"Humor As Assessment" Resources
BEST Babies Laughing Videos Compilation
The "why": Getting Serious About Humor
The "why": Why humor is good for the classroom.
Research: 7 Step To Be Funny
Research: How To Be Funny Video
Research: Rigor & Relevance Framework
Frames of Referenes
Benign Humor Theory
According to the theory, a violation refers to anything that threatens one’s beliefs about how the world should be. That is, something seems threatening, unsettling, or wrong. From an evolutionary perspective, humorous violations likely originated as threats to physical well-being (e.g., the attacks that make up tickling, play fighting), but expanded to include threats to psychological well-being (e.g., insults, sarcasm), including behaviors that break social norms (e.g., strange behaviors, flatulence), cultural norms (e.g., unusual accents, most scenes from the movie Borat), linguistic norms (e.g., puns, malapropisms), logic norms (e.g., absurdities, non-sequiturs), and moral norms (e.g., disrespectful behavior).
Applying our definition
Class appropriate definition of humor:
- Two competing frames of references that do NOT dissolve into each other
- A surprise or unexpected result or tension
- No threat to audience
- (Rooted in standard)