Abstract
The purpose of this study is to propose and test a model that integrates the incongruity model and the incongruity-resolution model, both of which explain cognitive aspects of the humor process. In the former, the direct cause of humor is incongruity, that is, discrepancy between expectations and actual states, whereas in the latter, it is a resolution of incongruity. In other words, it is a problem solving activity to find a cognitive rule that removes incongruity. The author hypothesized that the direct cause of humor is not resolution but incongruity, and the process of resolution interrupts conscious experience of humor by occupying one's attention. In Experiment 1, subjects read four-frame comic strips while remembering six-digit, three-digit or no numbers. The results showed that the humor rating was lower in the six-figure condition, although no difference was detected in humor comprehension. This suggested that (a) immersion in cognitive activity interrupts the humor experience. In Experiment 2, four-frame comic strips were presented while parts were hidden that either had no relation to humor or included essential cue for resolution. Then the parts were presented after a 5 or 15 second delay. Participants were asked to predict what was hidden during the delay. The results showed that delay decreased humor rating not only in the former condition but also in the latter condition. The effect of delay in the former condition implied (b) temporariness of humor, which was evoked when the stimuli were presented, while in the latter condition it implied that (c) humor as an emotional state could be evoked without resolution. Though the results of the two experiments supported the hypotheses of the author's model, these hypotheses were not sufficiently verified due to methodological problems.
