Voltage
One of the main elements of human interaction with other actors is tension: in fact, when a potential communicative interaction arises, the subjects involved perceive that their social identity will be analyzed through various lenses, such as stereotypes (Hunzaker, 2014), religious elements (Beckford, 1978), and gender (Bobbitt-Zeher, 2011). In fact, this leads the subject to fear the potential attribution of discredited and/or discreditable through the process of stigmatization , a process that leads to a devaluation of one's actual social identity (Goffman, 1963).
Stress management strategies and humor
For Haraway (1991) physiological and biological responses are a topic that is of great interest to sociological science, especially the interaction between the natural and social elements of the human being.
In fact, they play a fundamental role in social processes, especially in social processes related to the attribution of social roles in social organizations (Hymel, Shelley, 2006).
The actor therefore implements various defense mechanisms in the iterations, such as character armor, that is, which sides of his identity he shows in social situations depending on the communicative intimacy he has with other subjects (Becker, 1975).
One of the most relevant tension management methods in social research in recent decades is humor, or a social and cultural system of dispersing tension through the physical action of laughter (Bergson, 1900).
The biological and control effect of the batting frame
According to Gregory Bateson, the main role of humor is to release tension within a communicative situation, especially if the actor violates one of the explicit or implicit laws in the contextualized frame (1953). Thus, the subject receiving the devaluing action, taking into account the consequences of his deviant action, uses humor as a method of accepting his deviant action and reducing its severity by recognizing the reversal of the expectations of the frame in which the action took place.
In conclusion, humor has become a topic that has attracted the interest of social research in recent decades, after years in which the topic was never considered fundamental by sociological academia (Kuipers, 2008).
John Charles Bruni
Bibliography
- Hunzaker, M. F. (2014). Making sense of misfortune: Cultural schemas, victim redefinition, and the perpetuation of stereotypes. Social Psychology Quarterly, 77(2), 166-184.;
- Beckford, J. A. (1978). Sociological stereotypes of the religious sect. The Sociological Review, 26(1), 109-123.;
- Bobbitt-Zeher, D. (2011). Gender discrimination at work: Connecting gender stereotypes, institutional policies, and gender composition of workplace. Gender & Society, 25(6), 764-786.;
- Goffman, E., "Stigma. Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity", 1963;
- Haraway, D. (1991), Simians, Cyborgs and Women: The Reinvention of Nature, London: Free Association;
- Hymel, Shelley, Aggression and social status: The moderating role of sex and peer-valued characteristics, Aggressive Behavior, 2006/08/01;
- Becker, E., Angel in Armor, Free Press, 1975;
- BERGSON, H. AN ESSAY ON THE MEANING OF THE COMIC., 1900;
- Batson, G., Humor in Human Communication, Raffaello Cortina Editore; – Kuipers, G. (2008). The sociology of humor. The primer of humor research, 8, 361–398.
