Review
Integrative & Complementary Medicine
Katharina Stiwi, Jenny Rosendahl
Summary: This study conducted a meta-analysis to examine the efficacy of laughter-inducing interventions in treating somatic or mental health patients. The results showed that these interventions had positive effects on mental health, physiological, and physical health outcomes. Future research should focus on examining differential intervention effects and mechanisms of action.
COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES IN CLINICAL PRACTICE
(2022)
Review
Behavioral Sciences
Xuefeng Sun, Jindan Zhang, Yidan Wang, Xiaotu Zhang, Sixuan Li, Zihan Qu, Hongshi Zhang
Summary: This study conducted an integrative literature review to investigate the effectiveness and feasibility of multiform humor therapy on individuals with depression or anxiety. The findings suggest that humor therapy is generally effective in improving depression and anxiety, but further high-quality research is needed to confirm these conclusions.
BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR
(2023)
Review
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Chunyan Xie, Li Li, Yamin Li
Summary: This scoping review synthesized evidence on humor interventions in chronic kidney disease patients. The included studies mainly focused on laughter and humorous video interventions in a face-to-face group format. However, there were limitations in the description of tailoring, fidelity, and the theoretical basis. Future studies should clarify these aspects and include control groups.
PATIENT EDUCATION AND COUNSELING
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Chloe Lau, Catherine Li, Taylor Swindall, Francesca Chiesi, Willibald Ruch, Francesco Bruno, Donald H. H. Saklofske, Lena C. C. Quilty
Summary: The present study extends empirical support for the temperamental basis of humor by examining different latent profiles based on levels of cheerfulness, seriousness, and bad mood. The results supported the existence of four profiles: temperamental basis of humor, humorlessness, Homo Ludens, and disengagement. These findings provide evidence for different humor profiles and enable more personalized assessments of how different temperamental traits affect the expression of humor.
JOURNAL OF HAPPINESS STUDIES
(2023)
Review
Psychology, Social
Caleb Warren, Adam Barsky, A. Peter McGraw
Summary: Despite the broad importance of humor, psychologists have not reached a consensus on the basic elements that cause people to experience laughter and amusement. There are over 20 distinct psychological theories proposing appraisals characterizing humor appreciation, with five potential antecedents being surprise, simultaneity, superiority, a violation appraisal, and conditions promoting a benign appraisal. Research suggests that simultaneity, violation, and benign appraisals help differentiate humorous from nonhumorous experiences, while surprise and superiority do not.
PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY REVIEW
(2021)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Milena Heinsch, Hannah Cootes, Hannah Wells, Campbell Tickner, Dara Sampson, Frances Kay-Lambkin
Summary: This study analyzed transcripts of in-depth telephone interviews with brain cancer caregivers to explore the role of humor in caregiving. The findings revealed that humor is an important and complex element in caregiving, functioning as a part of the self and the relationship, an expression of connection and understanding, a way of managing difficult moments, and as a form of avoidance or distraction. The effects of humor may vary depending on the stage of brain cancer.
QUALITATIVE HEALTH RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Social
Ana Blasco-Belled, Radoslaw Rogoza, Carles Alsinet
Summary: This study examined the relationship between vulnerable narcissism and dispositions towards ridicule and laughter. The results supported the hypotheses and provided further evidence for the complex structure of vulnerable narcissism.
PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Applied
Chloe Lau, Francesca Chiesi, Alessandra Fermani, Morena Muzi, Gonzalo del Moral Arroyo, Francesco Bruno, Willibald Ruch, Lena C. Quilty, Donald H. Saklofske, Carla Canestrari
Summary: The PhoPhiKat-30 is a self-report instrument for assessing personality traits related to laughter and ridicule. This study aimed to evaluate the measurement properties of the Italian version of PhoPhiKat-30 using multidimensional item response theory across participants from Italy and Canada. The results showed that the Italian PhoPhiKat-30 had good item discrimination and cross-cultural equivalence for most items, although new items addressing the low to moderate difficulty of katagelasticism should be added in future studies.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT
(2023)
Review
Ophthalmology
Xiao-Wen Hou, Ying Wang, Chaofu Ke, Chen-Wei Pan
Summary: This study systematically summarizes metabolic biomarkers and pathways in myopia, providing new clues to understand the disease mechanisms.
Article
Social Work
Mary Kay Morrison, Ros Ben-Moshe, Freda Gonot-Schoupinsky
Summary: The purpose of this paper is to introduce Mary Kay Morrison, an active member and past president of the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor (AATH). Mary Kay recommends exploring the benefits of humor and laughter for mental health professionals. She has coined the terms "Humergy" and "Humordoomer" to describe the positive and negative impacts of humor energy. Her research includes exploring the five stages of Humor Development as a significant factor in understanding cognitive development.
MENTAL HEALTH AND SOCIAL INCLUSION
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Yen-Lin Lee, Hsueh-Chih Chen, Yu-Chen Chan
Summary: Gelotophobes have a stronger attentional bias towards negative words and have difficulty shifting their attention to neutral words, while non-gelotophobes are more able to shift attention from negative to neutral words.
CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Communication
Kiah E. Bennett
Summary: This essay explores the concept of refractive comedy, a millennial-era iteration of stand-up comedy, through a close textual analysis of Hannah Gadsby's Nanette. It argues that refractive comedy changes the message, affective nature, and form of stand-up comedy by rejecting the dominant worldview and centering marginalized standpoints. The essay also examines the role of refractive comedy in a broader discourse on industrial and cultural, gendered, and racial gatekeeping, and analyzes how it has sparked critical conversations about comedy's role in relation to shared and collective trauma.
TELEVISION & NEW MEDIA
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Carlo V. Bellieni
Summary: The main aim of this study is to determine the causes of humor and the expression of rhythmic laughter. The study analyzes the characteristics of humor and laughter, their effects on health and social behavior, and their correlation with different areas of the brain. The most plausible theory for humor is incongruity/resolution, where an incongruous event or object provokes wonder and is followed by something reassuring. The study adds that not all incongruities produce humor, only those involving stiffness or stereotypy in a vital event do. Laughter is the stigmatization of this unnatural incongruity through its loud and rhythmic shape.
NEW IDEAS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2023)
Proceedings Paper
Automation & Control Systems
Ajitesh Srivastava, Naomi T. Fitter
Summary: This study aims to improve the humor abilities of robots by using machine learning methods to assess the reactions to humorous statements in real-time. Results indicate that support vector machines and neural network approaches can perform comparably to human raters in evaluating the success of jokes in certain cases, potentially enhancing the self-assessment techniques of robots in social interactions.
2021 IEEE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION (ICRA 2021)
(2021)
Article
Psychology, Social
Timothy Smartt, Sanaz Talaifar, Samuel D. Gosling
Summary: Under Dostoevsky's proposition, the study found that laughter can accurately show an individual's extraversion, with observers tending to perceive targets who are laughing as more extraverted, agreeable, conscientious, and open to new experiences.
JOURNAL OF NONVERBAL BEHAVIOR
(2022)