Humour in teenagers:  Experimentation and the transition to adult humour

• As they enter their teenage years, young people’s ability to reason about ideas and concepts without having to relate them to concrete objects or experiences gets stronger and more nuanced and this capacity allows them to play with ideas and concepts at a more abstract level – and find humour in jokes that involve complex word and image play. Overall, they get better at resolving complex jokes and take greater interest in producing and sharing their own.

• At the same time, as their language skills develop, adolescents begin to show an interest in a broader range of humour forms (e.g., puns, internet memes, cartoons, one-liners, narrative jokes, comedies and stand-up comedy). This points to their greater openness of mind, tolerance for ambiguity, sensation seeking, intelligence and enjoyment of novelty and complexity. That’s why teenagers like to test the waters with absurdist jokes or risqué humour.

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Learning objectives

• Develop an appreciation and understanding of some of the basic mechanisms underlying the most common forms of humorous language play, using concrete examples (hyperbole, puns, malapropisms, daffynitions, backronyms, oxymorons, etc.).

• Develop critical thinking skills by working on the ability to identify and describe logical flaws and common sense violations in common joke forms (i.e. jokes are little puzzles that need to be decoded).

• Develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for polysemy (multiple meanings) and homophony (sound resemblances) and how they can be exploited to create a range of common jokes forms.

 

Typical exercises and activities

• Finding and explaining double meanings in key word lists and writing original puns.

• Practising comedy writing based on common forms (top ten lists, spoof or satiric headlines and short observational comedy pieces).

• Examining the basic mechanisms underlying witticisms and one-liners and using a dictionary of idiomatic expressions as source material.

 

Did you know?

• There is a relationship between humour and intelligence and the former can help sharpen the latter. In his article “Humor: A Course Study for Gifted Learners,” Richard Shade argues that because much humour requires careful attention to and a deftness with language, gifted students are often particularly adept in the reading and production of humorous texts. He suggests that the close relationship between humour and creativity “allows an individual to ‘jump the track’ or ‘think outside the box’ more successfully” and to be more receptive to the kinds of risk taking and problem solving that bright students need if they are to feel intellectually challenged.