Concept Analysis: Humor - Research Paper Example

However, different aspects of humor need to be understood at a great depth in order to apply the humor concept for the benefit of patients. Therefore, this concept analysis paper will discuss the concept of humor as it applies in nursing. A brief literature review will accompany various definitions from different professions. The antecedents, criteria, and consequences of humor will be discussed. Finally, a personal definition, interpretation, and application of the concept will be discussed.

Humor There are many definitions of humor depending on the field of study. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, humor is the aspect of recognizing and responding to ludicrous or absurdly incongruous. A more realistic definition is available on various websites. Although website definitions may not be backed by theoretical foundations, they express the concept in nonprofessional terms. For instance, CTCA (2011) defines humor simply as a natural feeling of happiness that results from interpretation of a humorous situation.

It is a feeling that brings the emotion of happiness. Humor is claimed to be a health and awareness booster especially for patients with conditions such as cancer. Philosophers see humor as explicitly as the ability of a person to be affected by a humorous situation or phenomena. Philosophers argue that it is possible for humor to be negative. Such an instance would happen when an individual responds humorously to an absurd, sarcastic, ironic, or even morally compromising situation (Rod, n.d).

This brings about an important consideration of antecedents, criteria, and consequences of humor. Accordingly, there are two possible antecedents of humor, positive or negative. Positive causes of humor would stem from morally acceptable situations. Any situation that is funny, amusing, laughable, or comical qualifies as good humor if the meaning and context does not breed contempt (Rod, n.d). This is an important aspect for nursing practitioners to consider. The definition of term may be different even within the same discipline.

From a psychology point of view, humor can be defined as the ability of the cognitive part of the brain to perceive and interpret a set of information as funny or humorous. It involves deployment of cognitive and emotional aspects. This is supported by the fact that humor can be intrinsic. Psychology however, recognizes the sense of humor as an inherent trait in an individual. The arousal-relief theories are the best in defining humor in physiological context. According to these theories, humor is a responsive feeling or a reaction to an antecedent humorous situation.

However, the concept goes deeper into explaining the consequences of humor. Accordingly, humor relieves feelings of fear, stress, anxiety, worry, anger, as well as tension (Sumners 1988) There is no direct or explicit definition of humor in nursing. However, many researchers have come up with different definitions of the term and these definitions seem to converge to one basic definition. McCreaddie & Wiggins define humor, in the context of nursing, as a responsive feeling that is accompanied with physiological changes that are beneficial to the health of the body and mind.

Humor creates a resultant positive state of mind that is a prerequisite for overall body health (McCreaddie & Wiggins, 2007). However, an indirect interpretation of humor supports that humor may be used to trigger positive cognitive perception of an adverse