Humor as a double-edged sword: Four functions of humor in communication

The compelling power of humor makes it a recurrent topic for research in ma ny fields, including communication. Three theories of humor creation emerge in humor research: the relief theory, which focuses on physiological relea se of tension; the incongruity theory, singling out violations of a rationa lly learned pattern; and the superiority theory, involving a sense of victo ry or triumph. Each theory helps to explain the creation of different aspec ts of humor, but each runs into problems explaining rhetorical applications of humor. Because each theory of humor origin tries to explain all instanc es of humor, the diverging communication effects of humor remain unexplaine d. Humor's enactment leads to 4 basic functions of humor in communication. Two tend to unite communicators: the identification and the clarification f unctions. The other 2 tend to divide 1 set of communicators from others: th e enforcement and differentiation functions. Exploration of these effects-b ased functions of humor will clarify understanding of its rise in messages. Humor use unites communicators through mutual identification and clarifica tion of positions and values, while dividing them through enforcement of no rms and differentiation of acceptable versus unacceptable behaviors or peop le. This paradox in the functions of humor in communication as, alternately , a unifier and divider, allows humor use to delineate social boundaries.