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Course Description:
This course will focus
on the physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual
dimensions of laughter, humor and play. We will explore
recent discoveries and research regarding their role
in human physical and mental health. Students will
learn the social significance of humor and play, what
makes people laugh and why, the role of happiness,
and we will learn ways to increase happiness and playfulness,
use laughter and humor as a stress management technique,
and build a basis for appropriate use of humor in helping
others.
Course Objectives:
- Students will be able
to identify the health risks in the 1990's, the role
of the health care system vs. life style decisions
in treating these risks, and discuss the role of
humor, happiness, play, and laughter along with the
other stress management interventions.
- Students will be able
to identify the psychological effects of laughter
and their impact on human health.
- Students will be able
to describe and give examples of laughter used as
a physical catharsis and its role in relaxation.
- Students will learn
about the role of laughter and humor in forming emotional
bonds and therapeutic and trusting relationships.
- Students will learn
about the sociology of laughter and humor, the various
humor theories, and will explore society's myths
and rules about humor, happiness, and laughter. In
addition they will understand the difference between
laughter that hurts and laughter that heals and connects
people.
- Students will learn
about the impact of humor and laughter on creativity
and learning.
- Students will learn
about the demography of happiness, the traits of
happy people, and the role of humor and laughter,
- Students will develop
useful therapeutic interventions using humor and
play in a variety of settings.
- Students will construct
a homework project to apply skills learned in call
to living, learning, or working settings and analyze
the results.
Specific areas of instruction
include the following:
- Overview/review principals
of holistic health and explore the role of laughter
and health.
- Physiological effects
of laughter.
a. Muscular/skeletal.
b. Cardiovascular effects.
c. Endocrine/immune functioning.
d. Facial expressions & health.
e. Laughter as a physical catharsis.
f. Theories on the evolution of laughter.
- Humor as an intellectual
activity.
a. History of humor theories from the days of Plato
and Aristotle to
present day.
b. Types of categories and jokes.
- Humor and emotions.
a. Common myths.
b. Humor and relationships.
- Happiness.
a. Happiness research.
b. Demography of happiness and traits of happy people.
c. Happiness in work and play.
d. Role of humor and laughter in happiness.
- Uses of therapeutic
humor.
- Uses of negative humor
and control
a. Healthy vs. hurtful use of planned humor.
b. Control of other people's laughter.
c. Importance or context in the use of humor interventions.
- Ways to help ourselves
and others increase healthy laughter and humor
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