ha ha bonk - humour and reproductive success

Ha Ha, Bonk:Humour and Reproductive

SuccessBen Hawkes & Les Walton

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Humour. What’s thatall about then?

A question for you:

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Theories of humourOver 100 theories, including…• Aristotle, Plato, Hobbes: Superiority• Freud: Relief• Defence mechanism• False alarm• Incongruity-resolution• Benign violation

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Benign violation model

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Humour

Benign Violation

Benignviolati

on

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Benign violation model

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Yourself

Explosive

diarrhoea

Not funny

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Benign violation model

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Someone else

Explosive

diarrhoea

Funny

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Tragedy is when I cut my finger.

Comedy is when you fallinto an open sewer and die.

Mel Brooks

Did humour evolve?And why?

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Components of Humour

Stimulus

Mirth Emotional &psychological

Laughter Physical & physiological

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Play and laughter in animals• Chimps• Bonobos• Orangutans• Gorillas• Dogs• Rats

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Back to the theories…• Demonstrating superiority and elevating

social status– Raising our own status– Lowering the status of others– Enhancing camaraderie and affiliation

• Brain practice• Repression of sexual or aggressive feelings• False alarm model: laughter as a signal• Development from grooming

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From fleas to tee-heesStages in the evolution of

humour?

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1. Parasites bad. Grooming good.2. Grooming relatives and mates is good too.3. But I only groom the ones that matter to

me.4. The important thing about grooming is not

the grooming.5. Don’t need grooming when you ain’t got

fur. But let’s keep all the other stuff.

27 March, 2014 ben@yacmo.com

Laughter is the best* medicine.

*It isn’t. Antibiotics are much better.

Stages of laughter

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Silent1 Smirk2 Smile3 Grin

Voluble4 Snicker5 Giggle6Chuckle7 Chortle8 Laugh

Involuntary9 Cackle10 Guffaw11 Howl12Shriek

Helpless13 Roar14Convulse15 Die

laughing

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Positive psychologicaleffects of laughter

Reduces• Anxiety• Tension• Stress• Depression• Loneliness

Improves• Self-esteem• Hope and

energy• Sense of

control

27 March, 2014 • ben@yacmo.com

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Positive physiologicaleffects of laughter

Reduces• Allergic

response• Stress

response• Mood

disturbance• Muscle tension

Improves• Pulmonary

function• Weight loss• Disease

resistance• Muscle tone• Immune

functioning27 March, 2014 • ben@yacmo.com

Die, laughing.

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Physiological risks of laughter

• Seizures• Cataleptic and narcoleptic attacks• Cerebrovascular accidents• Myocardial infarction

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Personal preferencefor humour styles

What’s your sense of humour?

• Affiliative• Self-enhancing• Aggressive• Self-defeating

Find out athttp://personality-testing.info/tests/HSQ.php

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Ha ha, bonk:Is funny sexy?

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Ha ha, bonk: Is funny sexy?• Women are more attracted to humorous men.• Men are uninfluenced by women’s ‘humour

production’.• Unattractive people are perceived as using humour

more.• Men’s humour quality is positively correlated with

ratings of their attractiveness.• Men’s humour quantity is negatively correlated with

ratings of attractiveness.• For both sexes, humorous individuals were seen as less

intelligent and trustworthy but as more socially adept.Bressler (2006)

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Something to talk about(and stuff we didn’t have time for)

Stuff we didn’t have time for…

Gelatophobia• The fear of being laughed at.

Witzelsucht• A condition characterised by excessive

and inappropriate joking.

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Something to talk about…• So why do babies laugh?• Is there a universal gag?• Can computers be funny?• How soon is ‘too soon’?

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Thank you!Let us know if you want

a copy of the slides.

Or go to www.yacmo.com/humour.pdf

Ben & Les