A study examined the attention getting value of nonsensical and sexual humor used in liquor advertisements to determine if one was more effective than the other in attracting male magazine readers. Thirty-two Starch-scored liquor ads taken from 1976 and 1977 issues of "Time,""Newsweek," and "Sports Illustrated" were analyzed by three male readers.…

A study investigated whether positive response to humor in a speech would enhance audience evaluation of the speech/speaker. A short informative speech on "listening" which included nine relevant jokes was audio tape-recorded in two versions, one in which each joke was punctuated by laughter, and one in which a stony silence greeted each…

This paper examines some of the various findings contained in the current literature on humor in the workplace. In recent years, the communicative role of humor in the workplace has received attention--particularly in management-related publications. Consequently, the paper explores the emergence of humor as a management tool and the advantages…

After an extensive review of the literature on the theoretical underpinnings of humor in human interaction, a six-category typology of humor was developed and exemplified by examples from mass media comedy. Humor can first be divided into two major types: individual level humor or social level humor. These levels are then further divided into the…

A study involving 59 undergraduate speech communication students investigated relationships between intelligence, understanding of editorial satire, and appreciation of satire. The students were asked to read three satirical essays and then to pick one of five statements that best described the thesis as intended by the author. Then each satire…

Frame analysis of 85 cartoons from "The New Yorker" magazine was used to discover the significant keys, or metacommunicative characterizers, of cartoon humor. It was hypothesized that these keys/characterizers function to cue the readers so that they frame the message of the cartoon in a way that permits a humorous interpretation of the cartoon's…

Satire is a genre long extant if not especially beloved in human history. Practitioners of the art claim the intent to persuade and educate through their works. Many quantitative studies have tested the persuasive effects of satire. In research on persuasion, A.D. Annis (1939) compared the effects of editorials and editorial cartoons and concluded…

The use of humor in the classroom has been investigated using a variety of humor operationalizations and methodologies with mixed results. The present study examined the role of teacher humor orientation (HO) rather than specific humorous behaviors. The relationship between teacher humor orientation and learning was the focus of this study.…

Humor, a communicative tactic used to engender support, is often used, but rarely understood. The literature in the field of humor has attempted to define situations where humor could be beneficial, although few definitive answers exist relating humor to effective leadership communicative behavior. This paper presents current research findings…

A study was conducted to determine the effects of mildly self-disparaging humor on audiences' perceptions when it is used by speakers perceived to be of differing credibility (ethos) levels. Responses by 27 students who were potential subjects of the experiment were used to construct a credibility scale. The most credible speaker, a university…

In the first of two experiments designed to determine whether the use of humor would enhance audience reactions to a speaker without damaging that speaker's ethos (character and authoritativeness), 98 university students were randomly assigned to read one of four versions of the speech, "Why I Chose Psychology." The subjects read…

College students in nine intact beginning speech classes served as subjects for a study testing the effects of humor on student recall of lecture information. The 156 subjects were exposed to one of three versions of an audiotaped lecture. One version amplified eight points in the subject matter with humorous material; and a third version (the…

On a daily basis, American television and radio audiences are subjected to a stream of broadcast Public Service Announcements (PSAs), each promoting "some kind of social or economic action deemed beneficial" (Stridsberg, 1977). Often, these announcements employ humor as a presentational device to help stimulate the behavioral change…

A study focused on investigating perceptions of sexist humor, specifically on how people perceive others' reactions to sexist humor. Subjects, 206 college men and women, rated communication competence and attraction of actors in vignettes depicting 2 different reactions to sexist humor. Results indicated that sex of both the joke teller and the…

A study was designed to determine the particular effects of humorous illustrations on a textbook's teaching effectiveness, appeal, persuasibility, and potential to motivate. Experimental text materials were prepared in two levels of difficulty and six cartoons were drawn to illustrate different educational points that were made in the materials.…