USE OF HUMOR IN MEDICAL TEACHING

Humour, whether considered cognitively or affectively, is complex and ubiquitous. It is claimed to have adjunctive value in clinical medicin e. Claims regarding its effects also indicate that humour can make a v aluable contribution to the educational process. Humour is understood to reduce anxiety and stress, build confidence, improve productivity, heighten interest, reduce boredom and encourage divergent thinking, ye t it has been difficult to establish positive value for humour in help ing student learning. Approximately equal numbers of studies of the ef fects of humour on student learning have been negative and positive. I nformal observation suggests its use in medical teaching is widespread yet little reference is made to the use of humour in teaching in the medical literature. Research into the role of humour in medical teachi ng is made difficult by the complex nature of the production, percepti on and appreciation of humour, by the difficulty in contriving humour in controlled settings, by the importance of the setting as a componen t of the humour, and by the difficulties in establishing outcome measu res for humour interventions. Given these difficulties it is understan dable that medical teachers might use humour but are unlikely to study it or write about it.