Art, Science, and Humor: The Study of Humorous Experience at the Intersection between Psychology and the Art World

Abstract

A theoretical model of humorous experience, organically interlinking different components (Bonaiuto & Giannini, 1987, 2003 is presented. In particular, we studied the world of illustrations, which are easy to manipulate through systematic collections and/or experimental modifications. Essential conditions found for humor consist of the perceptibility of illustrations' configurations based on "completion" skills favored by a beholder's dispositions. Moreover, necessary conditions include the presence of one or more paradoxes, i.e., contradiction of expectations (motivations, habits, and mental schemata), and other conflicts, with ambivalence between conflict repulsion vs. conflict attraction and protection. From these conflicts, the dynamics move toward humor only if there are conditions for a feeling of superiority and relative emotional detachment. The technical contrivances used by visual artists to guarantee these ingredients in the average beholder are listed. Summarized are phenomenological analyses and experimental investigations that show the role of rounded and stylized vs. angulated detailed shapes, and playful-reassuring vs. alarming-serious colors, in facilitating humor through the avoidance of conflict overloading and excessive emotional involvement. The use of humor in scientific demonstrations is

Pleasures of the Mind: What Makes Jokes and Insight Problems Enjoyable

“…Violation of expectations —in the TPM the sense of relief comes from a relaxation of the initial tension caused by a violation of the expectations established in the prior state; the incongruity which arises between the initial interpretation of the joke and the punch line results in a feeling of tension or suspense which is only relieved when the joke is understood; this is consistent with the psycho-physiological approach to humor which goes back to Spencer and Freud and was also later developed in relation to humor in art works (e.g., Berlyne, 1972 ; Wyer and Collins, 1992 ; Bonaiuto, 2006 ); Berlyne ( 1972 ) explicitly connects the feelings of confusion or tension elicited by the perception of an incongruity to the hedonic value of humorous stimuli since they result in an increase in arousal which is released when the incongruity is resolved and the humor is understood;…”

Personality Differences in Perception: The Role of Incongruity Intolerance and Mental Schemata on Aesthetic Preferences

“…Nevertheless, the relevance of this field is also acknowledged in aesthetics, the psychology of design and personality psychology. For a consistent and articulated series of pertinent past contributions, we can mention studies and reviews by Anastasi (1964), Bonaiuto (1983Bonaiuto ( , 2006, Cupchik, Leonard, & Lirvine-Kopetski (1998), Schumann & Thorson (1999), and several others.…”