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Quantifying Laughter in International Research

  • Christine A. James

    Valdosta State University, Valdosta, Georgia, USA;

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Published/Copyright: September 18, 2023
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The Philosophy of Humor Yearbook
From the journal The Philosophy of Humor Yearbook Volume 4 Issue 1

Abstract

Historical theories of humor rely on a classic distinction in philosophy, the distinction between reason and emotion. Such a distinction lends itself to qualitative rather than quantitative research. In the last 40 years, quantitative scholarship on laughter and comedy has become very popular, and often includes international and indigenous examples of laughter as a healing or teaching tool. This paper addresses the historical research on laughter and mockery, then shows the broad range of quantitative studies that have provided important data on the usefulness of humor in teaching and in memorization of material. While there are a variety of items that one might laugh at, there are also certain commonalities that transcend social groups.

Keywords: laughter; quantitative research on laughter; teaching and laughter in classroom settings; research on gender and laughter

About the author

Christine A. James

Valdosta State University, Valdosta, Georgia, USA;

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Published Online: 2023-09-18
Published in Print: 2023-09-18

© 2023 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Titlepages
  2. Titlepages
  3. Table of Contents
  4. Articles
  5. Vico’s Theory of Humor and Laughter
  6. Laughter as Natural Piety: John Dewey, Humor, and the Religious
  7. Understanding Humor: Four Conceptual Approaches to the Elusive Subject
  8. Reality Is a Joke
  9. What Makes a Joke Bad: Enthymemes and the Pragmatics of Humor
  10. It’s Okay to Laugh at Fat Bastard: Ridicule, Satire, and Immoralism
  11. Oppression, Subversive Humor, and Unstable Politics
  12. What's the Deal with Sophists? Critical Thought and Humor in Ancient Philosophy and Contemporary Comedy
  13. Discussion: Article for Further Debate
  14. Discussion: Article for Further Debate   Edited by John Marmysz
  15. What’s So Funny About Golf?
  16. Artificial Intelligence, Phenomenology, and The Molyneux Problem
  17. A Kernel of Truth: Outlining an Epistemology of Jokes
  18. Philosophical Satire and Criticism
  19. Philosophical Satire and Criticism Edited by Steven Gimbel
  20. How to Read Wittgenstein as x: An Exercise in Selective Interpretation
  21. Humor in Philosophy Education
  22. Humor in Philosophy Education Edited by Christine A. James
  23. Quantifying Laughter in International Research
  24. Symposium
  25. Symposium     Edited by Steven Gimbel   Robert R. Clewis, Foreword by Noël Carroll, Kant’s Humorous Writings: An Illustrated Guide. Bloomsbury Academic, 2020. Pp. xxiv + 256   Critics
  26. Prosecuting the Case against Clewis
  27. All in Good Taste
  28. Is Kant Seriously Funny?
  29. Clewis on Kant’s Humor
  30. Author’s Response
  31. Author's Response
  32. Humor and the Arts: Taking Kant Seriously
  33. Book Reviews
  34. Book Reviews Edited by Lydia Amir With Pierre Destrée (Ancient and Medieval Philosophy) and John Marmysz (Modern and Contemporary Philosophy)
  35.    
  36. Call for Papers, Book Reviews, Guidelines
  37. Call for Papers, Book Reviews, Guidelines
  38.    
https://doi.org/10.1515/phhumyb-2023-0013
Keywords for this article
laughter; quantitative research on laughter; teaching and laughter in classroom settings; research on gender and laughter

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Titlepages
  2. Titlepages
  3. Table of Contents
  4. Articles
  5. Vico’s Theory of Humor and Laughter
  6. Laughter as Natural Piety: John Dewey, Humor, and the Religious
  7. Understanding Humor: Four Conceptual Approaches to the Elusive Subject
  8. Reality Is a Joke
  9. What Makes a Joke Bad: Enthymemes and the Pragmatics of Humor
  10. It’s Okay to Laugh at Fat Bastard: Ridicule, Satire, and Immoralism
  11. Oppression, Subversive Humor, and Unstable Politics
  12. What's the Deal with Sophists? Critical Thought and Humor in Ancient Philosophy and Contemporary Comedy
  13. Discussion: Article for Further Debate
  14. Discussion: Article for Further Debate   Edited by John Marmysz
  15. What’s So Funny About Golf?
  16. Artificial Intelligence, Phenomenology, and The Molyneux Problem
  17. A Kernel of Truth: Outlining an Epistemology of Jokes
  18. Philosophical Satire and Criticism
  19. Philosophical Satire and Criticism Edited by Steven Gimbel
  20. How to Read Wittgenstein as x: An Exercise in Selective Interpretation
  21. Humor in Philosophy Education
  22. Humor in Philosophy Education Edited by Christine A. James
  23. Quantifying Laughter in International Research
  24. Symposium
  25. Symposium     Edited by Steven Gimbel   Robert R. Clewis, Foreword by Noël Carroll, Kant’s Humorous Writings: An Illustrated Guide. Bloomsbury Academic, 2020. Pp. xxiv + 256   Critics
  26. Prosecuting the Case against Clewis
  27. All in Good Taste
  28. Is Kant Seriously Funny?
  29. Clewis on Kant’s Humor
  30. Author’s Response
  31. Author's Response
  32. Humor and the Arts: Taking Kant Seriously
  33. Book Reviews
  34. Book Reviews Edited by Lydia Amir With Pierre Destrée (Ancient and Medieval Philosophy) and John Marmysz (Modern and Contemporary Philosophy)
  35.    
  36. Call for Papers, Book Reviews, Guidelines
  37. Call for Papers, Book Reviews, Guidelines
  38.    
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