Humour and laughter

This chapter is devoted to the social uses to which humour and laughter are put. It briefly summarises some of the main humour theories. Broadly, humour theories fall into four main groups. They are incongruity and developmental theories of humour, superiority and disparagement theories of humour, arousal theories of humour, and psychoanalytic and evolutionary theories of humour. Just as play has evolved to allow children to rehearse and develop the practical and social skills they need as adults, so humour has evolved to allow rehearsal of more abstract cognitive skills. The use of humour can, of course, offset the embarrassment of revealing highly personal information. Humour can positively galvanise groups and even when disparaging can still serve to promote solidarity within the group or to control group members who step out of line. In stressful situations, sharing humour with a fellow sufferer may be a more potent way of dissipating unwanted anxiety.