The Psychology
of Comedy
Test the big theories of why things are funny, use the benign violation idea, decide who a joke is aimed at and why punching up is different from punching down, learn the line between teasing and bullying, and find your own humour style.
- 00First Principlesp.2
- 01Why it’s funnyp.4
- 02Wrong but OKp.5
- 03Up or downp.6
- 04Teasing or bullyingp.7
- 05Humour stylesp.8
- ✦Self-check · Make it · 5 Questions · Side Questp.9
You'll need: a notebook, a pencil, some clean jokes and comics, and a friend or family member to talk with.
Principles
A first principle is a basic truth you can build on. The psychology of comedy rests on four: surprise is at the heart of a joke, it has to feel safe to be funny, every joke has a target and a joke is only fun if everyone’s in on it.
What do I already know?
What is necessary?
Everything in this module is built from four bricks. Rate yourself on each one, then check the example to see if your rating holds up.
What is the objective?
By the end, you’ll be able to explain three classic theories of humour, use the benign violation idea to explain why a joke works or doesn’t, tell punching up from punching down, tell playful teasing from bullying and know what to do, and describe four humour styles.
- 01Name 3 humour theories.
- 02Explain benign violation.
- 03Find a joke’s target.
- 04Tell teasing from bullying.
- 05Know where to get help.
- 06Name 4 humour styles.
The list on the left is ours. Now make it yours. What do you want out of this?
How much do you know about the psychology of comedy right now? Shade the boxes in pencil. You'll come back at the end (p.9) and shade it again in pen.
Why start this way? When you know what you already have (1), what you need (2) and where you're going (3), you learn faster and you notice the gaps. Every module on the Comedy Path starts with these same three questions.
Why it’s funny
Surprise is at the heart of most jokes.
Why do we laugh?
- Incongruity: we laugh at a surprising mismatch that suddenly makes sense.
- Superiority: we laugh when we feel above someone (the philosopher Thomas Hobbes wrote about this).
- Relief: laughing lets out built-up tension.
Surprise, then sense
“I told my dog a joke about a stick. He didn’t get it, so I had to throw it.” Your brain expects “get it” to mean “understand”, then finds a second meaning. Most researchers today see some kind of surprise or mismatch as the core of humour.
Laughing at, not with
Superiority explains some laughs, but it’s the kind most likely to hurt. When a joke works by making a person or group seem lesser, the laugh comes at someone’s expense. The kindest comedians aim the surprise at ideas, situations and themselves.
- Which theory explains your favourite joke best?
- Can a joke be surprising and still not funny? Why?
Sort the jokes
Find 6 clean jokes or comic strips. Decide which theory fits each best: incongruity, superiority or relief. Which theory fit most of them?Which theory says we laugh at a surprising mismatch?
Benign violation
Funny = wrong and OK at once.
Wrong, but OK
In 2010, researchers Peter McGraw and Caleb Warren proposed that we laugh when something seems wrong (a violation) but also OK (benign) at the same moment. Play-fighting, a silly pun or a pet in a hat all break a rule in a harmless way.
Psychological distance
If something is too painful or too close to us, it isn’t benign, so it isn’t funny. If it’s too far away to matter, it can fall flat. That’s why people say comedy needs the right distance, and why a joke about someone’s real trouble can hurt.
It depends on the listener
What feels “OK” depends on the person. A joke about a broken arm might be fine for someone who never broke one and awful for someone in a cast. Good comedians think about who’s listening, and change or drop a joke that isn’t benign for them.
- What makes something “wrong but OK” at the same time?
- Why might a joke be funny to one person and hurtful to another?
Wrong and OK
Take 4 clean jokes. For each, write what’s “wrong” and what makes it “OK”. Then change one detail so it stops being OK. Does it stop being funny?Benign violation says something must be wrong and what?
Punching up vs down
Aim the joke at ideas and power, not identity.
Who is it about?
The target is who or what the joke is about. Comedians talk about punching up (aiming at the powerful, at big systems or at yourself) and punching down (aiming at people with less power, or at who someone is).
A simple test
Jokes about what people choose to do (a silly rule, a wild hat, your own bad cooking) are fairer than jokes about who people are: their race, culture, religion, body, disability, gender or family. In this book, identity jokes are out.
Kind satire
Satire pokes fun at leaders and institutions, and in Canada it has a long tradition (Lens 5). Even then, good satire aims at what people do in public, not at their family, body or background, and it works for any party. Kindness and cleverness can go together.
- What is the difference between a joke about power and a joke about who someone is?
- How can a comedian be funny without picking on anyone?
Find the target
For 6 clean jokes, name the target and mark it “up”, “down”, “self” or “situation”. Rewrite any “down” joke so the surprise lands on a situation instead.Which is punching up: a joke about a big company’s silly rule or about a classmate’s accent?
Teasing vs bullying
If it doesn’t stop when asked, it isn’t teasing.
Playful and two-way
- Both people are laughing.
- It goes both ways; anyone can tease back.
- It’s about small, changeable things.
- It stops as soon as someone says stop.
Not a joke
- It’s meant to hurt or embarrass.
- It happens again and again.
- One side has more power (more friends, older, bigger).
- “Just joking” is used as cover.
Bystanders matter
If a joke goes too far, say “not cool” or change the subject, check in with the person later and tell a trusted adult. Pink Shirt Day began in Nova Scotia in 2007 when two students handed out pink shirts after a younger student was bullied for wearing pink. Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868.
- How can you tell when teasing has stopped being fun?
- What could you say if a joke about a friend went too far?
Teasing or bullying?
Write 4 made-up situations (no real names). For each, decide if it’s teasing or bullying using the checklists, and write one thing a bystander could say.Name one sign that teasing has become bullying.
Humour styles
Some humour styles help; some hurt.
A Canadian study
In 2003, a team led by psychologist Rod Martin at the University of Western Ontario described four styles:
- Affiliative: jokes that bring people together
- Self-enhancing: finding the funny side of hard times
- Aggressive: putting others down
- Self-defeating: putting yourself down too much
Styles and wellbeing
Their studies linked the first two styles with feeling better and getting along, and the last two with more stress or conflict. Gentle self-teasing is fine; constantly putting yourself down can be a sign someone needs support.
With care
Many people use humour to get through hard times, and that can help. But humour shouldn’t hide a problem. If you or a friend joke a lot about feeling bad, talk to a trusted adult, or call or text 988 any time.
- Which humour style do you use most?
- Have you ever used humour to get through a hard day?
My humour style
For a week, jot down jokes you make and laugh at. Sort them into the 4 styles. Which style do you use most? Is there one you’d like to use more?Which humour style brings people together?
Quick self-check
Six questions, covering every stop. Show your thinking. Answers are upside down at the bottom; no peeking till you're done.
1 · Name 3 classic theories of humour.
2 · What does benign violation mean?
3 · What is punching down?
4 · Name 2 signs of bullying.
5 · When did Pink Shirt Day begin, and where?
6 · Name the 4 humour styles.
Re-shade your knowledge meter
How much do you know about the psychology of comedy now? Flip back to p.3 and shade the meter again in pen (or shade this one). Did any of the four bricks on p.2 move from "Not yet" to "Got it"?
The kind-comedy audit
Can a joke be funny and kind?
1 · Plan
Collect 8 clean jokes, comic strips or sketch moments. For each, record the theory it uses, what’s “wrong” and “OK”, the target, and whether anyone could be hurt.
- 8 clean examples
- Theory named
- Target named
- Hurt checked
2 · My audit
| Joke | Theory | Target | Kind? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |||
| 2 | |||
| 3 | |||
| 4 |
3 · Must-haves
- All 8 rated
- One rewrite
- Fair reasons
- No real names
4 · What I found
Which kinds of jokes were the kindest and still funny? Rewrite one joke so it punches up or at a situation. Is it still funny?
Use clean, published jokes or your own. Don’t collect or repeat jokes about real classmates, and if any joke you find is hurtful, skip it and tell an adult if it targets someone you know.
5 Questions
I Still Have
This module didn't answer everything. Good. Write 5 new questions it didn't answer, one of each type below. There are no wrong questions, only ones nobody's asked yet.
★ Star the one question you'd most like answered. You'll need it on the next page.
1What I'll find out
Break your big question into 2 or 3 smaller ones you could actually answer.
2Where I'll look
3How I'll share it
Who I'll share it with:
Done by: