"As the name suggests, the Mutual Vulnerability Theory promotes the central premise that amusement is the desire to affirm a sense of shared, or mutual, vulnerability. Although at lower intensities it can be expressed with smiles, above a certain threshold intensity, amusement's most definitive outward expression is that of laughter. (Newcomers can find a more complete description of the theory in my first post linked here.)"
"from sitcoms, movies, standup routines, online videos, physical play, practical jokes, amusing signs-virtually every way in which laughter is inspired. I was reminded of a certain recurring pattern while working on my next book, a deep dive into the humor of the Seinfeld series. That is, why do we so often laugh at the process of placing various things into our bodies, as well as expelling various things out of our bodies?"
"It should come as no surprise that we all need to take certain substances into our bodies. We require reasonably fresh air on a regular basis, we need fluids of some variety, and we must absorb certain nutrients to maintain our physical structure and provide us with energy to perform critical functions. When we satisfy such needs in ways we consider normal, we rarely, if ev"
Mutual Vulnerability Theory asserts that amusement stems from the desire to affirm a shared vulnerability, with laughter as the high-intensity expression. Many examples of amusing content across media reveal a recurring pattern of humor tied to ingesting and expelling substances. Actions that involve placing things into or removing things from the body often signal relatively minor threats, such as choking, pathogen uptake, or poisoning, and thereby highlight vulnerability. The perception of these health-related risks can trigger amusement because it affirms mutual susceptibility. The analysis focuses first on things brought into the body, beginning with essentials like air, fluids, and nutrients.
Read at Psychology Today
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]