adaptability. Describes how easily a child adjusts to changes and transitions. A sense of humor is closely related to our flexibility for change. The ability to laugh in new situations is apparent even with very young children. Some are at ease right away while others may hide behind a parent in a new situation.
anger. A term for the emotional aspect of aggression as a basic aspect of the stress response in animals in which a perceived aggravating stimulus "provokes" a counterresponse, which is likewise aggravating and threatening of violence.
approach/withdrawal. A child's initial response to novelty: "new places, people, situations or things" (Kristal, 2005). It takes a certain degree of risk taking to experiment with humor. Class clowns, for instance, are pretty comfortable with new places and situations. They approach situations with enthusiasm, zest, and unbridled risk taking.
attachment theory. A theory, or group of theories, about the psychological tendency to seek closeness to another person, to feel secure when that person is present, and to feel anxious when that person is absent.
attention. The brain's focusing system, activated by emotional arousal. Also the cognitive process of selectively concentrating on one thing while ignoring other things.
attitude. A key concept in psychology. Attitudes are positive or negative views of an "attitude object," that is, a person, behavior, or event.
behavior. The actions or reactions of an object or organism, usually in relation to the environment. Behavior can be conscious or unconscious, overt or covert, and voluntary or involuntary.
brain. The control center of the central nervous system.
class clowns. Students who stimulate laughter in a classroom setting. Usually cheerful, positive individuals who relish being the center of fun.
cognitive science. Scientific study either of mind or of intelligence.
content circle. Describes what needs to be learned.
context circle. Describes where learning occurs.
cortisol. Stress hormone secreted by the adrenal glands during stress.
depression. A condition characterized by feelings of pessimism and sadness.
emotion. A neural impulse that moves an organism to action, prompting automatic reactive behavior that evolved as a survival mechanism.
emotion detector. A skill used to understand the emotions of self and others.
emotional intelligence. Also called El or EQ, a term that describes an ability, capacity, or skill to perceive and assess emotion.
emotional knowledge. The level of perception and assessment that an individual has of his or her emotions at any given moment in time. To manage the emotions of oneself, of others, and of groups.
emotional memory. Memories that are sparked by remembering the feelings about something that happened. Emotional arousal activates the attentional center of the brain and is a powerful trigger for learning and memory.
fear. An unpleasant feeling of perceived risk or danger, whether real or imagined.
flourish. The focus of positive psychology, including the concept of flow. A part of the positive emotions that include peak humor experiences and humergy.
flow. The feeling of complete and energized focus in an activity, with a high level of enjoyment and fulfillment, as originally described by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.
frontal lobes. Part of the cerebral cortex of the brain that functions in initiating actions, solving problems, and making decisions.
fun. Anything that makes learning engaging, exciting, and challenging.
games. Usually performed by competing individuals or teams who have the same clearly defined goal. Although many animals play, only humans have games. The existence of rules and criteria that decide the outcome of games implies that games require intelligence of a significant degree of sophistication.
geliophobia. Fear of laughter.
gelos (jee-los). The Greek word for laughter.
gelosis. Denoting the condition of laughing more and more.
gelotherapy. Therapeutic laughter programs.
geloticia. Referring to materials and paraphernalia, props, toys, movies, and so forth to stimulate laughter.
gelotology. Study of the physiology of laughter.
gelotonia/gelotonic. The condition of achieving a healthy balance with laughter.
gelotrophic. The state or condition of being nourished by and or growing due to laughter. An organism exhibiting growth as a result of being stimulated by laughter.
group glee. Wave of laughter emerging from a group of young children.
happiness. Emotional or affective state in which we feel good or pleasure.
hippocampus. Structure in the brain involved with the formation and retrieval of memory.
hope. An emotional belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances within one's personal life.
humergist. Person who effectively employs humor to facilitate communication.
humergy. The energy that emerges from the humor, joy, and optimism of our inner spirit, reflects our unique personality, and nourishes a healthy mind body balance.
humor. The quality that makes something amusing or laughable.
humor paradox. Discrepancy in a society that claims to place a high value on humor, when in reality fears keep us from initiating and sustaining humor practice.
humor physiology. Events that occur in the human body in association with humorous experiences.
humor practice. The art and craft of purposefully applying humor to everyday life.
humor respiration. Laughing, giggling, or chortling that disrupts cyclic breathing, increases ventilation, and accelerates residual air exchange. This results in enhanced intake of oxygenated fresh air.
humordoomer. A person who consistently uses negative humor to control and manipulate others.
humorobics. The physical act of laughing.
humorologist. Person who practices the art and science of healthy humor.
humorology. The art and science of humor.
humorphobia. A fear of fun, laughter, and humor.
hyperacademics. Overly intense focus on academics.
impact versus intent. Comparison between the purpose of the humor as perceived by the conveyor and the feelings evoked by the recipient of the humor.
intensity. The reactive energy of a response, whether happy, sad, or angry, or expressive. The emotional response varies greatly among young children. For instance, some children will smile a little at peek-a-boo games while others laugh loudly.
joke. A short story or short series of words spoken or communicated with the intent of being laughed at or found humorous by the listener or reader.
joy. The emotion of great happiness.
joy-flow. Term used to describe positive emotionality as exhibited by enthusiasm, energy, joy, and hope. The peak experiences most of us identify with experiencing one's sense of humor.
laughter. The biological reaction of humans to moments or occasions of humor, an outward expression of amusement. Human response to a social connection (Provine, 2000).
learning. The process of acquiring knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values, through study, experience, or teaching, that causes a change of behavior that is persistent, measurable, and specified or allows an individual to formulate a new mental construct or revise a prior mental construct (conceptual knowledge such as attitudes or values). It is a process that depends on experience and leads to long-term changes in behavior potential.
long-term memory. Memory that can last as little as thirty seconds or as long as decades.
love. Emotion of primary value associated with an intense attraction to a person, place, or thing.
memory. The ability of the brain to store, retain, and subsequently recall information.
mood. The basic quality of disposition. It may be more positive (a happy or cheerful child) or more negative (a cranky or serious child). Some researchers think that mood is parallel to or overlays our basic temperament.
optimism. The tendency to believe, expect, or hope that things will turn out well. The attitude of somebody who feels positive or confident.
peak experience. Term used to describe an optimal experience of positive emotionality.
peek-a-boo. Term used to describe the first stage of humor development in infants.
perception. The process of acquiring, interpreting, selecting, and organizing sensory information.
pessimism. Describes a belief that things are bad and will become worse.
play. Describes an unrestrained, amusing interaction with people, animals, or things, often in the context of learning.
positive emotionality. A state of being in which the individual is said to flourish. The research is based on the belief that positive emotions extend the capacity of attention, cognition, and action.
process circle. Describes how learning occurs.
pseudogelotic. Referring to false or fake laughter.
psychoneuroimmunology. The study of the interactions between the brain and the immune system that combines psychology, neuroscience, and immunology.
pun fun. Stage of humor development of children ages ten through fourteen.
riddle-de-dee. Stage of humor development of children in grades 3 through 5.
roast. An event in which an individual is subject to publicly hearing insults, praise, outlandish true and untrue stories, and heartwarming tributes about him- or herself. It is seen as a great honor to be roasted, as the individual is surrounded by friends, fans, and well-wishers, who can receive some of the same treatment as well during the course of the evening. The party and presentation itself are called a roast. The host of the event is called the roast master. In short, it is both the opposite of and the same as a "toast."
safe humor. Practice of humor in safe situations.
sarcasm. Sneering, jesting, or mocking a person, situation, or thing. It is strongly associated with irony, with some definitions classifying it as a type of verbal irony.
self-deprecating humor (or self-effacing humor). The ability to laugh at ourselves, to make fun of our human foibles, and maintain a sense of perspective. It is also powerful in defusing confrontations.
sense of humor. The capacity of a human being to respond to life challenges with optimistic enjoyment.
short-term memory. Sometimes referred to as "primary" or "active" memory— the part of memory that stores a limited amount of information for a limited amount of time (roughly fifteen to thirty seconds).
stages of humor development. Sequential process for the development of a sense of humor.
stress. Roughly the opposite of relaxation. A medical term for a wide range of strong external stimuli, both physiological and psychological, which can cause a physiological response called the general adaptation syndrome, first described in 1936 by Hans Selye in the journal Nature.
stress management. Techniques intended to equip a person with effective coping mechanisms for dealing with psychological stress.
stressors. Any factor that causes stress is called a stressor. There are two kinds of stressors: processive stressors and systemic stressors. Processive stressors are elements in the environment perceived by the organism as potential dangers. These do not cause damage directly but are processed in the cerebral cortex. The processed information is then sent via the limbic system in the hypothalamus, where it activates the supreme centers of the autonomic nervous system. This results in the fight-or-flight (or sympathetico-adrenal) response. Systemic stressors cause a disturbance in the organism's homeo-stasis, as well as tissue necrosis, hypotension, or hypoxia. Often both types of stressors occur simultaneously. They are usually accompanied by pain or intense emotions.
survivor humor (group). A specific type of humor response that is an active defense mechanism to help cope with threats and fears instead of surrendering to them (definition provided by Sandfa Ritz, nurse researcher).
teasing. The act of playfully disturbing another person, either with words or with actions. In mild cases, and especially when it is reciprocal, it is essentially a form of playing (friendly teasing). However, teasing can also be used as painful harassment (cruel teasing), if the teasing is one way. In extreme cases it may escalate to real violence and may even result in abuse (in the case of a child, child abuse).
temperament. The general nature of an individual's personality, such as introversion or extroversion.
therapy. A treatment that is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a diagnosis.
trust. Having confidence in and reliance on good qualities, especially fairness, truth, honor, or ability. The ability to take the responsibility for taking good care of somebody or something.
working memory. The collection of structures and processes used for temporarily storing and manipulating information.
absurd. That which obviously lacks reason, which is foolish or ridiculous in its lack of good sense; includes nonsense, the nonsensical use of logic and language; the preposterous, arising from the incongruity of reality and fantasy; and whimsy, a fanciful or fantastic device, object, or creation, especially in writing, art, or decoration.
defiance. Primarily the release of hostility or aggression through rebellion; includes the violation of conventions, the perpetration of situations socially unacceptable to adults, the expression of forbidden ideas, and the violation of adult authority.
exaggeration. Using an obvious over- or understatement, including such things as physical characteristics, data, feelings, or experiences.
human predicaments. Situations in which a character appears foolish or bested. Includes the humor of superiority and degradation, which is based on self-aggrandizement or the release of hostility through the discomfiture, failure, or misfortune of others; and comic predicaments, which is based on an attitude of sympathetic acceptance of the human predicament and can be seen in situations in which either oneself or someone else appears foolish or bested by life for the moment. In this case, however, no hostile feelings are intended to be aroused or expressed.
incongruity. Connecting two generally accepted opposites, the lack of a rational relation of objects, people, or ideas to each other or to the environment.
ridicule. Primarily the teasing and mockery of others or oneself; can be seen expressed, for example, in the mockery of adults, their world, and its customs, institutions and so forth. Negative ridicule finds its source in feelings of selfaggrandizement or the release of hostility through the mockery of others. Playful ridicule, on the other hand, is based on the sympathetic acceptance of human foibles. Satire is primarily a sophisticated artistic form of humor arising from both types of ridicule.
slapstick. The form of humor that depends for its effect on fast, boisterous, and zany physical activity and horseplay, often accompanied by broad, obvious, rowdy verbal humor.
surprise. Exploiting the occurrence of the unexpected—whether fact, thought, feeling, or event; in its more sophisticated form it becomes irony.
verbal humor. The manipulation of language through word play, puns, jokes, sarcasm, wit, name-calling, and the like; may contain either a positive or negative emotional content, but differs from the other forms in being a verbal rather than a situational form of humor.
*Thanks to Steve Wilson, WLT, for his contributions to this list.
**Adapted from Kappas (1967).