Zoe's Humor Blog

It is hard to think of humor as being a bad thing because it is thought of as an inherently positive tool to communicate and connect with others, right? Well, the truth is that despite all of the wonderful things humor does do, there are definitely some dangers and pitfalls. The following are a list of the dangers of humor: - Humor can be used as an unhealthy mechanism to cope. While humor does have the ability to aid in the healing process (I can personally attest to this and am studying this for my final project), it definitely has the ability to be used as an unhealthy crutch. Instead of seeking actual help for whatever may be causing conflict in one's life, many will utilize humor as a way to hide or disguise how they actually feel and will use it as a mask to make others believe that they are okay, when, in reality, they are struggling and need help.  - Humor can serve as an aggressor towards other people. Disparaging comments, insults, and teasing, can lend to creating uncomf...

My brother, Zack, and his girlfriend, Rachel (now fiancee, FINALLY), have been together for twelve years. I introduced them to each other when I was a freshman in high school and the rest is history. So, as you can already guess, I have had the opportunity to see them grow together throughout the years and I have been a witness to how their relationship has evolved as well. One thing that has always stood out the most to me is the role that humor plays in their relationship. I asked them about it not too long ago during the time period in class when we covered humor in personal relationships. In response to my question, "what role does humor play in your relationship?", both Zack and Rachel  agreed that it was a vital part of what made them them. Both are very funny people who have very similar senses of humor, so they mesh incredibly well together. They also said that humor kept their relationship afloat during difficult times in their lives and acted as a way to express how...

One of my favorite shows in the whole wide world is Arrested Development . If you have not seen it, I will give you a little rundown. This sitcom is about Michael Bluth, a member of the dysfunctional and eccentric Bluth family who has been tasked with running the family's real estate business after his father is sent to prison for white-collar crime. Of course, as you can probably imagine, chaos and hilarity ensues throughout the series.  I believe that this show is a great example of family humor and how humor shapes the dynamics of a family unit. It gives an inside look as to how a family functions internally, as the show focuses on relationships within the family and not much on outside relationships. The family members often use very dry and aggressive humor with one another which is a staple in how they communicate. If you were to not know that they were related to one another, you would think that they dislike each other, but really the Bluth family's use of sarcasm and h...

One of my favorite chapters/units in the textbook thus far has been the unit dedicated to the theories of humor. I love the idea that there are theories that function to better describe what humor is, what is considered humorous, and to attempt to explain the social functions of humor. Relief theory is one in particular that I find interesting and will be diving into a bit deeper in this post. Relief theory is described as a theory in which humor is utilized as a mechanism by which psychological stress is diminished. Laughter in this theory is a result of the release of psychological tension resulting from such acts as facing our fears, overcoming inhibitions, and releasing nervous energy built up in our everyday life. Humor in relief theory is neither a feeling of superiority nor the awareness of incongruity present but solely the feeling of relief that one experiences upon the removal of restraint. The more tension relief found in a situation is equivalent to more humor experienced. ...

I have been binge (re)watching one of my favorite shows of all-time , Will & Grace , this past week and after our recent unit on workplace humor I could not help but notice how humorous Grace Adler's workplace is. For those who have not watched Will & Grace, one of the main characters, Grace Adler, is an interior designer that owns a design business/studio in NYC. Grace's one singular employee is Karen Walker, an incredibly wealthy (and incredibly lazy) wife of a multi-millionaire who only works as an excuse to not have to deal with her stepchildren. The humorous interactions that occur throughout the series in Grace's studio/place of work are a great example of humor in the workplace as well as humor between employees and employers. The dynamics between the two characters and their vastly different personalities as well as their work ethics (Karen's is basically non-existent, haha!) are a central point of humor in the show. The humor that the two utilize whil...

 This week for our lecture we discussed aggressive forms of humor! One that stood out to me the most is 'assertiveness' because it is a form of aggressive humor that I use and experience a lot. Assertiveness belongs to the constructive dimension of aggressive communication. A positive form of communication, assertiveness represents a response that allows a person to behave in a certain manner, respecting their owns interests and expressing their feelings without fear while also respecting other individuals. One of my best friend's little sister, Cheyanne, and I utilize assertiveness all of the time in our communication with each other. Cheyanne and I have known each other for almost fifteen years now and our relationship is like that of a big and little sister. We often will respond to each other in conversation with insults or brash comebacks. For example: the last time I saw Cheyanne was about two weeks ago at a Shrek Trivia night in Austin. She announced to the table tha...

 This week's discussion post is my inspiration for this personal reflection! One of the prompts for the discussion this week that intrigued me is:   Explore the psychological implications of humor, including its role as a coping mechanism for stress and adversity. Discuss the potential dangers of using humor as a defense mechanism and strategies for promoting mental well-being through communication. As well as Dr. Hubbard's awesome response question:  How do you think social support groups (like AA or support for those who have lost, etc) can use humor in their meetings in a good way to still show they care and not just act like it is a joking manner?     This topic and these questions are so incredibly personal and special to me because, A.) it is the subject of my research paper and most importantly, B.) because it is and has been a very real part of what has gotten me through the grief that I carry and the roller coaster of emotions I have ridden trying t...