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141-420: Relief theory suggests humor is a mechanism for pent-up emotions or tension through emotional relief. In this theory, laughter serves as a homeostatic mechanism by which psychological stress is reduced Humor may thus facilitate ease of the tension caused by one's fears , for example. Laughter and joy, according to relief theory, result from this release of excess nervous energy. According to relief theory, humor

282-423: A church raffling off a Hummer SUV to recruit new members, but many were simultaneously amused. Consistent with BVT, people who attended church were less likely to be amused than people who did not. Churchgoers are more committed to the belief that churches are sacred and, consequently are less likely to consider the church's behavior benign. One must have a slight connection to the norm that is being violated but, at

423-441: A combination of incongruity and hostility . He explained that jokes are funny because they catch the listener off guard, introducing a surprising and unexpected twist that amuses them. However, this incongruity alone does not entirely explain the mechanics of laughter. There also appears to be a component of hostility from both the comedian and the audience . What makes something funny often involves ridiculous features, such as

564-494: A constant and sufficient supply of the micronutrient while simultaneously avoiding excess levels. If an insufficient amount of copper is ingested for a short period of time, copper stores in the liver will be depleted. Should this depletion continue, a copper health deficiency condition may develop. If too much copper is ingested, an excess condition can result. Both of these conditions, deficiency and excess, can lead to tissue injury and disease. However, due to homeostatic regulation,

705-403: A control center. The control center sets the maintenance range—the acceptable upper and lower limits—for the particular variable, such as temperature. The control center responds to the signal by determining an appropriate response and sending signals to an effector , which can be one or more muscles, an organ, or a gland . When the signal is received and acted on, negative feedback is provided to

846-425: A crucial role in determining what people find funny. Incongruity theory, otherwise known as incongruous juxtaposition theory, suggests that humor and laughter rely on incongruity, which denotes anything contrary to expectation according to some norm. The type of humor most often described by this theory is that of a play on words. Zillmann (200) says that linguistic humor "requires the deciphering of ambiguities ,

987-417: A great many other homeostatic mechanisms, encompassing many aspects of human physiology , control other entities in the body. Where the levels of variables are higher or lower than those needed, they are often prefixed with hyper- and hypo- , respectively such as hyperthermia and hypothermia or hypertension and hypotension . If an entity is homeostatically controlled it does not imply that its value

1128-403: A high plasma pH stimulates the kidneys to secrete hydrogen ions into the blood and to excrete bicarbonate into the urine. The hydrogen ions combine with the excess bicarbonate ions in the plasma, once again forming an excess of carbonic acid which can be exhaled, as carbon dioxide, in the lungs, keeping the plasma bicarbonate ion concentration, the partial pressure of carbon dioxide and, therefore,

1269-400: A hormone released into the blood by the kidney in response to high PTH levels in the blood, the duodenum and jejunum . Parathyroid hormone (in high concentrations in the blood) causes bone resorption , releasing calcium into the plasma. This is a very rapid action which can correct a threatening hypocalcemia within minutes. High PTH concentrations cause the excretion of phosphate ions via

1410-400: A lowering of the plasma sodium concentration, or to a fall in the arterial blood pressure, the juxtaglomerular cells release renin into the blood. Renin is an enzyme which cleaves a decapeptide (a short protein chain, 10 amino acids long) from a plasma α-2-globulin called angiotensinogen . This decapeptide is known as angiotensin I . It has no known biological activity. However, when

1551-420: A major theme in the study of humor until the 20th century. In the 17th century, Thomas Hobbes described superiority theory in two pieces, Human Nature (1650) and Leviathan (1651), which have very similar views. Hobbes describes laughter as the sudden glory one feels that one is better than the target of the humorous narrative. The sense of glory comes from the recognition of power . Hobbes also mentions

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1692-438: A negative experience, one may begin to feel some heightened arousal. According to Shurcliff, the heightened arousal is then reduced through mirth or laughter. Comparably, an English Scholar, Lucas (1958), wrote that audiences respond better based on the "strain-rest-strain-rest" idea in which a tragic event may happen with moments of relaxation . According to Herbert Spencer , laughter is an "economical phenomenon" whose function

1833-466: A phenomenon is an observable happening or event. Often, this term is used without considering the causes of a particular event. Example of a physical phenomenon is an observable phenomenon of the lunar orbit or the phenomenon of oscillations of a pendulum. A mechanical phenomenon is a physical phenomenon associated with the equilibrium or motion of objects. Some examples are Newton's cradle , engines , and double pendulums . Group phenomena concern

1974-468: A phenomenon is any event that is observable , including the use of instrumentation to observe, record, or compile data. Especially in physics , the study of a phenomenon may be described as measurements related to matter , energy , or time , such as Isaac Newton 's observations of the Moon's orbit and of gravity ; or Galileo Galilei 's observations of the motion of a pendulum . In natural sciences ,

2115-422: A physical deformity or a slip-up. Therefore, whether through jokes, situations, or physical characteristics, while humor's laughter-inducing quality primarily stems from incongruity, aggression is also intertwined with it. Nevertheless, Aristotle regarded humor as a positive phenomenon as long as it was not excessive. Aristotle believed that humor could be used effectively in rhetoric , but it must be used in

2256-482: A process that can be likened to problem-solving ." For example, "What is black and white and re[a]d all over?" "A newspaper!" The part before the punchline can evoke puzzlement due to the cognitive dissonance of not anticipating the punchline. Subsequently, the punchline itself might puzzle the hearer until they see the resolution of incongruity, when humor is perceived. Francis Hutcheson in Thoughts on Laughter (1725)

2397-406: A purely biological origin, while its social functions arose later. This conclusion corresponds to the known fact that monkeys (as pointed out by Charles Darwin ) and even rats (as found recently) possess laughter like qualities when playing, drawing conclusions to some potential form of humor. A practical realization of this algorithm needs extensive databases, whose creation in the automatic regime

2538-435: A range of blood pressure values by vasoconstriction and vasodilation of the arteries. High pressure receptors called baroreceptors in the walls of the aortic arch and carotid sinus (at the beginning of the internal carotid artery ) monitor the arterial blood pressure . Rising pressure is detected when the walls of the arteries stretch due to an increase in blood volume . This causes heart muscle cells to secrete

2679-416: A sense of enjoyment or, in this case, humor. Similarly, audiences may find a comedian's jokes more humorous if they like the person delivering jokes. However, when good things happen to people who deserve it, very little amusement is experienced by the audience. Thus, it is more beneficial to mirth in situations of misfortune rather than instances of fortune. Disposition Toward Victim Disposition Toward

2820-433: A specific malfunction, conditioned by the need that a false version should be quickly deleted from consciousness. This specific malfunction can be identified with a humorous effect on psychological grounds: it exactly corresponds to incongruity-resolution theory. However, an essentially new ingredient, the role of timing, is added to the well-known role of ambiguity. In biological systems, a sense of humor inevitably develops in

2961-406: A strained expectation into nothing." Kant explained laughter at humor as a response to an " absurdity ." We first expect the world. Still, that expectation is then disappointed or "disappears into nothing." Our response to humor consists of a "play with thoughts." According to Kant, humor must involve the element of surprise . It creates a sense of cognitive dissonance and builds up tension, which

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3102-424: A subsequent increase in hemoglobin that increases the oxygen carrying capacity. This is the mechanism whereby high altitude dwellers have higher hematocrits than sea-level residents, and also why persons with pulmonary insufficiency or right-to-left shunts in the heart (through which venous blood by-passes the lungs and goes directly into the systemic circulation) have similarly high hematocrits. Regardless of

3243-411: A tragedy for such a reaction. Aristotle mentioned the emotions that come with instances of death, serious harm, or tragedy overpower laughter and instead evoke pity . Superiority and disposition theories also play into the idea of punching up or punching down in comedy . Making jokes about someone who is superior to us is considered "punching up," while making jokes about someone who is inferior to us

3384-500: A variant on the more general concepts of the Incongruity theory of humor (see above), it is the first theory to identify its approach as exclusively linguistic. As such it concerns itself only with verbal humor: written and spoken words used in narrative or riddle jokes concluding with a punch line. The linguistic scripts (a.k.a. frames) referenced in the title include, for any given word, a "large chunk of semantic information surrounding

3525-456: A violation can seem benign. McGraw and Warren tested three contexts in the domain of moral violations. A violation can seem benign if one norm suggests something is wrong, but another salient norm suggests it is acceptable. A violation can also seem benign when one is psychologically distant from the violation or is only weakly committed to the violated norm. For example, McGraw and Warren find that most consumers were disgusted when they read about

3666-436: A way that served the argument. The speaker should avoid inappropriate jokes that could alienate the audience. He considered irony to be an acceptable and effective tool if used sparingly. Buffoonery , on the other hand, or crude humor, should be avoided altogether. One of the most important contributions of Aristotle to the future development of the theory of humor is the opposition of comedy versus tragedy , which has been

3807-447: Is a place for harmless teasing . In addition, philosopher of humor Noël Carroll observes that even the structure of a narrative joke, on Kant's view, requires the joke teller to "take in" or outdo the joke receiver, even if only momentarily. Because such joking is recognized as joking and it is carried out in a playful way, it does not imply that the joker feels or thinks they are actually superior. The main criticisms scholars make of

3948-440: Is a pleasurable relief or laughter. While Kant is an incongruity theorist, his account also has elements of release theory (emphasizing the physiological and physical aspects). It also evokes the superiority theory. He thought that teasing was acceptable as long as it occurred in the right setting and did not harm the person being teased. Schopenhauer argued that humor results from the sudden recognition of an incongruity between

4089-433: Is an integral part of the antioxidant enzyme copper-zinc superoxide dismutase, and has a role in iron homeostasis as a cofactor in ceruloplasmin. Changes in the levels of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and plasma pH are sent to the respiratory center , in the brainstem where they are regulated. The partial pressure of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the arterial blood is monitored by the peripheral chemoreceptors ( PNS ) in

4230-454: Is considered "punching down". Due to these power imbalances, punching up is seen as ethical , where punching down is seen as the opposite. Note that punching up in this context is different to punching up a script (such as in improvements made by a script doctor ). Humor is complex, and different theories attempt to explain its various aspects. The disposition theory adds a psychological perspective by suggesting that individual differences play

4371-411: Is controlled by one or more regulators or homeostatic mechanisms, which together maintain life. Homeostasis is brought about by a natural resistance to change when already in optimal conditions, and equilibrium is maintained by many regulatory mechanisms; it is thought to be the central motivation for all organic action. All homeostatic control mechanisms have at least three interdependent components for

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4512-488: Is granted such prominence. Accordingly, such a version of this theory is not original to Schopenhauer, so much as to the Scottish poet James Beattie who wrote only fifty years after Hutcheson. Although not widely read today, historically, Beattie's presentation of the theory has, consequently, been very influential. He made the theory more universal, and instead of incongruity per se , emphasized its partial appropriateness by

4653-433: Is limited in its capacity to respond to extreme temperatures. When the core temperature falls, the blood supply to the skin is reduced by intense vasoconstriction . The blood flow to the limbs (which have a large surface area) is similarly reduced and returned to the trunk via the deep veins which lie alongside the arteries (forming venae comitantes ). This acts as a counter-current exchange system that short-circuits

4794-454: Is more of a deciding factor in the monitoring of pH. However, at high altitude (above 2500 m) the monitoring of the partial pressure of oxygen takes priority, and hyperventilation keeps the oxygen level constant. With the lower level of carbon dioxide, to keep the pH at 7.4 the kidneys secrete hydrogen ions into the blood and excrete bicarbonate into the urine. This is important in acclimatization to high altitude . The kidneys measure

4935-436: Is necessarily absolutely steady in health. Core body temperature is, for instance, regulated by a homeostatic mechanism with temperature sensors in, amongst others, the hypothalamus of the brain . However, the set point of the regulator is regularly reset. For instance, core body temperature in humans varies during the course of the day (i.e. has a circadian rhythm ), with the lowest temperatures occurring at night, and

5076-496: Is no change in the osmolality of the ECF, and therefore no change in the ADH concentration of the plasma. However, low aldosterone levels cause a loss of sodium ions from the ECF, which could potentially cause a change in extracellular osmolality and therefore of ADH levels in the blood. High potassium concentrations in the plasma cause depolarization of the zona glomerulosa cells' membranes in

5217-418: Is perceived in the realization of incongruity between a concept involved in a certain situation and the real objects thought to be in some relation to the concept. In that explanation, which is from philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer , he meant by a "concept," in most cases, a word . Hence, he was referring to the type of joke cited above. It is primarily due to Schopenhauer's fame that his expression on this topic

5358-522: Is that a person laughs about the misfortunes of others because they assert their superiority based on the shortcomings of others. We feel superior to the person who is the target of the joke. Plato described it as being both a pleasure and pain in the soul . One may experience these mixed emotions during the malicious person's happiness at the victim's misfortune. For Aristotle, we laugh at inferior or ugly individuals because we feel joy at feeling superior to them. Aristotle observed that many jokes relied on

5499-472: Is that of a victim, someone whose shortcomings are used for humor. Non-tendentious humor is victimless. Although Freud determined tendentious elements pushed individuals to potential laugh attacks, innocuous elements were still essential. Hostility alone cannot be enjoyed because society deems it wrong. In society, one cannot laugh when told a story of tragedy. The only way it is accepted is if they are embellished with jokework. Freud argued that innocent jokework

5640-438: Is therefore that hydrogen ions are lost in the urine when the pH of the plasma falls. The concomitant rise in the plasma bicarbonate mops up the increased hydrogen ions (caused by the fall in plasma pH) and the resulting excess carbonic acid is disposed of in the lungs as carbon dioxide. This restores the normal ratio between bicarbonate and the partial pressure of carbon dioxide and therefore the plasma pH. The converse happens when

5781-479: Is thrown out to the motor cortex, arousing muscular contractions. The theory treats on equal footing the humorous effect created by the linguistic means (verbal humor), as well as created visually (caricature, clown performance) or by tickling. The theory explains the natural differences in susceptibility of people to humor, the absence of humorous effect from a trite joke, the role of intonation in telling jokes, nervous laughter, etc. According to this theory, humor has

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5922-495: Is to release "psychic energy" that had been wrongly mobilized by incorrect or false expectations. The latter point of view was supported also by Sigmund Freud . Immanuel Kant also emphasized the physiological release in our response to humor. Eddie Tafoya uses the idea of a physical urge tied to a psychological need for release when describing relief theory in his book The Legacy of the Wisecrack: Stand-up Comedy as

6063-541: Is used mainly to overcome sociocultural inhibitions and reveal suppressed desires. It is believed that this is why we laugh while being tickled , due to a buildup of tension as the tickler "strikes." Relief theory dates back to the Greek Philosopher Aristotle . In Poetics , he suggested humor to be a way in which one releases pent-up negative emotions that may have been caused by trauma or tragedy we have experienced. Many philosophers and researchers took

6204-539: The Dictionary of Visual Discourse : In ordinary language 'phenomenon/phenomena' refer to any occurrence worthy of note and investigation, typically an untoward or unusual event, person or fact that is of special significance or otherwise notable. In modern philosophical use, the term phenomena means things as they are experienced through the senses and processed by the mind as distinct from things in and of themselves ( noumena ). In his inaugural dissertation , titled On

6345-672: The Form and Principles of the Sensible and Intelligible World , Immanuel Kant (1770) theorizes that the human mind is restricted to the logical world and thus can only interpret and understand occurrences according to their physical appearances. He wrote that humans could infer only as much as their senses allowed, but not experience the actual object itself. Thus, the term phenomenon refers to any incident deserving of inquiry and investigation, especially processes and events which are particularly unusual or of distinctive importance. In scientific usage,

6486-427: The autonomic nervous system are stimulated to influence the activity of chiefly the heart and the smallest diameter arteries, called arterioles . The arterioles are the main resistance vessels in the arterial tree , and small changes in diameter cause large changes in the resistance to flow through them. When the arterial blood pressure rises the arterioles are stimulated to dilate making it easier for blood to leave

6627-411: The autonomic nervous system to a wide variety of effector organs, whose activity is consequently changed to reverse the error in the blood pressure. One of the effector organs is the heart whose rate is stimulated to rise ( tachycardia ) when the arterial blood pressure falls, or to slow down ( bradycardia ) when the pressure rises above the set point. Thus the heart rate (for which there is no sensor in

6768-433: The carotid artery and aortic arch . A change in the partial pressure of carbon dioxide is detected as altered pH in the cerebrospinal fluid by central chemoreceptors ( CNS ) in the medulla oblongata of the brainstem . Information from these sets of sensors is sent to the respiratory center which activates the effector organs – the diaphragm and other muscles of respiration . An increased level of carbon dioxide in

6909-400: The central nervous system play a homeostatic role in the balance of neuronal activity between excitation and inhibition. Inhibitory neurons using GABA , make compensating changes in the neuronal networks preventing runaway levels of excitation. An imbalance between excitation and inhibition is seen to be implicated in a number of neuropsychiatric disorders . The neuroendocrine system is

7050-448: The hypothalamus detects a hypertonic extracellular environment, it causes the secretion of an antidiuretic hormone (ADH) called vasopressin which acts on the effector organ, which in this case is the kidney . The effect of vasopressin on the kidney tubules is to reabsorb water from the distal convoluted tubules and collecting ducts , thus preventing aggravation of the water loss via the urine. The hypothalamus simultaneously stimulates

7191-481: The noumenon , which cannot be directly observed. Kant was heavily influenced by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz in this part of his philosophy, in which phenomenon and noumenon serve as interrelated technical terms. Far predating this, the ancient Greek Pyrrhonist philosopher Sextus Empiricus also used phenomenon and noumenon as interrelated technical terms. In popular usage, a phenomenon often refers to an extraordinary, unusual or notable event. According to

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7332-408: The renal tubular fluid after it has already undergone a certain amount of modification in the proximal convoluted tubule and loop of Henle . These cells also respond to rate of blood flow through the juxtaglomerular apparatus, which, under normal circumstances, is directly proportional to the arterial blood pressure , making this tissue an ancillary arterial blood pressure sensor. In response to

7473-416: The zona glomerulosa of the adrenal glands has an effect on particularly the epithelial cells of the distal convoluted tubules and collecting ducts of the kidneys. Here it causes the reabsorption of sodium ions from the renal tubular fluid , in exchange for potassium ions which are secreted from the blood plasma into the tubular fluid to exit the body via the urine. The reabsorption of sodium ions from

7614-563: The GTVH considers all humorous text from spontaneous one-liners to funny stories and literature. This theory can also, by identifying how many of the Knowledge Resources are identical for any two humorous pieces, begin to define the degree of similarity between the two. As to the ordering of the Knowledge Resources, there has been much discussion. Willibald Ruch, a distinguished German psychologist, and humor researcher, wanted to test empirically

7755-637: The Great Literary Form. Tafoya explains "…that each human being is caught in a tug-of-war: part of us strains to live free as individuals, guided by bodily appetites and aggressive urges, while the other side yearns for conformity and acceptance. This results in every normal person being continually steeped in psychic tension, mostly due to guilt and lack of fulfillment. This tension can be relieved, albeit temporarily, through joking ." The superiority theory of humor traces back to Plato , Aristotle , and Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan . The general idea

7896-483: The Victor These guidelines examine how amusement is expected when an extremely liked individual disparages an extremely disliked individual. On the other hand, one may experience less amusement when a disliked individual disparages the desired individual. However, It is not in every instance of disparagement that humans experience mirth and laughter. In some cases, the comment or act of disparagement can be too much of

8037-399: The alpha cells into the blood. This inhibits the uptake of glucose from the blood by the liver, fats cells, and muscle. Instead the liver is strongly stimulated to manufacture glucose from glycogen (through glycogenolysis ) and from non-carbohydrate sources (such as lactate and de-aminated amino acids ) using a process known as gluconeogenesis . The glucose thus produced is discharged into

8178-436: The arteries, thus deflating them, and bringing the blood pressure down, back to normal. At the same time, the heart is stimulated via cholinergic parasympathetic nerves to beat more slowly (called bradycardia ), ensuring that the inflow of blood into the arteries is reduced, thus adding to the reduction in pressure, and correcting the original error. Low pressure in the arteries, causes the opposite reflex of constriction of

8319-412: The arterioles, and a speeding up of the heart rate (called tachycardia ). If the drop in blood pressure is very rapid or excessive, the medulla oblongata stimulates the adrenal medulla , via "preganglionic" sympathetic nerves , to secrete epinephrine (adrenaline) into the blood. This hormone enhances the tachycardia and causes severe vasoconstriction of the arterioles to all but the essential organ in

8460-495: The article "Script theory revis(it)ed: joke similarity and joke representation model". It integrated Raskin's ideas of Script Opposition (SO), developed in his Script-based Semantic Theory of Humor [SSTH], into the GTVH as one of six levels of independent Knowledge Resources (KRs). These KRs could be used to model individual verbal jokes as well as analyze the degree of similarity or difference between them. The Knowledge Resources proposed in this theory are: To illustrate their theory,

8601-404: The attitude (disposition) towards a person can affect the audience's experience of humor. Audiences enjoy the attempts of humor more when good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people. Thus, for good characters, good fortune is hoped, or tragedy is feared—while characters who are disliked are the complete opposite. If what the audience hopes for is achieved, then they may feel

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8742-511: The authors use 7 examples of the light bulb joke , each variant shifted by a single Knowledge Resource. Each one of the KRs, ordered hierarchically above and starting with the Script Opposition, has the ability to "determine the parameters below themselves, and are determined [circumscribed] by those above themselves. 'Determination' is to be intended as limiting or reducing the options available for

8883-434: The behavior of a particular group of individual entities, usually organisms and most especially people. The behavior of individuals often changes in a group setting in various ways, and a group may have its own behaviors not possible for an individual because of the herd mentality . Social phenomena apply especially to organisms and people in that subjective states are implicit in the term. Attitudes and events particular to

9024-464: The blood circulates through the lungs a pulmonary capillary endothelial enzyme called angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) cleaves a further two amino acids from angiotensin I to form an octapeptide known as angiotensin II . Angiotensin II is a hormone which acts on the adrenal cortex , causing the release into the blood of the steroid hormone , aldosterone . Angiotensin II also acts on the smooth muscle in

9165-399: The blood correcting the detected error ( hypoglycemia ). The glycogen stored in muscles remains in the muscles, and is only broken down, during exercise, to glucose-6-phosphate and thence to pyruvate to be fed into the citric acid cycle or turned into lactate . It is only the lactate and the waste products of the citric acid cycle that are returned to the blood. The liver can take up only

9306-419: The blood, or a decreased level of oxygen, will result in a deeper breathing pattern and increased respiratory rate to bring the blood gases back to equilibrium. Too little carbon dioxide, and, to a lesser extent, too much oxygen in the blood can temporarily halt breathing, a condition known as apnea , which freedivers use to prolong the time they can stay underwater. The partial pressure of carbon dioxide

9447-401: The blood, the latter combines with the excess hydrogen ions in the plasma that stimulated the kidneys to perform this operation. The resulting reaction in the plasma is the formation of carbonic acid which is in equilibrium with the plasma partial pressure of carbon dioxide. This is tightly regulated to ensure that there is no excessive build-up of carbonic acid or bicarbonate. The overall effect

9588-598: The blood. This combination (high blood insulin levels and low glucagon levels) act on effector tissues, the chief of which is the liver , fat cells , and muscle cells . The liver is inhibited from producing glucose , taking it up instead, and converting it to glycogen and triglycerides . The glycogen is stored in the liver, but the triglycerides are secreted into the blood as very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) particles which are taken up by adipose tissue , there to be stored as fats. The fat cells take up glucose through special glucose transporters ( GLUT4 ), whose numbers in

9729-499: The body (especially the heart, lungs, and brain). These reactions usually correct the low arterial blood pressure ( hypotension ) very effectively. The plasma ionized calcium (Ca ) concentration is very tightly controlled by a pair of homeostatic mechanisms. The sensor for the first one is situated in the parathyroid glands , where the chief cells sense the Ca level by means of specialized calcium receptors in their membranes. The sensors for

9870-417: The body) is not homeostatically controlled but is one of the effector responses to errors in arterial blood pressure. Another example is the rate of sweating . This is one of the effectors in the homeostatic control of body temperature, and therefore highly variable in rough proportion to the heat load that threatens to destabilize the body's core temperature, for which there is a sensor in the hypothalamus of

10011-416: The body. For instance, the signal (be it via neurons or hormones ) from the sensor to the effector is, of necessity, highly variable in order to convey information about the direction and magnitude of the error detected by the sensor. Similarly, the effector's response needs to be highly adjustable to reverse the error – in fact it should be very nearly in proportion (but in the opposite direction) to

10152-684: The brain. Mammals regulate their core temperature using input from thermoreceptors in the hypothalamus , brain, spinal cord , internal organs , and great veins. Apart from the internal regulation of temperature, a process called allostasis can come into play that adjusts behaviour to adapt to the challenge of very hot or cold extremes (and to other challenges). These adjustments may include seeking shade and reducing activity, seeking warmer conditions and increasing activity, or huddling. Behavioral thermoregulation takes precedence over physiological thermoregulation since necessary changes can be affected more quickly and physiological thermoregulation

10293-612: The cell wall are increased as a direct effect of insulin acting on these cells. The glucose that enters the fat cells in this manner is converted into triglycerides (via the same metabolic pathways as are used by the liver) and then stored in those fat cells together with the VLDL-derived triglycerides that were made in the liver. Muscle cells also take glucose up through insulin-sensitive GLUT4 glucose channels, and convert it into muscle glycogen. A fall in blood glucose, causes insulin secretion to be stopped, and glucagon to be secreted from

10434-442: The cell, into the interstitial fluid and two potassium ions into the cell from the interstitial fluid. This creates an ionic concentration gradient which results in the reabsorption of sodium (Na ) ions from the tubular fluid into the blood, and secreting potassium (K ) ions from the blood into the urine (lumen of collecting duct). The total amount of water in the body needs to be kept in balance. Fluid balance involves keeping

10575-445: The chemical processes take place inside the cell or in the interstitial fluid bathing the cells. The best-known homeostatic mechanisms in humans and other mammals are regulators that keep the composition of the extracellular fluid (or the "internal environment") constant, especially with regard to the temperature , pH , osmolality , and the concentrations of sodium , potassium , glucose , carbon dioxide , and oxygen . However,

10716-486: The constancy of the internal environment in which the cells of the body live and survive. The term cybernetics is applied to technological control systems such as thermostats , which function as homeostatic mechanisms but are often defined much more broadly than the biological term of homeostasis. The metabolic processes of all organisms can only take place in very specific physical and chemical environments. The conditions vary with each organism, and with whether

10857-432: The course of evolution, because its biological function consists of quickening the transmission of the processed information into consciousness and in a more effective use of brain resources. A realization of this algorithm in neural networks justifies naturally Spencer's hypothesis on the mechanism of laughter: deletion of a false version corresponds to zeroing of some part of the neural network and excessive energy of neurons

10998-459: The discussion in the series Humor Research between John Morreall and Robert Latta . Though Morreall himself endorses a cognitive shift theory, in this particular dialogue he indicated examples of simultaneous contrast, while Latta emphasized the mental shift. Humor frequently contains an unexpected, often sudden, shift in perspective, which the incongruity theory assimilates. This has been defended by Latta (1998) and Brian Boyd (2004). Boyd views

11139-411: The distal convoluted tubules and collecting ducts is impermeable to water in the absence of antidiuretic hormone (ADH) in the blood. ADH is part of the control of fluid balance . Its levels in the blood vary with the osmolality of the plasma, which is measured in the hypothalamus of the brain. Aldosterone's action on the kidney tubules prevents sodium loss to the extracellular fluid (ECF). So there

11280-413: The earlier reactions are insufficient to correct the hypothermia . When core temperature rises are detected by thermoreceptors , the sweat glands in the skin are stimulated via cholinergic sympathetic nerves to secrete sweat onto the skin, which, when it evaporates, cools the skin and the blood flowing through it. Panting is an alternative effector in many vertebrates, which cools the body also by

11421-544: The error that is threatening the internal environment. For instance, arterial blood pressure in mammals is homeostatically controlled and measured by stretch receptors in the walls of the aortic arch and carotid sinuses at the beginnings of the internal carotid arteries . The sensors send messages via sensory nerves to the medulla oblongata of the brain indicating whether the blood pressure has fallen or risen, and by how much. The medulla oblongata then distributes messages along motor or efferent nerves belonging to

11562-444: The evaporation of water, but this time from the mucous membranes of the throat and mouth. Blood sugar levels are regulated within fairly narrow limits. In mammals, the primary sensors for this are the beta cells of the pancreatic islets . The beta cells respond to a rise in the blood sugar level by secreting insulin into the blood and simultaneously inhibiting their neighboring alpha cells from secreting glucagon into

11703-414: The excess water in the body. Urinary water loss, when the body water homeostat is intact, is a compensatory water loss, correcting any water excess in the body. However, since the kidneys cannot generate water, the thirst reflex is the all-important second effector mechanism of the body water homeostat, correcting any water deficit in the body. The plasma pH can be altered by respiratory changes in

11844-424: The fact that water losses from the body, (through unavoidable water loss through the skin which is not entirely waterproof and therefore always slightly moist, water vapor in the exhaled air , sweating , vomiting , normal feces and especially diarrhea ) are all hypotonic , meaning that they are less salty than the body fluids (compare, for instance, the taste of saliva with that of tears. The latter has almost

11985-439: The fine-tuning adjustment of body homeostasis. The word homeostasis ( / ˌ h oʊ m i oʊ ˈ s t eɪ s ɪ s / ) uses combining forms of homeo- and -stasis , Neo-Latin from Greek : ὅμοιος homoios , "similar" and στάσις stasis , "standing still", yielding the idea of "staying the same". The concept of the regulation of the internal environment was described by French physiologist Claude Bernard in 1849, and

12126-400: The fluid volume stabilized, and also keeping the levels of electrolytes in the extracellular fluid stable. Fluid balance is maintained by the process of osmoregulation and by behavior. Osmotic pressure is detected by osmoreceptors in the median preoptic nucleus in the hypothalamus . Measurement of the plasma osmolality to give an indication of the water content of the body, relies on

12267-409: The following two conditions must be met: Humor is evoked when a trigger at the end of the joke, the punch line , causes the audience to abruptly shift its understanding from the primary (or more obvious) script to the secondary, opposing script. As an example Raskin uses the following joke: For this example, the two scripts contained in the joke are DOCTOR and LOVER ; the switch from one to

12408-567: The gut. Another example are the most well-characterised endocannabinoids like anandamide ( N -arachidonoylethanolamide; AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), whose synthesis occurs through the action of a series of intracellular enzymes activated in response to a rise in intracellular calcium levels to introduce homeostasis and prevention of tumor development through putative protective mechanisms that prevent cell growth and migration by activation of CB1 and/or CB2 and adjoining receptors . The homeostatic mechanism which controls

12549-412: The highest in the afternoons. Other normal temperature variations include those related to the menstrual cycle . The temperature regulator's set point is reset during infections to produce a fever. Organisms are capable of adjusting somewhat to varied conditions such as temperature changes or oxygen levels at altitude, by a process of acclimatisation . Homeostasis does not govern every activity in

12690-400: The hormone atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) into the blood. This acts on the kidneys to inhibit the secretion of renin and aldosterone causing the release of sodium, and accompanying water into the urine, thereby reducing the blood volume. This information is then conveyed, via afferent nerve fibers , to the solitary nucleus in the medulla oblongata . From here motor nerves belonging to

12831-591: The human body is capable of balancing a wide range of copper intakes for the needs of healthy individuals. Many aspects of copper homeostasis are known at the molecular level. Copper's essentiality is due to its ability to act as an electron donor or acceptor as its oxidation state fluxes between Cu ( cuprous ) and Cu ( cupric ). As a component of about a dozen cuproenzymes, copper is involved in key redox (i.e., oxidation-reduction) reactions in essential metabolic processes such as mitochondrial respiration, synthesis of melanin , and cross-linking of collagen . Copper

12972-578: The humor itself and they are never identical with it (Morreall 1983, Levinson 2006, Marra 2019). There is a wide consensus among theorists of humor that the feeling of superiority is extraneous to humor, and this discrepancy contributes to the dominance of the incongruity theory. Feelings of superiority in humor are examined more closely in disposition theory. Disposition theory is explained in Zillmann and Cantor's disposition theory, which states that in media and entertainment, audiences make moral judgments, and

13113-402: The idea of " assemblage ." In turn, incongruity has been described as being resolved (i.e., by putting the objects in question into the real relation), and the incongruity theory is often called the incongruity-resolution theory (as well as incongruous juxtaposition). A famous version of the incongruity theory is that of Immanuel Kant , who claimed that the comic is "the sudden transformation of

13254-443: The idea of humor being a release of tension and have evolved relief theory or comic relief over time. In the eighteenth century, English drama theorists John Dryden and Samuel Johnson argued that relief theory was to be used as a dramatic tool. John Dryden (1668) believed mirth and tragedy would make for the best plots. On the other hand, Shurcliff (1968) argued that humor is a mechanism to relieve tension. When in anticipation of

13395-405: The importance of context and individual differences in humor appreciation. A violation that one person finds amusing might be offensive or upsetting to another, and the perception of benignity plays a crucial role in determining the overall humor response. The script-based semantic theory of humor (SSTH) was introduced by Victor Raskin in "Semantic Mechanisms of Humor", published 1985. While being

13536-657: The instantiation of the parameter; for example, the choice of the SO [script opposition] DUMB/SMART will reduce the options available to the generation in the TA (in North America to Poles, etc.)" One of the advantages of this theory (GTVH) over Raskin's script-based semantic theory (SSTH) is that through the inclusion of the Narrative Strategy (NS) any and all humorous texts can be categorized. Whereas Raskin's SSTH only deals with jokes,

13677-424: The lactate, and, by the process of energy-consuming gluconeogenesis , convert it back to glucose. Controlling iron levels in the body is a critically important part of many aspects of human health and disease. In humans iron is both necessary to the body and potentially harmful. Copper is absorbed, transported, distributed, stored, and excreted in the body according to complex homeostatic processes which ensure

13818-407: The mechanism by which the hypothalamus maintains homeostasis, regulating metabolism , reproduction, eating and drinking behaviour, energy utilization, osmolarity and blood pressure. Phenomenon A phenomenon ( pl. : phenomena ), sometimes spelled phaenomenon , is an observable event . The term came into its modern philosophical usage through Immanuel Kant , who contrasted it with

13959-469: The nearby thirst center causing an almost irresistible (if the hypertonicity is severe enough) urge to drink water. The cessation of urine flow prevents the hypovolemia and hypertonicity from getting worse; the drinking of water corrects the defect. Hypo-osmolality results in very low plasma ADH levels. This results in the inhibition of water reabsorption from the kidney tubules, causing high volumes of very dilute urine to be excreted, thus getting rid of

14100-445: The normal state. At the cellular level, effectors include nuclear receptors that bring about changes in gene expression through up-regulation or down-regulation and act in negative feedback mechanisms. An example of this is in the control of bile acids in the liver . Some centers, such as the renin–angiotensin system , control more than one variable. When the receptor senses a stimulus, it reacts by sending action potentials to

14241-435: The one hand, and calcitonin on the other can very rapidly correct any impending error in the plasma ionized calcium level by either removing calcium from the blood and depositing it in the skeleton, or by removing calcium from it. The skeleton acts as an extremely large calcium store (about 1 kg) compared with the plasma calcium store (about 180 mg). Longer term regulation occurs through calcium absorption or loss from

14382-412: The ordering of the Knowledge Resources, with only partial success. Nevertheless, both the listed Knowledge Resources in the GTVH and their relationship to each other has proven to be fertile ground in the further investigation of what exactly makes humor funny. The computer model of humor was suggested by Suslov in 1992. Investigation of the general scheme of information processing shows the possibility of

14523-432: The organism and includes many variables, such as body temperature and fluid balance , being kept within certain pre-set limits (homeostatic range). Other variables include the pH of extracellular fluid , the concentrations of sodium , potassium , and calcium ions , as well as the blood sugar level , and these need to be regulated despite changes in the environment, diet, or level of activity. Each of these variables

14664-468: The other is triggered by our understanding of the "whispered" reply of the "young and pretty wife". This reply only makes sense in the script of LOVER , but makes no sense in the script of a bronchial patient going to see the DOCTOR at his (home) office. Raskin expands further on his analysis with more jokes, examining in each how the scripts both overlap and oppose each other in the text. In order to fulfill

14805-427: The outer layer of the adrenal cortex . This causes the release of aldosterone into the blood. Aldosterone acts primarily on the distal convoluted tubules and collecting ducts of the kidneys, stimulating the excretion of potassium ions into the urine. It does so, however, by activating the basolateral Na /K pumps of the tubular epithelial cells. These sodium/potassium exchangers pump three sodium ions out of

14946-454: The oxygen content rather than the partial pressure of oxygen in the arterial blood. When the oxygen content of the blood is chronically low, oxygen-sensitive cells secrete erythropoietin (EPO) into the blood. The effector tissue is the red bone marrow which produces red blood cells (RBCs, also called erythrocytes ). The increase in RBCs leads to an increased hematocrit in the blood, and

15087-425: The pH. Respiratory compensation a mechanism of the respiratory center , adjusts the partial pressure of carbon dioxide by changing the rate and depth of breathing, to bring the pH back to normal. The partial pressure of carbon dioxide also determines the concentration of carbonic acid, and the bicarbonate buffer system can also come into play. Renal compensation can help the bicarbonate buffer system. The sensor for

15228-515: The partial pressure of carbon dioxide; or altered by metabolic changes in the carbonic acid to bicarbonate ion ratio. The bicarbonate buffer system regulates the ratio of carbonic acid to bicarbonate to be equal to 1:20, at which ratio the blood pH is 7.4 (as explained in the Henderson–Hasselbalch equation ). A change in the plasma pH gives an acid–base imbalance . In acid–base homeostasis there are two mechanisms that can help regulate

15369-529: The partial pressure of oxygen in the blood, the amount of oxygen that can be carried, depends on the hemoglobin content. The partial pressure of oxygen may be sufficient for example in anemia , but the hemoglobin content will be insufficient and subsequently as will be the oxygen content. Given enough supply of iron, vitamin B12 and folic acid , EPO can stimulate RBC production, and hemoglobin and oxygen content restored to normal. The brain can regulate blood flow over

15510-446: The plasma bicarbonate concentration is not known for certain. It is very probable that the renal tubular cells of the distal convoluted tubules are themselves sensitive to the pH of the plasma. The metabolism of these cells produces carbon dioxide, which is rapidly converted to hydrogen and bicarbonate through the action of carbonic anhydrase . When the ECF pH falls (becoming more acidic) the renal tubular cells excrete hydrogen ions into

15651-417: The plasma pH, constant. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) allows for regulation of the distribution of substances between cells of the brain, and neuroendocrine factors, to which slight changes can cause problems or damage to the nervous system. For example, high glycine concentration disrupts temperature and blood pressure control, and high CSF pH causes dizziness and syncope . Inhibitory neurons in

15792-415: The plasma sodium concentration is rather more complex than most of the other homeostatic mechanisms described on this page. The sensor is situated in the juxtaglomerular apparatus of kidneys, which senses the plasma sodium concentration in a surprisingly indirect manner. Instead of measuring it directly in the blood flowing past the juxtaglomerular cells , these cells respond to the sodium concentration in

15933-433: The portrayal of situations experiencing mechanical rigidity . Bergson emphasizes that humor involves an inappropriate relationship between habitual or mechanical behaviors and human intelligence. In Bergson's many types of combinations of the mechanical and the living, there is much similarity with the incongruity theory. There has been some debate attempting to clarify the roles of juxtaposition and shifting in humor, hence,

16074-482: The presynaptic terminal to bind to the CB1 receptor for modulation of neurotransmitter release to obtain homeostasis. The polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are lipid derivatives of omega-3 (docosahexaenoic acid, DHA , and eicosapentaenoic acid, EPA ) or of omega-6 (arachidonic acid, ARA ) are synthesized from membrane phospholipids and used as a precursor for endocannabinoids (ECs) mediate significant effects in

16215-510: The receptor that stops the need for further signaling. The cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1), located at the presynaptic neuron , is a receptor that can stop stressful neurotransmitter release to the postsynaptic neuron; it is activated by endocannabinoids (ECs) such as anandamide ( N -arachidonoylethanolamide; AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) via a retrograde signaling process in which these compounds are synthesized by and released from postsynaptic neurons, and travel back to

16356-436: The release of renin from the juxtaglomerular apparatus is halted, ceasing the production of angiotensin II, and its consequent aldosterone-release into the blood. The kidneys respond by excreting sodium ions into the urine, thereby normalizing the plasma sodium ion concentration. The low angiotensin II levels in the blood lower the arterial blood pressure as an inevitable concomitant response. The reabsorption of sodium ions from

16497-422: The renal tubular fluid halts further sodium ion losses from the body, and therefore preventing the worsening of hyponatremia . The hyponatremia can only be corrected by the consumption of salt in the diet. However, it is not certain whether a "salt hunger" can be initiated by hyponatremia, or by what mechanism this might come about. When the plasma sodium ion concentration is higher than normal ( hypernatremia ),

16638-438: The representation of an object and its actual nature. He also proposes the more unexpected incongruity, the more violent one's laughter will be. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel shared almost the same view but saw the concept as an "appearance" and believed that laughter negates that appearance. Henri Bergson attempted to perfect incongruity by reducing it to the " living " and " mechanical ." He proposed that comedy/humor lies in

16779-440: The same salt content as the extracellular fluid, whereas the former is hypotonic with respect to the plasma. Saliva does not taste salty, whereas tears are decidedly salty). Nearly all normal and abnormal losses of body water therefore cause the extracellular fluid to become hypertonic . Conversely, excessive fluid intake dilutes the extracellular fluid causing the hypothalamus to register hypotonic hyponatremia conditions. When

16920-494: The same scripts to be found in Jewish humor . However, for all jokes, in order to generate the humor a connection between the two scripts contained in a given joke must be established. "...one cannot simply juxtapose two incongruous things and call it a joke, but rather one must find a clever way of making them make pseudo-sense together". The general theory of verbal humor (GTVH) was proposed by Victor Raskin and Salvatore Attardo in

17061-480: The same time, cannot be too attached or committed. If a person is too attached, then there will be no humor. The violation will then not be considered benign. On the contrary, the violation will not be a moral norm if a person is not slightly attached. Thus, both of these must simultaneously be categorized as benign violations to emerge as humor. The benign violation theory helps explain why some jokes or situations are funny to some people but not to others. It emphasizes

17202-413: The second are the parafollicular cells in the thyroid gland . The parathyroid chief cells secrete parathyroid hormone (PTH) in response to a fall in the plasma ionized calcium level; the parafollicular cells of the thyroid gland secrete calcitonin in response to a rise in the plasma ionized calcium level. The effector organs of the first homeostatic mechanism are the bones , the kidney , and, via

17343-411: The second condition of a joke, Raskin introduces different categories of script opposition. A partial list includes: actual (non-actual), normal (abnormal), possible (impossible), good (bad), life (death), obscene (non-obscene), money (no money), high (low) stature. A complete list of possible script oppositions for jokes is finite and culturally dependent. For example, Soviet political humor does not use

17484-433: The shift from seriousness to play. Nearly anything can be the object of this perspective twist; it is, however, in the areas of human creativity ( science and art being the varieties) that the shift results from "structure mapping" to create novel meanings. Arthur Koestler argues that humor results when two different frames of reference are set up and a collision is engineered between them. The benign violation theory (BVT)

17625-419: The situation is somehow threatening but safe. As humans evolved, the conditions that elicit humor likely expanded from physical threats to other violations, including violations of personal dignity (e.g., slapstick, teasing), linguistic norms (e.g., puns, malapropisms), social norms (e.g., strange behaviors, risqué jokes), and even moral norms (e.g., disrespectful behaviors). There is also more than one way

17766-432: The superiority theory, are the following. Philosophers, beginning with James Beattie in response to Thomas Hobbes, have objected that there are many types of humor that do not, in themselves, have anything to do with feelings of superiority (Beattie, 1778/79). More recently and broadly, it is argued that even in humor that is always directly accompanied by feelings of superiority, those feelings are in fact always distinct from

17907-421: The tendentious elements paired with the jokes evoke people to experience laughter. It is the taboo and hostility that create such a reaction. Thus, the theory explains how individuals misattribute their responses and believe they laugh at the innocent elements; in reality, the hostility has individuals rolling on the floor. Freud made distinctions between tendentious and non-tendentious humor. Tendentious humor

18048-469: The theory of passion in which laughter is not passion; however, laughter is how the body manifests a particular emphasis. Hobbes proposed there are several which typically evoke this feeling of glory: According to Hobbes, laughter evoked by these circumstances always has connections with the feeling of superiority. While Kant is not usually recognized as a superiority theorist, there are elements of superiority theory in his account. Kant thinks that there

18189-407: The tubular fluid as a result of high aldosterone levels in the blood does not, of itself, cause renal tubular water to be returned to the blood from the distal convoluted tubules or collecting ducts . This is because sodium is reabsorbed in exchange for potassium and therefore causes only a modest change in the osmotic gradient between the blood and the tubular fluid. Furthermore, the epithelium of

18330-402: The tubular fluid to leave the body via urine. Bicarbonate ions are simultaneously secreted into the blood that decreases the carbonic acid, and consequently raises the plasma pH. The converse happens when the plasma pH rises above normal: bicarbonate ions are excreted into the urine, and hydrogen ions released into the plasma. When hydrogen ions are excreted into the urine, and bicarbonate into

18471-455: The upper small intestine, increasing their capacity to absorb calcium from the gut contents into the blood. The second homeostatic mechanism, with its sensors in the thyroid gland, releases calcitonin into the blood when the blood ionized calcium rises. This hormone acts primarily on bone, causing the rapid removal of calcium from the blood and depositing it, in insoluble form, in the bones. The two homeostatic mechanisms working through PTH on

18612-407: The urine. Since phosphates combine with calcium ions to form insoluble salts (see also bone mineral ), a decrease in the level of phosphates in the blood, releases free calcium ions into the plasma ionized calcium pool. PTH has a second action on the kidneys. It stimulates the manufacture and release, by the kidneys, of calcitriol into the blood. This steroid hormone acts on the epithelial cells of

18753-417: The variable being regulated: a receptor, a control center, and an effector. The receptor is the sensing component that monitors and responds to changes in the environment, either external or internal. Receptors include thermoreceptors and mechanoreceptors . Control centers include the respiratory center and the renin-angiotensin system . An effector is the target acted on, to bring about the change back to

18894-495: The walls of the arterioles causing these small diameter vessels to constrict, thereby restricting the outflow of blood from the arterial tree, causing the arterial blood pressure to rise. This, therefore, reinforces the measures described above (under the heading of "Arterial blood pressure"), which defend the arterial blood pressure against changes, especially hypotension . The angiotensin II-stimulated aldosterone released from

19035-472: The warmth from the arterial blood directly into the venous blood returning into the trunk, causing minimal heat loss from the extremities in cold weather. The subcutaneous limb veins are tightly constricted, not only reducing heat loss from this source but also forcing the venous blood into the counter-current system in the depths of the limbs. The metabolic rate is increased, initially by non-shivering thermogenesis , followed by shivering thermogenesis if

19176-441: The word homeostasis was coined by Walter Bradford Cannon in 1926. In 1932, Joseph Barcroft a British physiologist, was the first to say that higher brain function required the most stable internal environment. Thus, to Barcroft homeostasis was not only organized by the brain—homeostasis served the brain. Homeostasis is an almost exclusively biological term, referring to the concepts described by Bernard and Cannon, concerning

19317-405: The word and evoked by it [...] a cognitive structure internalized by the native speaker". These scripts extend much further than the lexical definition of a word; they contain the speaker's complete knowledge of the concept as it exists in his world. Thus native speakers will have similar but not identical scripts for words they have in common. To produce the humor of a verbal joke, Raskin posits,

19458-432: Was a disguise for the hostility in humor. The elements of innocuous (innocent) features make such wordplay socially acceptable. Homeostasis In biology , homeostasis ( British also homoeostasis ; / h ɒ m i oʊ ˈ s t eɪ s ɪ s , - m i ə -/ ) is the state of steady internal physical and chemical conditions maintained by living systems . This is the condition of optimal functioning for

19599-559: Was developed by researchers Peter McGraw and Caleb Warren. Their ideas build on the work of Linguist Tom Veatch, who proposed that humor emerges when one's sense of how the world "ought to be" is threatened or violated. BVT claims that humor occurs when three conditions are satisfied: From an evolutionary perspective, humorous violations likely originated as apparent physical threats , like those present in play fighting and tickling . According to Benign violation, people often laugh when being tickled or play fighting because laughter signifies

19740-450: Was suggested recently. The misattribution theory of humor describes an audience's inability to identify precisely what is funny and why they find a joke humorous. The formal approach is attributed to Zillmann & Bryant (1980) in their article, "Misattribution Theory of Tendentious Humor." However, they derived ideas based on Sigmund Freud . Initially, Freud proposed that audiences do not understand what they find amusing. Freud suggested

19881-430: Was the first modern thinker to account for humor by the term "incongruity," which became a major concept in the evolution of this field. In this early version, incongruity was mostly a singular clash between two opposing ideas. It can be compared to Aristotle's notion of ugliness , but is much broader. After Hutcheson thus initiated the incongruity theory, later thinkers developed it. Now a dominant version states that humor

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