From the course: Humor in the Workplace
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Superiority
- The third theory I want to present you with is superiority. We laugh at jokes of situations that allow us to feel we are better than those who are targeted by the humor. Many jokes make us feel superior to other people. It may be that we are in on the joke, and the others are not. We may get the joke and feel superior to those that don't. The descriptive phrase "putdown humor" clearly explains the purpose of that form. By definition, if I put you down, I am higher, or better, than you. This form is often seen in humor about "the other". Whether that "other" is race, gender, home country, political affiliation, or favorite sports team. In some types of superiority humor, people appear stupid because they have misunderstood an obvious situation, made a silly mistake, been the victim of unfortunate circumstance, or have been made to look stupid by someone else. According to the theory, these jokes cause us to laugh, because they make us feel superior to other people. We laugh because…
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