Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Scheff, Thomas J
• Scheele, Stephen C

Titel

Humor and Tension: The Effect of Comedy on Audiences

Ist Teil von

• International Sociological Association, 1978

Erscheinungsjahr

1978

Quelle

Sociological Abstracts

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Reported are the effects of humor on tension in comedy audiences, as measured by a mood adjective check list, & by heart rate. In a field study in 2 film audiences, low but consistent positive correlations were found between relaxation of mood, decrease in heart rate, & number of laughs. In an experiment, considerable laughter occurred in the group who heard a comedy tape, & virtually none in a control group who heard a lecture. There was a statistically significant increase in relaxation of mood in the laughter group, a nonsignificant decrease in heart rate, & no change in the control group. Combining the results of the field study & the experiment, the theory of catharsis is supported, since all 6 tests were in the direction predicted by that theory.