What Are You Laughing About: The Things We Find Funny

When laughter happens, it feels spontaneous. Like no one could’ve plotted your reaction to the joke or situation that just transpired. But in truth, that’s not entirely true. While individual tastes are somewhat subjective, there are three main schools of humor used to illicit laughs from you. Check’em out below:

Incongruity
This is the idea that humor arises when logic and that familiar are chucked out the window and replaced by things that aren’t typically found together. This pertains to jokes in particular, as jokes really become funny when we expect one outcome and get another. When you listen to a joke, your mind and body prepares for what’s going to happen and the coming ending. You try and form a logical ending in your mind based on your emotions and past experiences. But when the joke goes in an unexpected direction, you are greeted with new emotions and a new line of thought, and we experience this surprise attack of thoughts and emotions as humor. In short, it’s the surprise that gets you.

Superiority
No one who has ever laughed at Failblog or a YouTube video of someone getting hit in the nuts is a stranger to this idea. This type of humor is based off someone else’s mistakes, stupidity or misfortune. We feel superior to the victim/person-taking-a-pole-vault-to-the-groin and laugh at them.

Relief
Relief humor is when you’re at the movies, sitting through an incredibly intense scene where the tension is so high you can barely stand it, and then the suave main character utters a quick one-liner that cracks you up. It’s like a pressure relief valve that allows you to catch your breath. It’s a release that helps us to cope with stressful situations like work or a confrontation. This act of making a joke gives us a mental break and allows for objectivity when we’re on the brink of overwhelming stress. So next time you’re on the verge of road rage or contemplating jumping out a window, tell yourself a joke. It could be the cure for what ails you.