Humor

Humor and Deception

Humor is often associated with deception because it is based on incongruity. The work of D. E. Berlyne and others on incongruity theory and incongruity-resolution theory assumes that a surprise or contradiction is essential for humor. The theories assume a two-phase process in which the perceived incongruity must first be recognized and then accurately interpreted by the receiver in order for humor to be interpreted as funny. When people recognize and resolve the incongruity, they can understand a communication as humorous. One example of this is the use of sarcasm. Sarcasm involves using verbal and nonverbal cues that are incongruous with one another; for example, when someone says “great” while rolling his or her eyes and using a tone of voice that implies they mean the opposite.

Understanding sarcasm requires the understanding not only of the speaker's utterance but also the speaker's intent. The ability to presume another person's beliefs, feelings, intentions, or goals is termed theory of mind. Children often have a difficult time determining whether a statement that is contradictory to the facts is truthful (but wrong), sarcastic, or deceptive. Young children often accept the statement as sincere, whereas older children will assume that sarcastic comments are deceptive but may not understand the humor behind them. Even adults sometimes misunderstand sarcastic comments, especially if the joke is delivered through mediated channels.

[Page 488]Deception is a necessary part of most types of humor, especially sarcasm because of the incongruity between a speaker's statement and his or her intent.

However, humor is not always benign when associated with deception. Humor can be used to mask deceptive claims because it detracts attention from the content of the message and also generates feelings of well-being that cause the claims to be viewed positively, even if they are known to be untrue. Advertising that uses humor has been shown to be more effective than nonhumorous advertising, even when the audience knows the claims are false. Hoaxes, pranks, and cons are also examples of humor being used deceptively to trick others. Sometimes the purpose is to steal from or hurt others, but often the purpose is to gain notoriety, or simply to gain enjoyment out of fooling others.

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