Skip to content

Joke and psychoanalysis

 his theory of psychoanalysis, introduces us to the subject of humor, and how jokes are related to the unconscious mechanisms of the human mind. For him through the joke something socially accepted is transmitted that otherwise would have been rejected, because it transmits prejudices.

Freud and his theory of humor

To understand why jokes are fun for us, Freud takes an in-depth look at some critical concepts. The analysis of the joke from the point of view of psychoanalysis is based on the mechanisms of the primary process , that is, on condensation, displacement, formation into the opposite and figurability.

The father of psychoanalysis analyzes various forms and styles of jokes, distinguishes their meaning and analyzes the roles that people play in relation to their narration. He claims that jokes serve a critical social function, and due to the complex nature of people’s conscious and preconscious minds , they are unable to know exactly what they find funny.

In the joke there is no conflict of forces, since there is no desire to repress the act, but on the contrary they provoke a reinforcement in the ego . By making a joke, the individual momentarily lifts the restrictions imposed by society. Through the joke the person can express himself without prejudice and hide repressed desires behind his jokes. The liberation of the individual through jokes is not only a pleasant liberation, but also helps to maintain the cultural order.

The joke is muffled by something shared, brings elements that contribute to Narcissism and therefore causes satisfaction . In turn, they can be used as a defensive mechanism.

In children, jokes are quite superfluous and do not have the principle of censorship . Children often repeat certain “jokes” because adults laugh, which does not mean that they take them as such.

You may also be interested in:   Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

If we refer to the bibliographic references Freud in 1905 spoke of the joke although in the 15` conferences he apologized for having dealt with the subject. In the 20s  he linked it to literary creation and considered it as an element to study in terms of the processing of content produced by unconscious processes .

Tendentious jokes and harmless jokes

According to Freud, humor can be classified into two basic categories: tendentious humor and harmless humor.

Tendentious humor

With biased humor you seek to serve a purpose. In this type of humor the actor involves a “victim”, someone in whose charge we laugh. They are jokes intended to give voice to a socially unacceptable desire. However, they can reveal more than just the joke’s desire, for example: fears, traumas , unmet needs , and repressed libidinal energy.

Tendentious jokes can show a certain level of anger and covert aggressiveness . Furthermore, these jokes bribe the listener to take sides with the speaker, attacking both superior and inferior individuals.

Harmless humor

Harmless humor relies on pun, and has only modest power to evoke fun. Harmless jokes are ends in themselves, and they bring pleasure to the vast majority of their listeners. They are jokes without ulterior motives that represent unconscious desires, but unlike tendentious jokes, harmless jokes focus on the pleasure of using the words and the meaning of the words.

A mix of biased and harmless humor is required to prevent biased humor from becoming too offensive or degrading to its victim.

Website | + posts

Hello Readers, I am Nikki Bella a Psychology student. I have always been concerned about human behavior and the mental processes that lead us to act and think the way we do. My collaboration as an editor in the psychology area of ​​Well Being Pole has allowed me to investigate further and expand my knowledge in the field of mental health; I have also acquired great knowledge about physical health and well-being, two fundamental bases that are directly related and are part of all mental health.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *