Research on Freud’ s Theory of Humor
Look at the picture on page 83. Think of a caption that is as humorous or funny
as possible. Now compare your answer to what one team of investigators found
when they asked high school students to write funny captions to otherwise inno-
cent pictures (Nevo & Nevo, 1983). According to the researchers, the students
“used Freud ’s techniques as if they had read his writings. ”That is, the students ’
responses were filled with aggressive and sexual themes. One picture depicted
only that a man was late for an appointment. Although the scene contained noobvious sexual or hostile content, students still came up with captions like, “I
was late because I was with your wife. ”Interestingly, the students made almost
no references to sex or aggression when asked what they might say if actually inthe situation depicted in the picture.
Was Freud correct when he said that people find aggressive and sexual
themes funny? Several investigations support this observation (Deckers &Carr, 1986; Kuhlman, 1985; McCauley, Woods, Coolidge, & Kulick, 1983;
Pinderhughes & Zigler, 1985). Participants in these studies typically rate car-
toons containing aggression or sex as funnier than cartoons without these
themes. Common observations point to the same conclusion. From one
stooge poking another in the eye to cartoon characters being flattened by an-
vils, examples of pain and suffering permeate many sources of humor. And
it’s a rare situation comedy that goes more than a few minutes these days
without a reference to sex.
Write a funny caption for this photo82 CHAPTER 4 The Freudian Approach