Week # 3 - January 27, 2011

Humor me!
What is humor?
Defining humor through its attributes: sources (stimuli), their perception and evaluation, behavioral responses.
From Humoral Pathology to Paleohumorology.

Diversity focus: “Not funny” – Violation in and of normality is so offensive that it inflicts pain on a “humor receiver” representing one or more non-dominant groups in the U.S.
• Various forms, responses, etc., of humor are presented through mostly American video clips and verbal situations.
• For example: incongruity material deals with different examples of international humor including American perception of the Middle East.

Readings for Week #3:
Martin, Rod A.: Introduction to the Psychology of Humor. In The Psychology of Humor: An Integrative Approach. Elsevier Academic Press. 2007. Pp. 1-30.

Veatch, Thomas C.: A Theory of Humor. In Humor, the International Journal of Humor Research. May. 1998. HTML version at www.tomveatch.com/else/humor/paper