This syllabus describes a three-credit course entitled "American Humor," offered at the University of New Haven (Connecticut). According to the syllabus, "American Humor" will identify traits of American humor as historical phenomena with relations to national character, business attitudes, regionalism, folk humor, and health;…

Funds supporting the research for this paper was made available by a National Science Foundation Science Development Grant. (VM)

Level of cognitive development was not significantly related to humor appreciation for either novelty or incongruity humor in 30 boys at each of three age levels: 5, 7, and 9. (WY)

Describes and presents examples of work from the Western Michigan school of bad versemakers, a group of nineteenth century poets who strove to give their frontier experiences high seriousness, but achieved, at best, unintentional humor. (MM)

Presents a tongue-in-cheek system for classifying educational administrators into four categories (Artful Dodger, Commander in Chief, Leader of the Pack, and Facilitating Master) according to leadership style and administrator characteristics. A brief sampler survey is included. (JAC)

Of three educational programs, two were manipulated to contain: (1) no humor; or (2) humor in a slow pace, an intermediate pace, or a fast pace. It was found that the presence of humor greatly facilitates selective exposure to an educational television program. (Author/GK)

Presents a short description with examples of the use of cartoons as a motivational and instructional technique for vocabulary study. (AEA)

Provides examples of word play that reading teachers can use to reinforce a variety of skills. (FL)

Indicates some of the pitfalls of using humor in the high school English classroom. Notes the need for striking a balance between serious and humorous classroom discussion. (RL)

Explains why humor should be studied in English classrooms and how humorous writing serves as a vehicle for making its readers more socially conscious of human values. Offers a list of books that can be used in classroom discussions of humor. (RL)

Subjects rated the humor of jokes under conditions of high and low spatial density. Crowding was found to significantly diminish appreciation of three types of humor. Significant sex differences in reactivity to crowding were found. (Author/CS)

An active sense of humor is a vital but often neglected resource in teaching methods as well as in everyday life. (LH)