theory, Research and Applications. London:
Wiley.
Svebak, S. (1982). The effect of mirthfulness upon amount of discordant right-left occipital
EEG alpha. Motivation and Emotion, 6, 133-147.
Tollefson, D.L., and Cattell, R.B. (1966). Handbook for the IPAT Humor Test of Personal-
ity. Champaign, IL: IPAT.
Weisenberg, M., Gerby, Y., and Mikulincer, M. (1993). Aerobic exercise and chocolate as
means for reducing learned helplessness. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 17, 579-592.
Wicker, F.W., Thorelli, I.M., Barron, W.L., III, and Ponder, M.R. (1981). Relationships
among affective and cognitive factors in humor. Journal of Research in Personality, 15,
359-370.
Wilson, G.D. (1973). A dynamic theory of conservatism. In G.D. Wilson (Ed.), The Psy-
chology of Conservatism. London: Academic Press.
Winkel, M. (1993). Autonomic differentiation of temporal components of sexist humor.
Humor: International Journal of Humor Research, 6, 27-42.
Wyer, R.S., and Collins, J.-E. (1992). A theory of humor elicitation. Psychological Review,
99, 663-688.
Yovetich, N.A., Dale, J.A., and Hudak, M.H. (1990). Benefits of humor in reduction of
threat-induced anxiety. Psychological Reports, 66, 51-58.
Zillmann, D., and Bryant, J. (1980). Misattribution theory of tendentious humor. Journal of
Experimental Social Psychology, 16, 146-160.
Zillmann, D., and Bryant, J. (1983). Uses and effects of humor in educational ventures. In P.
E. McGhee and J. H. Goldstein (Eds.), Handbook of Humor Research: Vol II. Applied
Studies. New York: Springer-Verlag.
Zillmann, D., and Cantor, J. R. (1976). A disposition theory of humour and mirth. In A. J.
Chapman and H. C. Foot (Eds.), Humour and Laughter: Theory, Research and Applica-
tions. London: Wiley.
Zillmann, D., Rockwell, S., Schweitzer, K., and Sundar, S. S. (1993). Does humor facilitate
coping with physical discomfort? Motivation and Emotion, 17, 1-21.
Ziv, A. (1976). Facilitating effects of humor on creativity. Journal of Educational Psychol-
ogy, 68, 318-322.
Ziv, A. (1984). Personality and Sense of Humor. New York: Springer.
Zuckerman, M. (1979). Sensation Seeking: Beyond the Optimum—Level of Arousal. Hillsdale,
NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
l? be
a ee
vs a
Soe
a
| ae
Preface
It is almost twenty years since the publication of our edited volume on the psy-
chology humor and laughter and, in some respects, little has changed. Many of
the problems that challenged us then are still the subject of theoretical and em-
pirical enquiry. Sex and aggression in humor are still recurrent themes in re-
search; humor as a means of resolving incongruity, and of expressing
disparagement and superiority has remained a lively issue; and the eternal search
for personality correlates of humor is never far below the surface in explorations
of humor appreciation.
The changes that have occurred have been more in the manner in which re-
search has been conducted. The series of International Conferences on Humour
which started in Cardiff in 1976 and have continued annually or biennually
brought together humor researchers from a variety of disciplines. This has re-
sulted in a move away from the lone, maverick researcher to a more integrated
and collaborative research endeavor. Humor research has, therefore, “found” its
academic community and benefitted from more concerted research approaches.
In his introductory chapter Peter Derks has highlighted many of the lines of
research that have attracted attention over the past two decades and, while many
of these themes are just the same, significant advances have been made in our
understanding. We are, for example, clearer about the relationship between per-
sonality type and humor appreciation. The pioneering work of Willi Ruch has
succeeded in developing measures which differentiate various personality styles
on the basis of different types of humor appreciation, a relationship which had
largely eluded previous researchers. We also know more now about the link
between expressions of amusement and ratings of funniness and have a clearer
idea about how to measure them properly. In addition to the continued emphasis
upon personality dimensions, research has also remained focused upon the situ-
ational determinants of humor and its potential as a social skill. Its function as a
coping mechanism in different kinds of social situations has been more fully
explored. Through the work of Rod Martin and others we understand better the
manner in which it is used to control our social interactions, to cope with stress
and to improve our sense of well-being.
In its applications, too, present-day research themes echo those of the 1970's
and we have expanded our knowledge of the value of humor for alleviating
unhappiness, depression, and anxiety and for changing our self-image. As Derks
argues, “humor works on the whole physiology and psychology of an individual”;
xxviii
it activates our state of mood and our state of arousal and sharpens our senses in
a variety of ways. While many scholars of humor had an implicit belief that
humor can facilitate our acquisition of knowledge there is now much stronger
empirical support for the claim that it can improve attention in the classroom,
help us recall objects and facts, and stimulate creativity of thought by encourag-
ing more flexible thinking.
Research has moved us forward. It isn’t just a question of more of the same.
There have been qualitative as well as quantitative advances in our understand-
ing, and we have a better methodological base for developing appropriate mea-
sures and tools. Humor research is still exciting and still challenging: the extra
precision in our methods of enquiry does not detract one jot from the essential
fun and interest of putting humor under the microscope. The chapters in this
book are still refreshing and stimulating to re-read. They still offer insights into
human nature and are still a sound platform for new research.
We look forward with interest to the next twenty years.
ANTONY J. CHAPMAN
Huau C. Foor
July 1995
Preface
body of knowledge. We hope that those taking up new research find the book a
stimulating and enlightening source of ideas. We hope also that they find it
provides some insights into ways of tackling investigations into these fascinating
topics.
There are in fact very few situations to which laughter is not appropriate. We laugh
when the sea touches our navel ... But we only laugh in company ... We laugh at
something because it is familiar and something else because it is unfamiliar. We
laugh at misfortunes if they do not incur danger, though what constitutes ‘danger’
varies enormously between nations and centuries. The day before yesterday, in
ethnological time, we laughed to see a lunatic on the end ofa chain, or a bear tied toa
post and bitten to death by dogs ... We laugh because other people are laughing
uncontrollably; but controlled or calculated laughter, on the other hand, can drive
our own smiles underground: for hours. We laugh if and because we are supposed
not to laugh ...
Then there is the laugh which fills up the blank in the conversation ... The laugh
to attract attention ... The laugh of the lone man at the theatre, who wishes to show
he understands ... The laugh of creative pleasure ... The laugh of relief from
physical danger ... [and so on].
(Reprinted by permission of A. D. Peters and Company).
REFERENCES
Allport, G. W. (1960). The Individual and His Religion. New Y ork: Macmillan.
Allport, G. W. (1961). Pattern and Growth in Personality. New York: Holt, Rinehart and
Winston.
Bergler, E. (1956). Laughter and the Sense ofHumor. New York: Grune and Stratton.
Berlyne, D. E. (1969). Laughter, humor and play. In G. Lindzey and E. Aronson (Eds.),
Handbook of Social Psychology, Vol. 3. (2nd Ed.). Reading, Massachusetts: Addison—
Wesley.
Carlson, E. R. (1966). The affective tone of psychology. Journal of General Psychology,
75, 65-78.
Darwin, C. (1890). The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals. London: John
Murray.
Dewey, J. (1894). The theory of emotion. Psychological Review, 1, 553-569.
Erskine, J. (1928). Humor. Century, 115, 421—426.
Escarpit, R. (1969). Humorous attitude and scientific inventivity. Jmpact, 19, 253-258.
Flugel, J. C. (1954). Humor and laughter. In G. Lindzey (Ed.), Handbook of Social Psy-
chology, Vol. 2. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison—Wesley.
Friedman, B. (1969). The editor comments. /mpact, 19, 223-224.
Ghosh, R. (1939). An experimental study of humour. British Journal of Educational
Psychology, 9, 98-99.
Giles, H., and Oxford, G. S. (1970). Towards a multidimensional theory of laughter
causation and its social implications. Bulletin of the British Psychological Society, 23,
97-105.
Hall, G. S., and Allin, A. (1897). The psychology of tickling, laughter and the comic.
American Journal of Psychology, 9, 1-42.
Hooff, J. A. R. A. M. van. (1972). A comparative approach to the phylogeny oflaughter
sa smiling. In R. A. Hinde (Ed.), Non-verbal Communication. Cambridge University
ress.
Jonson, B. (1599). Every Man Out of His Humour. [Extract in P. Lauter (1964) Theories of
Comedy. New York: Doubleday].
Keith-Spiegel, K. (1969). Preface to symposium proceedings. Social Aspects of Humor:
Recent Research and Theory. Western Psychological Association Meeting, Vancouver.
Lindauer, M. S. (1968). Pleasant and unpleasant emotions in the literature: as compared to
the affective tone of psychology. Journal of Psychology, 70, 55—67.
Monro, D. H. (1951). Argument of Laughter. Melbourne University Press.
7
Omwake, L. (1937). A study of sense of humor: its relation to sex, age and personal
characteristics. Journal of Applied Psychology, 21, 688-704.
Potter, S. (1954). The Sense of Humour. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Shaw, F. J. (1960). Laughter: paradigm of growth. Journal of Individual Psychology, 16,
151-157.
Wasson, M. (1926). What is humor? Forum, 76, 425—429.
Zigler, E., Levine, J. and Gould, L. (1966). Cognitive processes in the development of
children’s appreciation of humor. Child Development, 37, 507-518.
Section I
ll
' id 5a ae
ba!
e : - 7
Chapter 1
A Cognitive-Developmental Analysis
of Humour
Thomas R. Shultz
HUMOUR IN ADULTS
If one decides to follow this strategy the next step is to develop a representative
collection of humour which can be analysed for its structural properties.
Substantial amounts of time and energy can be invested at this point in determin-
ing what constitutes humour and what does not. A number of criteria can be
used to make these decisions: (a) Does the event elicit laughter or smiling?
(b) Was it produced with the intention of eliciting laughter or smiling? (c)
Would other members of the culture agree that it was an instance of humour?
Each of these criteria can be applied in either an inclusive or an exclusive
manner and they can be applied singly or in combination. Each criterion can be
quantified to enable decisions about the intensity and consensus with which it
can be applied to any given event. A great many events can be classified as
humorous or not on all three criteria with little or no disagreement. And there
are a great many borderline cases which can generate endless discussion and
disagreement. The prudent humour researcher avoids these definitional
controversies and proceeds with his research on issues of greater theoretical
substance. This can best be accomplished by selecting humour stimuli which
clearly satisfy all three criteria simultaneously. In this author’s experience, a
good strategy is to use published collections of humour materials such as jokes,
riddles and cartoons. These were clearly produced with the intention of eliciting
humour, they do in fact elicit humour on empirical test, and most observers
would agree to call them humorous. In addition, they are somewhat easier to
analyse than many instances of spontaneous humour. This is because sponta-
neous, real-life humour may depend very much on the context for interpretation
and appreciation. Published materials, while they may have at one time been
spontaneous, can most often be adequately analysed without detailed know-
ledge of the surrounding context.
Once having chosen his sample of humorous materials, the cognitive theorist
must then analyse their underlying structure. This is largely an intuitive process
whereby the theorist attempts to abstract those structural features which are
essential to the humour of large numbers of jokes which differ widely in content.
Not all humour theorists have reached the same conclusions. Theorists such as
Kant (1790), Schopenhauer (1819), Maier (1932) and Koestler (1964) have
proposed that the structure of humour is characterized by incongruity.
Incongruity is usually defined as a conflict between what is expected and what
actually occurs in the joke. It is a concept which accounts well for the most
obvious structural feature of jokes, the surprisingness of the punchline.
A number of other theorists, including Beattie (1776), Freud (1960), Willman
(1940), Jones (1970), Shultz (1970) and Suls (1972), have argued that incongruity
alone is insufficient to account for the structure of humour. They have proposed
in various arguments that there exists a second, more subtle aspect of jokes
which renders incongruity meaningful or appropriate by resolving or explaining
it. Within this framework, humour appreciation is conceptualized as a biphasic
sequence involving first the discovery of incongruity followed by a resolution
2)
of the incongruity. The mechanism of resolution is apparently necessary to
distinguish humour from nonsense. Whereas nonsense can be characterized
as pure or unresolvable incongruity, humour can be characterized as resolvable
or meaningful incongruity.
In verbal jokes, the incongruity consists in the relation between the last line,
or punchline, and the part that precedes the last line. Consider the old W. C.
Fields’, joke where someone asked, ‘Mr. Fields, do you believe in clubs for
young people?’ and he replied, ‘Only when kindness fails’. At first, his answer
does not seem to fit with the question. Whatever expectations were set up by the
question are disconfirmed by the answer. This incongruity can be resolved by
noticing that part of the material coming before the punchline was ambiguous.
The ambiguity in this case resides in the semantic ambiguity of the word ‘clubs’.
After initially interpreting ‘clubs’ as social groups, the listener later discovers
that ‘clubs’ could also refer to large sticks. A very similar joke was used by
Groucho Marx who maintained, ‘I ought to join a club, and beat you over the
head with it’. In a one-liner such as this, there is no strict separation between
the punchline and the rest of the joke. Nevertheless, the second part of the
statement is clearly incongruous in relation to the first part; and the resolution
is based on the semantic ambiguity of ‘clubs’,
About half the verbal jokes this author has analysed are resolved on the
basis of some sort of linguistic ambiguity. In addition to those resolutions
based on lexical ambiguity or semantic ambiguity, resolutions based on
phonological and syntactic ambiguities are quite common. Phonological
ambiguity occurs when a given sound sequence can receive more than one
interpretation. This often resuits from a confusion about the boundaries
between words. An example is given in the joke where the teacher asks the
student to construct a sentence containing the phrase ‘bitter end’ and the student
replies, “The dog chased the cat and he bitter end’. This is quite an incongruous
use of the phrase ‘bitter end’ until the listener realizes that it could also be
interpreted as ‘bit her end’. Recent developments in transformational theory
(Chomsky, 1965) have made it possible to distinguish two types of syntactic
ambiguity. Surface structure ambiguity occurs when the words of a sentence
can be grouped or bracketed (unlabelled) in two different ways with each
bracketing expressing a different interpretation. An example of resolution by
surface structure ambiguity is provided in the joke where the stranger asks,
‘Can you tell me how long cows should be milked? and the farmer answers,
‘They should be milked the same as short ones, of course’. The farmer’s answer
is incongruous but it can be resolved by re-interpreting the initial bracketing of
(how long) (cows) as (how) (long cows). In the case of surface structure ambi-
guity, two different deep structures are projected onto two different surface
structures. In contrast, deep structure ambiguity occurs when two different
deep structures are projected onto a single surface structure. An example of
resolution by deep structure ambiguity is provided in the following joke:
‘Did you know that the natives like potatoes even more than missionaries?”
‘Yes, but the missionaries are more nutritious’. The initially incongruous reply
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
[Inhoud]
HOOFDSTUK II.
Van Vleuten was gelukkig geweest. Ruim vier jaar had hij te
Soerabaja doorgebracht, en er de filiaal van het Bataviaasch huis
gevestigd en doen bloeien. Financieel was hij daar zelf ook bij
welgevaren, en achtte zich thans sterk genoeg om te repatrieeren.
Wel zouden zij van de rente van hun geld slechts zeer bescheiden
kunnen leven, doch voor leegzitten was hij toch te jong; dus zou hij
in het vaderland naar iets omzien, dat hem bezighield en de kas
hielp stijven. Iets wat niet moeielijk te vinden zou zijn, naar hem
dacht; immers als men het niet bepaald noodig heeft, komt zooiets
van zelf.
Betsy vond zijn denkbeeld uitstekend. Niet dat zij naar Holland
verlangde. Zij had het land daartoe te jong verlaten, en was in Indië
zóó thuis, dat zij aan eenigerlei verandering geen behoefte
gevoelde. Doch zij koesterde een stille hoop, dat de wisseling van
klimaat dienstig kon zijn tot de vervulling van een hartewensch.
Langer dan vijf jaar was zij nu getrouwd, en nog steeds kinderloos.
En naar den aard der menschen, bij wie het instinct door het
aangeleerde is verdrongen, wees de natuur haar noch van Vleuten
den weg in deze, en beschouwden zij het al dan niet krijgen van
kinderen afhankelijk van een toeval, een invloed van buitenaf, of een
bijzondere bestiering van [18]het Opperwezen. En op dien
vruchtbaren ondergrond tierde welig het bijgeloof, als overal waar
kennis ontbreekt.
Op zekeren middag was hij op het kantoor van zijn kassier, dien hij
had opgedragen voor hem soliede effecten te koopen, zonder
bepaalde aanwijzing welke, mits niet teveel van één soort, daar hij
van oordeel was, dat men door van alles wat te nemen, het risico
verdeelde. Dit was geschied, en hij kwam nu zijn papieren kapitaaltje
halen. Terwijl hij in een ontvangkamertje met den procuratie-houder
bezig was de ingekochte stukken met de afrekening te verifieeren,
werd na een vluchtig geklop de deur geopend. De binnentredende
bleef aarzelend staan, de knop van de deur in de hand houdend.
„Pardon.… ik dacht dat u alleen was,” zeide hij, zich tot den
procuratiehouder wendend, na eerst een snellen blik te hebben
geworpen op van Vleuten en zijn effecten.
Doch langs Café Central komende, kreeg hij trek in een glas bier, en
liep er binnen. Geen kennissen hebbende, vond hij het eenvoudiger
zich aan de leestafel neer te zetten, waar hij in de illustraties
bladerde.
„Zag ik u zooeven niet bij Karsten & Co.?” zeide opeens iemand
naast hem, met onnatuurlijk hoog stemgeluid, en opziende
bespeurde hij den man van daareven.
„Dat kon wel,” antwoordde van Vleuten, minder koel dan hij bedoeld
had.
„U moest voor den eten geen bier drinken,” zeide hij. „Dat is niet
goed voor de maag. Neemt u liever een glas port of een bittertje, dat
zet eiwit aan.”
„Geen tijd. Provisie, bedoel ik, voor het inkoopen van effecten.”
„O! Ja, dat is de prijs. Maar ik meende als men zaken met hen doet,
geld opneemt.—Kijk u eens hier,” en Wiechen vouwde een rekening-
courant open; „dáár bijvoorbeeld. Daar staat een post van precies
duizend gulden. Provisie ƒ 25.— voor 30 dagen. Dat is.…?”
„Juist. En ziet u,” ging de ander voort, het blad omslaande en op het
eindcijfer wijzende, „ik doe nogal zaken met hen. Ruim twee en
veertig mille. Ze laten particulieren natuurlijk meer betalen.”
„Maar wat laat u dan de particulieren wel betalen, als uzelf zoo’n
ontzettende rente moet opbrengen?”
„Ja, dat spreekt. Ik ben erg goedkoop. In mijn buurt woont een
zekere van der Wal, die niet onder tien percent uitzet. Eens heb
ikzelf vijf bij hem moeten betalen. Enfin, het moest, om iemand te
helpen. Maar daarom noem ik Karsten duur. Mijn meeste geld is van
particulieren, die blij zijn anderhalf tot twee percent te maken. Dat
zult u van uw effecten niet halen, wel?”
„Neen, zeker niet,” zeide van Vleuten. „Maar.… als ik onbescheiden
ben, zegt u het gerust.… is er voor dergelijke transacties veel
omzet?”
„U heeft mijn rekening-courant met Karsten gezien. Als u eens bij mij
wilt komen, zal ik u heel wat anders laten zien. Misschien krijgt u wel
lust eens iets bij mij te plaatsen.” [21]
„U woont?”
Van aard weinig spraakzaam als hij voor het eerst iemand
ontmoette, bepaalde van Vleuten zich tot luisteren en het
bestudeeren der nieuwe kennissen. Onverdeeld gunstig was de
indruk dien zij op hem maakten, nu juist niet.
„Sst, heeren! Laat hem maar aan mij over. Ik zal jelui er wel bij
noodig hebben; maar niet te driftig. Je weet, om een gaatje open te
maken, is beleid en geduld alles.”
„Dat is alles,” zeide hij, „en mijn borrel nog niet betaald. Daar, ik kan
nog net een sectie trammen.”
„Wat is dat voor een spel?” vroeg Wiechen, die Arnolds midden in
een serie zag ophouden, terwijl Viehof voortspeelde.
„Gewoon vijftig punten.”
„O, ik dacht dat hij raak was,” zeide Wiechen, die Viehof door zag
spelen tot hij een enorm eind vóór was, en begreep zijn gulden kwijt
te zijn, dien hij dan ook even later betaalde, uit een ander zakje
echter dan waarin het klein-geld van daareven.
„Wat is dat?” vroeg Viehof. „De côte is vijf tegen één gebleven. Vier
pop erbij, alsjeblieft.”
En Wiechen, bij zich zelf zwerende dat hij hem die vier gulden duur
zou laten betalen, betaalde, uit vrees dat men zou denken dat hij de
terminologie der paris niet kende, wat toch inderdaad het geval was,
en de anderen zeer goed wisten.
„Nu ja,” zeide hij; „dat kan zijn bij groentenboer en [24]dergelijken,
doch ernstige geldmannen.… Trouwens die Wiechen doet zelf zaken
met Karsten & Co.”
„Is het je niet vreemd voorgekomen,” viel zij in, „dat, als hij dan zulke
groote zaken doet met hen, die meneer met wien je sprak, zich zoo
wegwerpend over hem uitliet?”
„Ja, dat is vreemd. Enfin, ik zal morgen goed toekijken.”
„Gut, man, weet je wie ik gezien heb?” vroeg zij opeens, van het
onderwerp afstappend. „Onze buurvrouw in het hôtel te Soerabaja;
weet je nog? Wier man toen gestorven is.”
„Ja! Maar ik was haar naam vergeten; daarom durfde ik haar niet
aanspreken?”
„Binnen!”
„Ja,” zeide Wiechen, die een stuk papier en potlood genomen had.
„Ga voort. Waar woont hij?”
„Pas dood was beter. Maar enfin, ik zal informeeren. Wanneer moet
het er zijn?”
„Onzin. Hij ontvangt zelf het geld. En ik ben Viehof niet, zou ik
denken.”
„Dat is gemakkelijk genoeg. Tot twaalf uur in zijn bed. Ik zal hem bij
je sturen. Dag Wiechen.”
„Is er iemand?”
„Goed,” zeide Wiechen, den naam lezende van van Vleuten. „Als ik
bel, kan je meneer binnenlaten.”
Hij ging naar het telefoon-toestel, en had reeds de hand aan de kruk,
toen hij zich plotseling bedacht, en terugkeerde naar zijn schrijftafel,
waar hij op de bel drukte. Toen van Vleuten binnenkwam, was
Wiechen bezig eenige papieren vóór hem terecht te leggen, alsof ze
bijeen hoorden, quasi druk.
„Een heel bedrag,” vond van Vleuten. „Als ze wat lang geloopen
hebben, krijgen ze waarde, anders beteekenen ze niet veel. De
zoogenaamde contante waarde hangt af van de gestorte premieën.”
„Maar meneer.… de zaak gaat mij natuurlijk niet aan … doch als u
de premie geregeld betaalt, houdt u er een soort levensverzekering
op eigen houtje op na. Dat is alles.”
„Als er maar één dood gaat, krijg ik meer kapitaal dan ik betaald
heb.”
„Dat zou toevallig zoo kunnen wezen, maar regel is het niet. U, die
man van zaken is, zult begrijpen, dat de
levensverzekeringmaatschappijen, om winst te maken, meer aan
premieën en rente daarvan moeten ontvangen dan hun uitkeeringen
bedragen. Dooreen genomen, betaalt dus het publiek meer dan het
ontvangt.”
„Van allerlei. Het liefst heb ik menschen van naam en goede familie.
Die betalen om hun fatsoen op te houden. En moet ik ze al eens in
rechte vervolgen, dan maakt dat weer reclame, ziet u. Zoo heb ik
laatst een jonkheer failliet laten verklaren.”
„Och, wat zal ik u zeggen. Hij had het geld duur; tien percent. Ik had
het zelf tegen vijf percent moeten opnemen, om hem te helpen,
maar natuurlijk gauw terugbetaald. En nu had hij al ruim anderhalf
jaar rente betaald, dus was ik gedekt. Als het niet was geweest om
de familie plezier te doen, zou ik een streep door de post gehaald
hebben.”
„Neen, werkelijk. Ik deed het op verzoek van een oom, die vond dat
het jongemensch teveel verkwistte, en die hem nu hiermee onder
een streng régime kreeg, terwijl hij tevens buiten staat was nog meer
schulden te maken. Puur om van dienst te zijn; want ik wist vooruit,
dat ik nauwelijks de kosten eruit zou krijgen. Ik zal u nu mijn boek
eens laten zien, omdat u behoort te weten wie ik ben, en met wie ik
zaken doe, als u mij uw geld toevertrouwt.”
Als die allen het deden, en aan den anderen kant het nemen van
geld tegen hooge rente onder de fatsoenlijke lui zoo algemeen was,
waarom zou hij er zich buiten houden? Daarenboven, welk verschil
was er eigenlijk in gelegen, of men waren van de hand zette met
hooge winst, dan wel geld leende met nauwelijks zooveel winst?
Waarom mocht men op een artikel als dameshoeden, in één seizoen
van drie maanden, wel twee à driehonderd percent verdienen, en
van geld in dienzelfden tijd geen vijftien percent? Wat deed iemand
die aandeelen nam in een of andere onderneming, anders dan geld
leenen aan zoo’n instelling, die toch—getuige de tabaksindustrie in
Deli—niet zelden zestig tot honderd percent dividend uitkeerde?
„Ik bracht bij Karsten & Co. rond vijftig mille. Maar dan kon ik u de
stukken wel dadelijk brengen; na de koffie.” [30]
„Zooals u wilt. Tot straks dan. Dag meneer.… Wacht, ik zal u even
uitlaten.”
Toen van Vleuten vertrokken was, ging Wiechen een oogenblik voor
den spiegel staan. Op zijn voorhoofd vertoonde zich een roode vlek.
Hij bette die met water uit een fonteintje in den hoek van de kamer,
en eerst toen ze geheel verdwenen was, schelde hij.
„Al wel, ik zal ze je geven. Maar hoe staat het nu met de machine? Ik
betaal je geregeld elke week twintig gulden, zonder iets te zien,
eenvoudig op goed vertrouwen. Het wordt tijd, dat ik voor mijn geld
iets krijg.”
„En wou je dan voor die stomme twintig pop in de week, binnen zes
maanden een half millioen hebben?” riep Boom verontwaardigd uit.
„Dat is de quaestie hier niet. Jij zat aan lager wal, en had noch geld
om te leven, noch om je machine af te maken. Toen heb je mij
gevraagd om je te helpen, en dat heb ik gedaan op je eerlijke gezicht
af. Want van je machine heb ik geen verstand. Maar ons contract
zegt, dat je in zes maanden het ding klaar moet hebben, en ik je
daarvoor zou verstrekken driehonderd gulden voor gereedschap—
die je [31]gehad hebt, zonder dat ik zelfs maar gezien heb of je er wel
één stuk gereedschap voor gekocht hebt.…”
„Dat misschien één gulden gekost heeft, als je ’t al niet had. Doch
dat is tot daaraantoe. Je hebt het geld gehad èn de twintig pop ’s
weeks. Ik zal je niet op één dag dringen, maar wil een begin aan de
zaak zien. En vertel me nu eens eerlijk: Vóór twaalven ben je niet
op. Dan loop je wat rond, en gaat om vier uur naar de kroeg. Om
acht uur heb je gegeten, en slentert wat achter de meisjes in de
Spuistraat. Dan ga je weer naar de kroeg, en blijft biljarten of
kaartspelen tot half één. Gesteld dat je dan niet meer naar een of
andere nachtkroeg gaat, wat ook wel gebeurt, dan maak je mij niet
wijs, dat je nog werkt. Vooral waar, zooals je zegt, de heele machine
afhangt van een helder hoofd en een vaste hand.”
„Jawel, maar wie waarborgt mij, dat het stukken van je machine zijn?
Als ik eens een ingenieur bij je sturen kon.…”
„Dat kan niet, zooals je weet. Mijn denkbeeld is zóó eenvoudig, dat
het geheim dadelijk zou verraden zijn. Maar, als het je niet bevalt,
laat ons er dan maar mee uitscheiden.”
Wiechen zweeg, terwijl een vluchtig rood over zijn gelaat trok. De
brutaliteit van den ander was hem te sterk. Die man had nu zoo veel
geld van hem gehad, dat hij hem niet meer los kon laten, zonder
tevens van zijn geld afscheid te nemen, en vooral de kans te
verspelen op de groote winsten, die de uitvinding van Boom moest
afwerpen. Doch aan den anderen kant zou Boom ook vastzitten, en
zijn machine niet kunnen gereed maken. Of.…? En het koude zweet
brak hem uit.… Zou soms de machine [32]klaar zijn, of zóó ver, dat
een ander er geld voor gaf? En Boom nu van hem los willen, om de
vijf ton, die hem bij contract waren toegezegd, in zijn eigen zak te
houden? Het gold hier voorzichtig te zijn!
„Hoor eens, Boompje,” begon hij zoetsappig. „We moeten geen ruzie
maken. Daar hebben jij noch ik belang bij. Ik wil alleen zien dat de
zaak opschiet, anders niet. Dat stukje ijzer en die verroeste
kachelsleutel geven mij er geen kijk op. Je kunt mij toch gerust eens
laten zien wat je hebt. Als ik maar zie, dat het ergens op lijkt, ben ik
tevreden. Ik ben toch geen deskundige, en zal je het geheim niet
afkijken.”
„Ik heb je al eens meer gezegd, dat ik niets in elkaar laat, en de
stukken op verschillende plaatsen bewaar, tot alles gereed is. Dan
moet ik voor een paar dagen een rustig plekje hebben, dat kan ik
afsluiten, en waar ik het geheel samenstel, en er een kist om timmer,
zoodat niemand de werking kan zien. Als het zoover is, mag je
kijken, en zullen we de machine een paar weken laten loopen. Nu—
waar zijn de vijf pop?”
Toen Boom weg was, zat hij nog lang na te denken. Hij vond het een
ergerlijk iets, geld te moeten geven zonder eenige zekerheid van
winst, zonder zich zelfs maar te kunnen overtuigen, al was het
gebrekkig, wat hij aan Boom had. Hij was door Arnolds met hem in
kennis gekomen, en deze had hem van die wonderlijke uitvinding
verteld. Een machine, die instede van telkens kosten te vragen voor
[33]brandstof en onderhoud, geheel uit zichzelf bleef werken, na een
belasting voor één keer met 1200 kilogram per paardenkracht, en
met elken slag één vijfde van de gebruikte kracht overhield ter
benuttiging. De aanschaffing was duurder dan die eener
stoommachine; doch dat beteekende niets, daar zij later nagenoeg
niets kostte. Enkel wat smeerolie.
Hijzelf had toen Boom voorstellen gedaan, waar deze in ’t eerst geen
ooren naar had. Philantropisch aangelegd, wilde de uitvinder niet
hebben, dat door zijn toedoen honderdduizenden van arbeiders
broodeloos zouden worden; hij schreide half bij de gedachte, hoe