What's your humor style?

Introduction

Check this out: you’re watching a favorite show you often turn to after a long, hard day. Maybe it's Family Guy , the Simpsons, The Big Bang Theory, The Office... Or maybe you are one of those people who can watching anything and somehow manage to spot a joke when no one else can. Either way, you're satisfied. Now, add a friend, family member, or partner to the equation. Sounds fun but... yikes! They don’t understand the joke or get offended. Maybe even question your morality… Why?

Well, all humor doesn't hit the same for everyone. In fact, it comes in a handful of flavors. The question is: Is it a matter of preference or can science explain humor and why we laugh?

Types of Humor

Dark Humor: If you have morbid taste, you might like dark humor, also known as black comedy or gallows comedy. In other words, when the joke has a twisted turn based on serious or depressive topics, you practically die ...laughing. (You chuckled at that last part, didn't you?) It's okay to admit it. All of us are actually guilty of laughing at a dark joke at least once or twice. ...Maybe even a few times without realizing....

Observational Humor: Okay, so the dark things in life don't make you laugh. That's fine. The others on this list might be your cup of tea. Maybe even this one. Observational humor pokes fun at everyday life and society, for instance, "Isn't it annoying when people have an unwanted conversaton with you, and they completely ignore the headphones in your ears?" As a fun fact: satire walks a fine line between observational and dark humor.

Physical: Though self-explanatory, this kind of humor is best known as slapstick. Think of mimes or clowns (but not always), facial expressions (i.e., Steve Harvey), or someone falling over like slipping on a banana peel (think of all those weird shows we watched as kids on Disney, Cartoon Network, or Nickelodeon). Better yet, if you always watch epic fails on YouTube or TikTok and chuckle or spit out your drink as a result, this type of humor did its job.

Self-deprecating: This is another type of humor that is self-explanatory. A lot of comedians or (people in general, especially Gen Zs) tend to gravitate to self-deprecating jokes. Today, they are best served as memes. Seriously, even I can do it. "Once upon a time, I had the motivation to get out of bed. Then, adulting happened and TikTok became a thing."

Wit-Wordplay: This humor is a play on words and any aspect of everyday language for shits and giggles. (I.e., dry humor, dad jokes, puns…) That's all there is to it. …This is why your dad thinks he's funny. (-.-)

Topical: Then, there is humor that relies on politics, pop culture, and trending news for their jokes. In other words, Saturday Night Live.

Improvisational: First off, anyone can do this type of humor automatically deserves an award. No script. No pre-edits. Just pure wits. If you are this person, you deserve more apprecitation.

Bodily: Remember fart jokes? I remember fart jokes. Better yet, tell me you're a millennial without telling me you're a millennial. Who remembers 2008 YouTube?

Surreal: This type of humor is hard to digest if you don't understand it. Seriously, it doesn't make sense. It's absurd and illogical.

The question is: Is it a matter of preference or can science explain humor and why we laugh?

The Science

All humors follow these two concepts: superiority & relief and benign violation.

The relief concept found its roots in one of Sigmud Freud’s theories on human psychology. In the relief theory, laughter allows people to “let off some steam”. Those unexpected punchlines cause this kind of energy—that suppresses hostile or anxious emotions—to convert and be released as laughter.

The superiority context derives from Greek philosophies on theatre. In this context, we find jokes amusing because they give us a sense of superiority. If you take a closer look at the definitions of humor-based types above, you’ll notice they all have something in common. We are laughing at the misfortunes of others. We are laughing at the “fool” entertaining us at the expense of themselves or our culture. Think about it. Someone farts and you go, “ew!” Then, everyone laughs at the person who farted. When we watch America’s Funniest Videos, we laugh because we’re thinking, “Look at that idiot! HA!” Saturday Night Live has been successful by making fun of our governments and occasional misfortunes in pop culture. The list goes on.

Somewhere in between all of that is incongruity (Benign Violation). The concept is that the juxtaposition of the punchline is what makes us laugh. In simplier terms, the scenario is normal or calm (benign), then BOOM! The violation. Admittedly, most jokes are not always that dramatic. Think of “…Suprise!” in the punchline. For example:

My mom: “You want to learn the easy way or the hard way?!”

Me: “How about no way?”

Did you think I would choose between the easy or the hard way? Did you notice how I hit you with something else?

Conclusion

Regardless of the studies and the scientists constantly searching for answers, their findings are merely theories at the end of the day. There are other influences on humor.

Preferences, societal norms, and culture often play heavily in whether we are comfortable enough with a joke to laugh at it. Different personalities tend to gravitate to certain humor. Sometimes the ones telling the jokes (i.e., using themselves as the fool or the butt of the joke) might being doing so simply because they are depressed. In this case, these jokesters want to make others laugh because nothing seems to put a smile on their face.

Then, there are extremely sensitive people. The ones who can’t take a joke for anything. [Advice: Lighten up once or twice. Life is too short and goes without promise of another waking day to frown at everything all the time. Laugh! It’s good for the heart and boosts the immune system.]

But what do you think? Is humor a matter of preference, a play on science, or both?

References

Blatchford, Emily. “There Are Nine Different Types of Humour. Which One Are You?” HuffPost, HuffPost, 9 Oct. 2020, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/there-are-nine-different-types-of-humour-which-one-are-you_n_61087612e4b0999d2084fbd7.

Sabato, Giovanni. “What's so Funny? the Science of Why We Laugh.” Scientific American, Scientific American, 26 June 2019, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/whats-so-funny-the-science-of-why-we-laugh/.

“What Is the Benign Violation Theory of Humour?” JONATHAN SANDLING, 21 July 2021, https://jonathansandling.com/what-is-the-benign-violation-theory-of-humour/.