This study investigates the function of smiling intensity as a nondiscrete marker of humor in conversation. The smiling intensity of participants in eight conversational dyads was measured relative to the occurrence of humorous and nonhumorous events in the conversation. A relationship was found between higher smiling intensity and the occurrence…

This study critically analyzes White male college student narratives regarding racial joking. Through semi-structured interviews, 29 participants described a pattern of behavior and rationalization: they heard and told racist jokes frequently; the jokes were framed as not racist; and the jokes were told only among White people, because the…

This study examined verbal and non-verbal teacher/student interpersonal interactions in higher education instrumental music lessons. Twenty-four lessons were videotaped and teacher/student behaviours were analysed using a researcher-designed instrument. The findings indicate predominance of student and teacher joke among the verbal behaviours with…

This qualitative study examined messages of everyday communication (small talk and routine interactions). The importance of these messages was highlighted in light of their role in creating structure, safety, and meaning making in the family at the end of life. In addition, family rituals that developed from children's everyday communication were…

With the Internet, foreign language learners can interact more easily with native speakers from other countries than in previous generations. For learners to develop the ability to function in foreign environments, it is vital to understand their experiences in postsecondary online foreign language classes. If educators and educational theorists…

Recounts a study designed to determine the age at which sex differences first begin to appear and relates various aspects of children's behavior to the level of humor responsiveness. (MH)

The author outlines his 25-year attempt to understand the dynamics of humor. He views humor as the sine qua non of self actualization and maturity. The humorist has an adamant sense of his own significance without having to prove himself better than others or to prove his worth through some role performance. Connections with humankind--past,…

This research attempted to reconcile previous results in the area of humor and aggression. It was hypothesized that humor serves two functions, arousal and attentional shift, with regard to its influence on the relation of prior anger arousal and aggression. (Editor/RK)

Freudian theory and subsequent research indicates a connection between sexual and aggressive motivation. The present study investigated preferences among nonsexual, sexual, and aggressive humor as a function of induced aggressive mood. One-hundred and twenty male and 120 female university students participated in one of four 2x2 factorial designs…

Indicates that premenstrual and menstrual women preferred comedy over alternative choices more strongly than did women midway through the cycle. Suggests that this preference reflects a desire to overcome the hormonally mediated noxious mood states that are characteristically associated with the premenstrual and menstrual phases of the cycle. (JD)

A general theory of humor elicitation is presented that specifies the conditions in which humor is experienced in both social and nonsocial situations. The theory is used to conceptualize humor elicited by jokes, witticisms, and social events that are not intended or expected to be humorous. (SLD)

Two experiments to study the development of the meaning of laughter in children are reported. A pilot study presented recorded audio tapes with both humorous and nonhumorous episodes, some with accompanying canned laughter, to 24 boys between the ages of 4 and 6 years. Observers recorded durations of laughter and smiling. Results showed that both…

This study describes the development of a self-report measure of functional humor in relationships. People were asked to report on their own and their partner's use of humor in the marriage. The Relational Humor Inventory proved to be a useful instrument for tapping important positive and negative relationship behaviors. (Contains 30 references, 4…

From a sample of eighth-grade pupils, 96 class clowns were identified and compared to a sample of 237 nonclown classmates. Clowns were predominantly males, and were seen by their teachers to be higher than nonclowns in Asserting, Unruliness, Attention Seeking, Leadership, and Cheerfulness, and to be lower in Accomplishing. (Author/CP)