What Is The Sense Of Humor In Each Country?
Is the sense of humor in each country the same or is it different? According to a study Mendiburo and Páez (2011), the mood is a universal component of culture, but varies in how it is shown in each of them. These variations, according to Alford and Alford (1981), are made through different objects and shapes.
Still, there are common elements in the mood of all cultures. For example, according to Mendiburo and Páez, most research indicates that funny stimuli are those related to images, ideas, texts or acts that are somehow incongruous, unusual, unexpected, surprising or extraordinary.
That is, there are situations, approaches or ideas that generally amuse everyone. However, each country has a characteristic mood, and its inhabitants like things that maybe someone “outside” doesn’t like. In fact, humor also has something very personal. What kind of mood does each country have? What do polls say about this? Let’s talk about it next.
How is the sense of humor in each country?
Humor, according to the RAE, means ‘genius, disposition, condition, especially when it manifests itself externally’. A sense of humor is more specifically defined as “the ability to see or bring out the funny or ironic side of things, even in adverse circumstances.” However, there is not even a common consensus to define a sense of humor. It is something inherent in every culture.
The reality is that not all of us have a sense of humor, but having it (and putting it into practice) allows us to take advantage of positive things, increase a good mood, laugh, make others laugh, etc. As the poet Danns Vega says, “Whoever makes you laugh gives you life ”.
The sense of humor is different in each country. According to professor and researcher Gert Jan Hofstede, “ humor reflects human behavior and, in each society, humor tends to focus on salient elements of the culture of that same society ”.
So, just as the same thing doesn’t make us laugh (individual differences), not all countries have the same sense of humor (social and cultural differences).
In this sense, culture, society and other values can influence the sense of humor. Surely you’ve experienced this when you were traveling: Didn’t you think the jokes “from here” weren’t funny abroad? Or have you ever heard jokes that didn’t make you laugh or that you didn’t get it right? Despite this, there are elements common to all cultures, as we will see later.
Can mood be measured?
Did you know that mood can be measured? Specifically, through an instrument called the Humor Style Questionnaire , a 32-question test that allows you to know which mood you practice.
The categories included are the following: affiliative humor (serves to reinforce belonging to a group), self-assertive humor (based on exaggeration of oneself), aggressive humor (focused on the other), and self-disqualification (centered on self-irony). Thus, each country would have a more prominent mood than another.
Example of mood differences
In a study by Dutch professor Gert Jan Hofstede, who has spent years studying how the sense of humor changes depending on geographic region, we found an example.
Hofstede says that the President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, a person with a great sense of humor, traveled to Japan to give a lecture. During the event, he told a joke. The translator relayed it to the audience and everyone laughed out loud.
Later, the president wanted to congratulate the translator and asked him how he had managed to interpret the meaning of his joke so well for the Japanese. The translator replied, a little annoyed: “Sir, I didn’t translate anything. I just told them you had told a joke. “ This is, therefore, an example of what we are talking about.
The sense of humor in each country: some examples
How is the sense of humor in each country? As stated by Begoña Carbelo, a researcher of the sense of humor and professor at the University Center for Health Sciences at the Universidad San Rafael-Nebrija, in the United States, for example, there are more anecdotes than jokes. In addition, Americans value comics and cartoons more and seem to have a tendency to use humor to dazzle others or as a way of coping with adversity.
According to Hofstede, the Japanese, for example, are not used to making jokes about themselves. On the other hand, Jews or Scots do. The English, on the other hand, bet more on irony and intellectual play, and use their sense of humor, above all, to draw attention or as a way to show off their status.
Furthermore, the British do not care much about being funny, as the researcher claims, but rather that their humor allows them to overcome a given situation. And Spanish humor? According to specialists, it is a more egocentric humor, with frequent use of double meanings and full of jokes.
common elements
Although the sense of humor is different in each country, recent research tends to show, increasingly, that humor is more universal than previously thought. For example, traditional comic books are based on the same exaggerated pretensions and the same relapses into ridicule that can be found in comedies like Molière, Shakespeare or Cervantes.
final reflection
The sense of humor varies across borders, as we’ve seen. This variation would explain why we don’t understand some foreigners’ jokes or why they don’t laugh at all of ours. All of this is influenced by the culture and history of each country, traditions, way of being, society, norms, values, etc. However, although there are different types of mood, we can also speak of common elements or fundamental pillars.
According to Martín (2007), to laugh there must be an aspect of the stimulus in question that leads us to think that it is not serious or not important. This is necessary for us to think that we are facing a pathetic or playful situation, and that it would not be serious.
