The Positive and Negative Implications of Humor

William Arthur Ward, one of America's most quoted writers of inspirational maxims, said “A well-developed sense of humor is the pole that adds balance to your steps as you walk the tightrope of life”. On the other hand, Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx, an American comedian and film star famed as a master of wit, mentioned that “Humor is reason gone mad”. Ward’s quote, states a positive face of humor, while Marx’s, the negative side. Daniel Goleman, an author, psychologist, and science journalist, wrote in his article “Humor found to aid problem solving”, some facts about the positive and negative sides of humor. Even though humor has its negative side, Goleman affirms that humor is seen less as disguised hostility and more as a stimulant to problem-solving and productivity, as an aid to education and as the stuff of social bonds. In this essay we will talk about both positive and negative the implications of humor

First, we will begin talking about the vast positive implications. Having a good sense of humor (GSH), says a lot about your personality and the way you interact with other people. If you have a GSH you can change other people’s mood, and this makes them think through problems with more ingenuity. A GSH also increases people’s ability to think more broadly. Dr. Alice M. Isen, a psychologist at the University of Maryland in Baltimore, said that “The mind associates more broadly when people are feeling good after hearing a joke. Dr. Patch Adams, a medical doctor, clown, performer, social activist, and founder and Director of the Gesundheit Institute, believes that laughter, joy and creativity are an integral part of the illness healing process. It’s also said that having a GSH in the workplace, increases the performance and productivity of workers. In children, for example, humor has long been used to make learning more easily. Speaking of social bonding, humor serves as an important social function in strengthening