Impact of Humor Course: Personal Insights and Humor Consumption

This essay provides a personal reflection on the student's sense of humor and how their understanding and consumption of humor have been shaped by a course. It discusses the student's enjoyment of humorous activities, their self-assessment of having a substantial degree of humor, and how the course has transformed them into a more cautious consumer of humor, emphasizing the importance of considering the environment and audience before telling jokes. The essay also touches on the varied senses of humor among people and the potential negative consequences of humor gone wrong, while highlighting the positive impacts of humor on physical and mental health, particularly through the release of dopamine. Furthermore, it briefly explores the role of puns and wordplays in creating a sense of humor and their importance in children's health and development. Desklib provides a platform for students to access similar essays and study resources.

Running head: HUMOUR
Humour
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

HUMOUR 2
Part 1
Humour
The course has been a great one. I have learnt a lot of aspects about humour, not only
about my sense of humour but also how other people approach humour. One might be
tempted to think that there is no much to study when it comes to humour. After all, it is just
humour, one may argue. When it comes to myself and my sense of humour, I have learnt
several things. One, I have discovered that I enjoy humorous activities. I like an environment
that makes me laugh. It is not once or twice that I have attended comedy shows. I do this
severally in a month. Furthermore, I enjoy watching movies that have a sense of humour. To
add to this, I have bought many books due to their sense of humour. The other main thing that
I learnt about myself when it comes to humour is that I have substantial degree of humour.
When I am with my friend, it is rare for us to stay for long before I crack a joke or two. I have
never made this analysis but with insights from the course, I have come to this realization.
In addition to the realization made above, the course has made me a different
consumer of humour. Here is how. I have learnt that it is important to study the environment
and the audience before cracking any joke. There have been many negative consequences
associated with jokes gone wrong. It is good to appreciate that people have different
personalities and it may be annoying to tell certain jokes to certain personalities. In addition,
the environment under which the joke is told matters. It is good to be very cautious so as not
to annoy others in the name of joking (Nash, 2014). Before taking the class, I thought that
there are no negative consequences that could be brought about buy cracking jokes. The class
has however taught me that this is not always the case. I have therefore decided that I will be
studying the environment and the audience well before deciding whether to tell a joke or not.
In a nutshell, the course has made me a different consumer of humour.

HUMOUR 3
People are different when it comes to sense of humour (Weaver, 2016). Some will
enjoy almost any kind of joke that is told. Others will be cautious and conscious of the
wording and the environment in which the joke is told. There are others whose personalities
will not allow them to see any sense of humour. There is also another category of people who
will not entertain any jokes that have a religious, ethnic or racial aspect (Vandaele, 2016).
Studies have shown that there have been great negative consequences of humour gone sour
(Hellstrom and Lapsley, 2016). In addition, it is important for people to learn where to draw
the difference between humour and an act of annoyance. If one ensures that they have
considered all the appropriate aspects before cracking a joke, then their sense of humour will
have plenty of positive consequences. This includes improving physical and mental health.
Humour has also been shown to lead to release of the neurotransmitter dopamine which is
associated with feeling good.
I feel that all the appropriate areas of humour were addressed by then class. I however
wish that the area of relationship between humour and health could be explained more
broadly. The fact that humour contributes to both physical and mental wellbeing is a great
one. The course should expound more on this so that one knows very well how humour leads
to improved physical and mental health.
Part 2
Puns are part and parcel of fun. They involve playing around with words in order to
create a sense of humour. As seen in the previous section, humour is associated with
improved physical and mental health outcomes. Word plays are therefore very important in
the life of whoever is listening, reading or even composing them (Edwards, 2018). It is
important that parents know how to play with words so that they can maintain a sense of
humour when taking care of their children. The developmental years of young children are

HUMOUR 4
important in determining their health and nutrition status later in future (McGhee, 2015). If
they are healthy in their younger years, there are high chance that they will develop into
healthy adults. The opposite is also true, that is poor health in childhood may lead to
unhealthy adults. Wordplays and puns are therefore very important in optimal health and
development in children.

HUMOUR 5
References
Edwards, E. (2018). Exploring the use of humour in medical education in the GP small group
setting. Routledge.
Hellstrom, C., & Lapsley, I. (2016). Humour and happiness in an NPM world: Do they speak
in jest? (pp. 51-64). Routledge.
McGhee, P. (2015). The playful brain: Development of young children's humour. Routledge.
Nash, W. (2014). The language of humour. Routledge.
Vandaele, J. (Ed.). (2016). Translating humour. Routledge.
Weaver, S. (2016). The rhetoric of racist humour: US, UK and global race joking. Routledge.