Sri Lanka, July 25 -- In last week's article we looked at humour and joking behaviour as universal human phenomena that serve numerous health and social benefits. However, we warned that humour also has a negative side to it as it can harm people as much as it can heal. This week we will look at this destructive side of humour and how to use humour responsibly to derive its many benefits.
Humour the 'double-edged sword'
Humour is often likened to a 'double edged sword'. This is because it can cut both ways. Therefore what is funny to one person may not always be to everyone's liking. Research on humour has found that the perception of humour as being benign or base is highly dependent on a number of factors. These include the context humour takes place in, the level of trust and understanding between the person initiating the humour and the person(s) to whom the humour is directed at, and other factors such as gender, status, ethnicity, cultural backgrounds of the parties involved in the humour transaction. When these factors are disregarded or violated, humour will most often be perceived in a negative light by the people exposed to the humour.
The most hazardous use of humour by people is the intentional use of humour as a tool to ridicule, discriminate and debase people. This can include jokes that intentionally make fun of another's weakness, appearance, or behaviour and sarcastic mocking humour that makes the targeted person feel uncomfortable and lose face. It can also include jokes and stories that degrade people based on their sex, religion, and cultural practises etc, jokes that show the superiority of one ethnic group over another or jokes that simply lack sensitivity for the feelings of other people. Such acts cause the loss of valuable relationships between the parties involved, the targeted parties to feel embarrassed, angry, sad, and worthless and can even lead to acts of retaliation and violence if the jokes are carried too far.
Humour can cause physical harm when it is used as a form of horseplay and mental anguish when it becomes harassment. Horseplay include playing dangerous practical jokes on people such as pushing them into swimming pools, throwing eggs at people, putting spiders and snakes in peoples clothes/bags or such other acts which are intended to be funny but may actually cause physical harm to people. Humour becomes harassment when a person is continuously targeted by another by giving him/her prank phone calls, sending nuisance emails/texts/pictures, or just using pranks to invade a person's private life with the aim of making that person feel trapped and harassed. Given the prevalence of technology in our lives, it is now easy to create inappropriate humour through electronic devices such as mobile phones and cameras, and distribute it to the masses through the internet with disastrous consequences.
Humour can also be a source of great distraction if used to the extreme. It can divert a person's attention from serious and urgent tasks at hand leaving important jobs undone. This can lead to the loss of productivity and waste of time and money. Humour can be effectively used to help a person emotionally cope with a troubling task at hand by giving a different view of the task and making it feel less of a burden. However, if the person then actively doesn't do anything to deal with the task and continues to just laugh about it, he/she will not find an effective solution to tackling the task.
Laughing responsibly
Given these harmful outcomes of humour, it is imperative that humour be used responsibly. Here are a few guidelines in using humour in a non-threatening and helpful manner.
The perception of humour as being positive or negative depends on the perception of the person(s) exposed to the humour, of the intention of the person initiating the humour. If a person thinks or judges that the intentions of the person making the joke is not altogether honourable, then he/she will take that humour as being inappropriate and harmful. This perception is highly dependent on the level of trust and understanding between the parties involved. Humour occurs most effectively in an environment full of trust and understanding. Therefore make sure that you use humour in trust based environments. Where there is trust between the parties, the other's intentions in using the humour will not be negatively perceived. Even if a sarcastic joke or humorous yet hurtful comment is made by a person, if there is trust, the other party will not take it as an offence and might just set it aside as a 'stupid remark'. Where there is no trust between the parties any kind of humorous remark, even if honourably made, will most often be evaluated in a suspicious and negative light. Therefore establishing trust before openly using humour is a prerequisite in using humour effectively.
It is also important to be aware of the gender, religious, cultural values, of the parties to whom you are making the jokes to. Jokes that specifically target certain cultural groups, religious groups, stereotypes such as in-laws, old age, certain professions, etc may be viewed as threatening by people who belong to those groups. These types of jokes should be avoided if such people are present in the audience as it will make them feel vulnerable and targeted. Research has found that people most often respond most readily to jokes that make fun of the joker's own weaknesses rather than the weaknesses of other parties. This places the joker in a very positive light as a humble person who has the courage to laugh at his/her own weaknesses. However, if done to the extreme, it can also cause people to view the joker as someone lacking in self esteem and dignity. Therefore one must maintain a balance in using humour directed at one's own weaknesses.
Humour is highly context bound. A joke that is received with mirth and acceptance in one social context may not be received in the same light in all social contexts. So when using humour you must be socially savvy and understand what jokes will be appropriate in what contexts. For example jokes that are suitable to an adult audience will not be suitable to a non adult audience and vice versa. Similarly, humorous anecdotes and stories may be well received at a wedding or an informal party but not at a funeral or a formal party.
It is also important to allow the other parties to respond freely to the jokes that you have made. Joking back to a joke that you have made brings both parties on an equal footing and it sends a positive message to the other party that they are not being manipulated. In such a situation even if a negative joke is made, the other party will not take offence as they are given the freedom to respond and get back at the joker with a joke of their own. This usually reinforces the social relationships between the two parties
Although humour is an important source of stress relief, it becomes maladaptive in situations of life threatening and dire consequences. For example cracking jokes when people are about to die of an imminent disaster is a most unhelpful thing to do. During disasters, people need their full mental concentration to do something to avert the disaster, instead of making jokes about it. However, once the disaster has passed, people can use humour successfully to get over the shock and trauma of the disaster.
The bottom line
Humour has many beneficial effects but it needs to be used appropriately to derive those benefits. Always think twice before pulling somebody's leg because even harmless teasing can go a long way in helping or harming another person's life. So remember: Laugh responsibly.
(Nilupama Wijewardena is a doctoral student at Monash University, Australia and she can be reached at delightfully.blue@hotmail.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )
Published by HT Syndication with permission from Daily Mirror Sri Lanka.
For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at htsyndication@hindustantimes.com
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