In May (2017), Caty Borum Chattoo, co-director of the Center for Media and Social Impact at American University and a comedy fan, released “The Laughter Effect: The [Serious] Role of Comedy in Social Change“, in which she summarizes the research and gives advice on how to use humor to further social issues. As previously described, Chattoo tells of five forms of influence:
- attracting attention & facilitating memory
- feeling: comedy’s route to persuasion
- entering complex social issues
- breaking down social barriers
- sharing with others
In this third installment, I run through her first point after beginning with her detour into “How influence begins.”
How influence begins: Actively seeking comedy
Chattoo points out an advantage that comedy has over other forms of storytelling and persuasion: “people actively seek out comedy.” This is an advantage, as obviously, without the ability to reach people, you can’t influence them.
Further, rather than being passive receivers of messages, she notes, with Young, that
Audiences who seek out smart, civically-focused comedy and entertainment may do so for more than one reason—to be entertained and to make sense of serious information…. And when audiences seek and use entertainment with active “truth-seeking motivations,” they process the civic information in such a way that sparks “reflective thoughts…issue interest, and information seeking.”
This is a key point that Chattoo fails to apply in future sections, and it marks a significant shift.
When I started writing my dissertation, I was appalled by the state of the research. Everyone assumed that no one looked to humor – and especially stand-up – for serious messages, for advice, for discussions of common problems and social issues. So when comics discussed such things, researchers treated it as if it didn’t matter – and perhaps it didn’t.
However, Chattoo (& Young) points out that we’re living in a different time; perhaps now people approach and read comedy differently. Perhaps they both laugh and think, are amused yet still informed and engaged. “The Zombie Apocalypse” paradoxical example still gives us pause, but perhaps the changes are coming.
Further, Chattoo notes that audiences may find new information they would not otherwise encounter (Bartsch & Schneider). As comics address more issues, it’s more likely that they hit on one that is new to some members of their audience.
Attracting attention and facilitating memory
Comedy can expose audiences to new messages – and can help them remember the information.
Advertisers have long known this: unlike advertisements using sex appeals, which can leave us unsure what was being advertised (or uncaring), humorous advertisements get our attention and help us to remember. However, more recent studies have linked this effect to political and civic communication as well (Xenos & Becker).
Sleeper effect
Chattoo notes that there’s a “sleeper effect of comedy—people remember and are influenced by the content of a funny message longer than a serious one” (here Chattoo cites Nabi, Moyer-Guse & Byrne). Yes, we’ve known at least since Aristotle that strong emotion is the key to memory. We shouldn’t be surprised that humor is no exception.
Priming effect
Further, humor fuels a “priming effect,” in which the “characteristics that had been primed, or made salient, from comedy” “influenced [the audience’s] future judgments” (Moy, Xenos & Hess). I’ll tie this in later in a way that Chattoo misses, but when a comic deals with the issues, they emphasize certain aspects, and these areas of emphasis can act as a frame, a lens,or as Kenneth Burke would have it, a terministic screen, through which the audience comes to see the issue. That ability to set the frame or screen might prove powerful.
Questions? Comments? Thoughts? Additions?
References:
Bartsch, A., & Schneider, F. M. (2014). Entertainment and politics revisited: how non-escapist forms of entertainment can stimulate political interest and information seeking. Journal of Communication, 64(3), 369-396.
Moy, P., Xenos, M. A., & Hess, V. K., (2005). Priming effects of late-night comedy. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 18(2), 199-210.
Nabi, R., Moyer-Guse, E. ́ & Byrne, S. (2007). All Joking Aside: A Serious Investigation into the Persuasive Effect of Funny Social Issue Messages. Communication Monographs. 74(1), 29-54.
Young, D. G. (2013). Laughter, learning, or enlightenment? Viewing and avoidance motivations behind The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 57(2), 153-169.
Xenos, M.A., & Becker, A.B. (2009). Moments of zen: Effects of The Daily Show on information seeking and political learning. Political Communication, 26(3), 317-332.
