Is This Funny, or What? Explaining Humor Appreciation Through a Mass Communication Theory Lens

• In Event: Entertainment Media and Politics

Abstract

Political comedy is a truly universal phenomenon and has attracted an unprecedented share of research. However, reasons why humorous political content is appreciated still lack in scientific explanations. By drawing on a mass communication lens this paper paves the way for a theoretical framework for humor appreciation. Based on an experimental design (N = 346) employing a novel set of humorous stimuli, results indicate that not only the well-established disposition theory of humor but also information appreciation and ego as well as issue involvement significantly predict perceived humor. The study’s significance for already existing inconclusive effect patterns on political comedy is discussed and future lines of research are outlined.

Author

• Christiane Grill, University of Vienna