Argument 1

 

Howe, N.E. “The Origin of Humor.” Medical Hypotheses, Churchill Livingstone, 28 Aug. 2002, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306987702002098.

 

In this academic article, the author discusses the history of humor and how it came about. The author introduces different theories and hypotheses, such as the “Accepted Theory of Humor” and the “Mind Reading Hypothesis,” to show possible explanations for the use of humor in our daily lives. The author then briefly describes some of the advantages and disadvantages of the use of humor. 

 

Greengross, Gil. “Why Jokes Are Seductive.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers,  https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/humor-sapiens/201110/why-jokes-are-seductive.

 

Greengross, Gil. “How Humor Can Change Your Relationship.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/humor-sapiens/201811/how-humor-can-change-your-relationship.

 

The two articles above are intertwined and come from the same author. These two articles talk about the use of humor in personal relationships and humor’s sexual purposes. The author portrays humor as a tool that people use to grow a more intimate relationship. In the first article, the author talks about how humor is used in finding mates. But the author also makes humor out to be a hindrance, such as increasing hostile relations in certain types of relationships. Humor, based on these two articles from the same author, can be both helpful and harmful in different scenarios in relationships. 

 

Argument 2

 

Gibson, Janet M. “Getting Serious about Funny: Psychologists See Humor as a Character Strength.” The Conversation, 8 May 2019, https://theconversation.com/getting-serious-about-funny-psychologists-see-humor-as-a-character-strength-61552.

 

In this article, the author talks about how humor is perceived and goes into detail on “getting the joke.” The author first starts off talking about how the perception of humor has changed from negative to positive, and then transitions into what it takes to get a joke. After this, the author talks about why people might not get a joke, and then ends the article by talking about the larger picture of humor. 

 

Martin, Rod A. “Is Laughter the Best Medicine? Humor, Laughter, and Physical Health - Rod A. Martin, 2002.” SAGE Journals, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1467-8721.00204.

 

In this academic article, the author takes into account numerous tests and statistics to determine the benefits of humor. Some of the things the author consider is immunity, pain tolerance, blood pressure, illness symptoms, and longevity. The author ends his article by concluding that there was not enough research done to confidently say that humor benefits your physical health.

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Argument 3

 

Myatt, Mike. “When Humor Isn't So Funny.” N2Growth, 17 Oct. 2019, https://www.n2growth.com/when-humor-isnt-so-funny/.

 

In this article, the author talks about when good times to use humor are versus bad times. The author conveys the notion of making sure humor is used in the right context, or else it will seem inappropriate. The article also includes important advice on how to utilize humor the right way and make sure it isn’t wrongfully used.

 

McGee-Cooper, Ann. “The High Cost of Negative Humor.” The Systems Thinker, 24 Jan. 2016, https://thesystemsthinker.com/the-high-cost-of-negative-humor/.

 

In this article, the author introduces the idea of harmful humor. She gives examples of it, such as the case of a group of employees making fun of another group. The author then transitions from examples of harmful humor into describing the consequences of this type of humor. She then wraps her article up by illustrating the differences between harmful humor and helpful humor, and then finally talking about how some humor can be beneficial.