You are probably more likely to remember something funny that was said during lecture than other things, for example, our “touch-in” sessions. Although studies have found inconsistencies as to why humorous topics are often recalled at higher rates, studies have shown that there is a difference in the higher memory rates of humorous topics compared to those that are not. Humor helps with memory in both verbal and visual tasks (Takahasi and Inoue 2009).
Researchers hypothesized that humor results from physiological arousal leading to the activation of the sympathetic nervous system, as both increased heart rate and respiration was noted. Humorous topics evoke an emotional response that activates the amygdala in the brain. The amygdala, found in the temporal lobes of the brain, is linked to emotions, aggression, and the formation of emotional memories (Schmidt 1994). Other researchers hypothesized that humor and memory is a result of the “bizarre effect” which is defined as an unusual stimuli (humor) that are more evident/stand out compared to common stimuli (Takahashi and Inoue 2009). However, it is not clear whether which, or if either hypotheses, are truly is the case.
A study found a positive effect of humor and sentence and word recall. That is, humor improved the subjects’ ability to recall certain sentences or words compared to unhumorous/inspirational sentences (Carlson 2011). Many other studies have explored effects of knock-knock jokes and have found that pun humor improved both recall and recognition of memory (Summerfelt et al. 2010). The constraint with these studies is that humor is very subjective; one thing may be funny to a person while mundane to another. Therefore, further research must be done in order to objectively identify whether humor truly improves memory.
Although the topic of humor and memory seems to be unclear and more research still needs to be done, there have been studies that have shown recall and recognition of memory due to humorous topics. Therefore, to make learning more interesting and possibly more effective, try to find humor or make a subject more humorous to help you remember the topic.
References:
Carlson KA. 2011. The impact of humor on memory: is the humor effect about humor? International Journal of Humor Research. 24(1): 21-41.
Schmidt SR. 1994. Effects of humor on sentence memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology. 20(4):953-967.
Summerfelt H, Lippman L, Hyman IE. 2010. Eth effect of humor on memory: constrained by the pun. The Journal of General Psychology. 137(4): 376-394.
Takahashi M., Inoue T. 2009. The effects of humor on memory for non-sensical pictures. Acta Psychologica. 123:80-84.
Researchers hypothesized that humor results from physiological arousal leading to the activation of the sympathetic nervous system, as both increased heart rate and respiration was noted. Humorous topics evoke an emotional response that activates the amygdala in the brain. The amygdala, found in the temporal lobes of the brain, is linked to emotions, aggression, and the formation of emotional memories (Schmidt 1994). Other researchers hypothesized that humor and memory is a result of the “bizarre effect” which is defined as an unusual stimuli (humor) that are more evident/stand out compared to common stimuli (Takahashi and Inoue 2009). However, it is not clear whether which, or if either hypotheses, are truly is the case.
A study found a positive effect of humor and sentence and word recall. That is, humor improved the subjects’ ability to recall certain sentences or words compared to unhumorous/inspirational sentences (Carlson 2011). Many other studies have explored effects of knock-knock jokes and have found that pun humor improved both recall and recognition of memory (Summerfelt et al. 2010). The constraint with these studies is that humor is very subjective; one thing may be funny to a person while mundane to another. Therefore, further research must be done in order to objectively identify whether humor truly improves memory.
Although the topic of humor and memory seems to be unclear and more research still needs to be done, there have been studies that have shown recall and recognition of memory due to humorous topics. Therefore, to make learning more interesting and possibly more effective, try to find humor or make a subject more humorous to help you remember the topic.
References:
Carlson KA. 2011. The impact of humor on memory: is the humor effect about humor? International Journal of Humor Research. 24(1): 21-41.
Schmidt SR. 1994. Effects of humor on sentence memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology. 20(4):953-967.
Summerfelt H, Lippman L, Hyman IE. 2010. Eth effect of humor on memory: constrained by the pun. The Journal of General Psychology. 137(4): 376-394.
Takahashi M., Inoue T. 2009. The effects of humor on memory for non-sensical pictures. Acta Psychologica. 123:80-84.
This is great Doan! I find that humor definitely helps me recall things a lot better in class. Usually, when I associate something humorous with a topic I can recall that topic a lot quicker. It's interesting that the physiological mechanism for this is still not quite clear. I found yet another article that states that humor may activate a reward pathway and stimulate the regions of the brain involved with reward responses like the nucleus accumbens, caudate, and putamen (Franklin and Adams). The putamen in particular is of interest to me because it is also involved with learning and memory function (Packard and Knowlton). Perhaps this stimulation of the putamen is why laughter is such a great tool to associate with learning.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious about the "bizarre effect" you mentioned, though. If humor can be considered the unusual stimuli for memory, can other "unusual stimuli" such as fear or something equally "strange" be associated with memory? In which case, would humor or a different unusual stimuli be the better at eliciting memory?
Franklin RJ, Adams RB. 2011. The reward of a good joke: neural correlates of viewing dynamic displays of stand-up comedy. Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci.11(4):508-15. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21750952
Packard MG, Knowlton BJ. 2012. Learning and memory functions of the Basal Ganglia. Annu Rev Neurosci. 25:563-93 Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12052921