Being funny - A Guide About How & Why
Channel: Brains Applied
Date: 07/02/2019

Howdy Cowboys,

This week I answer questions that many of you have probably asked themselves: why is humour so important? What is humour exactly? How can I be funny?

Research shows that the answers to these questions are rather straightforward. Humour is important as people like people that make them feel good. When someone makes a joke, others will laugh. This is a positive experience that they will automatically start to relate to this person. Research has also shown that humour is very important when looking for potential mates. Men display a certain level of intelligence and social skills by using humour, which is attractive for women. Women, on the other hand, don't have to make jokes. Men are especially looking for women that laugh at their jokes as this can be a sign of s*xual interest.

There are many theories about why something is funny. A well-known theory is the benign-violation theory. Something appears to be funny because it's a violation and it's benign at the same time. A violation can be a physical threat, a threat to one's personal dignity, a threat to violate social norms or a threat to violate moral norms. 

Such a violation can be benign when it crosses one norm while being good according to other norms. A violation can also be benign when you aren't strongly connected to this norm. For example, a racist might laugh with racist jokes because he doesn't care about people with another skin colour. Violations can also be benign when there is a lot of distance (social, spatial, temporal, ...) between you and the violation.

Do you want to know how to be funny? Watch the entire video to learn more!

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References:
Bressler, E. R., Martin, R. A., & Balshine, S. (2006) Production and appreciation of humour as sexually selected traits. Evolution and Human Behavior, 27, 121–130.
Graff, M. (2015). Be More Successful in Online Dating - Use Humour. Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/love-digitally/201502/be-more-successful-in-online-dating-use-humour 
Greengross, G. (2011). Are Women More Attracted To Men Who Court Them With Humor?. Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/humor-sapiens/201106/are-women-more-attracted-men-who-court-them-humor
Kaufman, S.B. (2011). Humor as a Route to Social Status. Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/beautiful-minds/201106/humor-route-social-status
Lundy, D. E., Tan, J., & Cunningham, M. R. (1998). Heterosexual romantic preferences: The importance of humour and physical attractiveness for different types of relationships. Personal Relationships, 5, 311–325.
McGraw, A. P., & Warren, C. (2010). Benign violations: Making immoral behavior funny. Psychological science, 21(8), 1141-1149.
Persaud, R., & Bruggen, P. (2015). The Psychology Of Why Being Funny When Flirting is Vital. Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/slightly-blighty/201509/the-psychology-why-being-funny-when-flirting-is-vital
Todd, B. (2010). Keith Richards: 'I really DID snort my father's ashes'. Daily Mail. Retrieved from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1323930/Keith-Richards-I-really-DID-snort-fathers-ashes.html