The Effects of Using Humor as a Teaching Tool

The class clowns in grade school were always getting in trouble with authority. It wasn’t because they made the students laugh, but because they were distracting with their jokes. Teachers, not just students, also make students laugh from time to time, which brings up the question: if students shouldn’t be making distracting jokes, then how come the teachers can? They shouldn’t, but if the jokes are positive, and correlated with the instruction, then there’s little to no distraction. The effects of using humor, specifically positive course-related humor, by the instructor is beneficial to the learning environment as it reduces anxiety of the students as a class and individually as well as many other benefits such as increased achievement scores and a more enjoyable learning environment.

A professor, instructor, or teacher in a classroom or instruction setting can use humor as a tool to reduce anxiety of the students as a class or as individuals. With that being said, not all types of humor are productive in that sense, and not every individual with anxiety can be helped effectively, but overall it is a successful tool. Roughly 18% of the US young adult population have generalized anxiety disorder, so about 1 in 5 students have anxiety. This statistic also does not count for individuals who develop anxiety only in the classroom or testing setting (Egen, 2016). In a National Psychological journal in 2014, psychology researchers found, through using the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale and studying 102 healthy individuals, that humor was an effective coping mechanism for those with low-mid level anxiety. Despite that, they found humor to be nearly ineffective as a coping mechanism for those with high level anxiety (Grigorieva, Stefanenko, Ivanova, Oleichik, & Yenikolopov, 2014). Knowing this, humor can be efficient as a low-level anxiety-reducing agent in classrooms, but only by using the right types of humor.

The best type of humor for instructors to use as an anxiety-reducing tool is affiliative/self-enhancing. By analyzing the Humor Styles Questionnaire developed by R.A. Martin, we can define an individual with the affiliative humor type as someone who laughs and jokes with their peers, colleagues, and closest friends. An individual with a self enhancing humor type is defined, by same “HSQ”, as someone who can grow themselves with humor (“Humor Styles Questionnaire”, 2017). It is important to incorporate both these styles into an instructor’s style of humor, using it to laugh with the students with the purpose of having them grow as students. In 2014, psychology professors at the University of Western Ontario surveyed 91 students using self-report responses, such as the HSQ, on the relationship between humor style and anxiety levels. They found that affiliative and self enhancing humor went hand-in-hand as they were each negatively associated with anxiety by -.37 and -.39, respectively (Kuiper, Vertes & Maiolino, 2014). Contrary to the positive humor types of affiliative and self enhancing that can be incorporated into teaching instruction, aggressive humor has negative effects of anxiety levels. In 2017, professors from the University of Augsburg sought to understand the relationship between humor types and achievement emotions of students in the classroom. Studying 985 high school students, using questionnaires and various regression analysis methods, they found there to be a positive correlation of aggressive humor (by HSQ, a teacher that teases students about intelligence and their personal lives or characteristics) of +.09 in the classroom (Bieg, Grassinger & Dresel, 2017). This is a difference of roughly .46 between aggressive humor and affiliative/self-enhancing humor correlations. This shows that each type of humor has an opposite effect on anxiety, and that the effects are significantly different as there is a wide gap of correlations. Similarly, professors from Oklahoma State University found through self-report analysis methods (on anxiety levels and humor types of 306 students) that there was a -.29 correlation between affiliative humor and anxiety (Tucker, Judah, O’keefe, Mills, Lechner, Davidson, & Wingate, 2013). The data reflect the importance of using positive humor and not negative humor. Judy Pollack, a UNLV professor, and Paul Freda, a professional psychiatrist, proposed that negative humor is the antithesis of learning, preferring positive humor as it creates a relaxed learning environment, helps students cope with stress, and enhances sense of well-being — all of which are factors in reducing anxiety of a student or class (Freda & Pollack, 1997). Using affiliative and self-enhancing humor can have a positive effect on those with low-mid levels of anxiety, but a teacher will be ineffective in reducing anxiety and effectively teaching the material if the humor is not related to the subject.

Implementing humor into a lecture or course in a course-related manner is more effective in reducing anxiety and having an effective lecture than not implementing humor into a lecture. The same professors from the University of Augsburg define an instructor using course-related humor as someone who uses humor related to the course material or point of the lecture, someone that uses humorous props and mixed media to show the concept, someone who uses jokes related to the content of the course, or someone who teaches in other humorous, but course-related ways (Bieg, Grassinger & Dresel, 2017). In the same study regarding aggressive humor and anxiety correlations, the researchers found there to be a -.06 correlation between course-related humor and anxiety (Bieg, Grassinger, & Dresel, 2017). This shows that course-related humor doesn’t have as significant of an effect on anxiety as affiliative and self enhancing humor does, but still makes a difference in anxiety levels. This is most likely due to the fact that course-related humor involves learning a subject, which increases anxiety on its own, while affiliative or self enhancing humor does not directly deal with learning a subject. The fact that they each have negative correlations with anxiety while aggressive humor has a positive correlation shows that they each have similar effects and should be used together in order to alleviate anxiety. In addition, Berkay Celik and Kerim Gundogdu found that there was a significant effect on reducing anxiety when humor was implemented into the course. Using two 30 student groups, one with a normal non-humor integrated course and one with humor integration, they discovered through testing that anxiety in the control, non-humorous group was roughly 9 points higher than the experimental group. The statistical difference was reinforced by the the students’ responses, with one reporting that they could concentrate longer as a result of a less stressful learning environment (Çelik & Gündoğdu, 2016). As humor often provides comfort, especially in a stressful environment such as the classroom, anxiety often decreases. When surveyed, many teachers, instructors, and professors also found humor to be an effective tool in reducing anxiety, among other benefits. Jerilyn Marshall, the Dean/Professor of learning and research at the University of Iowa, asked 21 professional instructors and librarian instructors to incorporate humorous media, such as The Simpsons and Seinfeld into their lectures. When surveyed on the effects of using the media, 87% of instructors reported using humorous examples to be highly successful. Most of the respondents noted many benefits, particularly making the research and learning process less intimidating as the use of media reduced anxiety about the topics (Marshall, 2002). Similarly, Nancy Seale Osborne, a research professor, surveyed 43 professional research instructors (around the state of New York) on the appropriateness of humor in instruction. She found that most agreed on the use of humor in instruction, but only the use of appropriate and course-related humor. Respondents, in congruence with Osborne’s research, often noted many benefits of humor such as putting students at ease and the facilitation of a more relaxed, less anxious environment (Osborne, 1992). Going more in depth, Robert Perret, an instruction librarian at the University of Idaho, surveyed 55 librarian instructors or teachers on their preference of using humor or not using humor in their lectures and why. Overwhelmingly, respondents agreed on the appropriateness of humor in their lectures. 96% of instructors use humor in their teaching and 98% believe it is appropriate to use. As Perret also included free form responses into his research, 41% noted that the use of humor facilitates a relaxed learning environment, alleviated of anxiety. As more free form questions were asked, the most agreed-upon answers to each question reflected this: most believed that humor must be appropriate (24%), inoffensive (39%), and must be course-related (24%) or professionalism is undermined (Perret, 2016). With this data, it’s clear that most instructors believe in the appropriate use of humor, and that there is a statistical advantage of using course-related humor. Factoring in the proof that affiliative and self-enhancing humor reduces anxiety, in addition to the research on course-related humor, it’s evident that positive as well as course-related humor should be utilized in teaching instruction. In addition to the main effect of reducing anxiety, humor, and more specifically positive course-related humor, has many other positive effects on students and the learning environment.

The integration of humor into the classroom doesn’t just reduce anxiety. It is also shown to increase academic achievement, make class more enjoyable, foster rapport between instructor and students, among other benefits. In the same research study, Bieg, Grassinger, and Dresel also found there to be a difference in correlation regarding enjoyment and boredom. They discovered that course-related humor had a +.36 correlation with enjoyment and a -.37 correlation with boredom, while aggressive humor had a negative correlation with enjoyment of -.04 and almost no correlation with boredom (Bieg, Grassinger, & Dresel, 2017). This reinforces the preferability of using course-related humor instead of aggressive humor as enjoyability and a less boring environment is what is wanted for the students in order for the students to be comfortable learning. Marshall also found, in addition to reduced anxiety, that students were paying attention more (Marshall, 2002). With attention comes focus, which increases learning and subsequently enhances academic performance. Nancy Seale Osborne’s research respondents noted, again in addition to reduced anxiety, that the teachers were more approachable and that rapport was established (Osborne, 1992). A greater relationship between teacher and students results in increased willingness to ask questions and thus learn more effectively. When comparing an experimental humor-integrated course and a non-humorous course, Celik and Gundogdu also discovered that achievement scores and attitude scores were 15 and 7 points higher than the control scores, respectively (Çelik & Gündoğdu, 2016, p. 154). As attitude increases positively about the subject, a more focused learning experience takes place which can increase the student’s test taking abilities. Out of the student responses, one student said that the topics sticked in their minds better and that as enjoyability increased, motivation and a desire to attend class increased as well (Çelik & Gündoğdu, 2016, p. 154). Other advantages of using humor in instruction such as reduced anxiety, a more comfortable environment, among other benefits could also affect why the achievement scores increased. Dan Arnsan, a college library professor, agrees on the use of humor as a tool in teaching, proposing that teachers take themselves too seriously and should use humor in lectures, but warns to not go too far with the humor as students will be anticipating jokes and not focusing on the point of the lecture. He suggests that humor can increase alertness, increase creative thinking, facilitate camaraderie, and reduce stress among other positive effects (Arnsan, 2000). Agreeing with Arnsan about using humor but not using too much humor, Sarah Blakeslee and Kristin Trefts (Cal State librarian professors) believe, after attending numerous comedy classes, teachers should practice using humor as it can enhance the content of the message, but to not sound fake trying to be hip (Blakeslee & Trefts, 2000). In addition to increased scores, decreased boredom, increased alertness, increased motivation, Billie E. Walker, a Penn State professor, believes from experience that humor can be used to handle unexpected events, establish rapport between instructor and student, and, again, make a more enjoyable learning environment (Walker, 2006). Although it is mostly agreed upon that humor can be a positive tool, Judy Pollack and Paul Freda warn against negative humor as it can diminish learning and create resentment from the students. A negative attitude from a student because of a joke made by a teacher can last all year, diminishing a student’s will to focus and learn. Instead, they propose using humor to laugh with the students in order to increase students’ self esteems and motivation to learn (Freda & Pollack, 1997). Valuable lessons can be taught through humor as well such as socialization, willingness to take risks academically, and increased self esteem as teachers admit they, too, make mistakes. All of these lessons facilitate the motivation to learn and expand their knowledge which is the ultimate goal of instructors everywhere. As there is data and experiential knowledge to back up the positive effects of using humor in the classroom, and the evidence backing the preferability of using, not just humor, but positive course-related humor, it shows the need for this type of humor to be implemented into academic instruction.

Scott Sheidlower (2001), a York College professor, once said that that “humor is capable of addressing all of the problems faced by instructors regarding mobile communications, negative stereotypes and… age differences” (p. 25). He is right in a sense that humor rarely fails to grab the attention of someone, regardless of age or social differentiation. There are many ways for teachers to incorporate humor such as media, jokes, puns, or even a US Budget in Brief wrapped in a pair of men’s underwear as Arnsan once proposed (Arnsan, 2000). The fact is that humor, when used in the right way- that is appropriate, positive, and course-related- can reduce anxiety, create an enjoyable learning atmosphere, and ultimately, as a result of all the benefits, make learning a more motivated and efficient experience for the students.

References
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