Alternative Teaching Opportunities through Low
Tech, Humor, and Cognitive Disruption: Humor
Robert PerretWashington Library Association 2016
Theoretically funny Superiority Theory
› Plato and Aristotle› Laughing at the misfortune of others
(schadenfreude)› Laughing at the ignorant, infoerior and
ugly because of our joy in feeling superior -Scruton
Theorhetically Funny Benign Violation Theory
› One’s concept of how things ought to be is threatened
› The threat is perceived as benign› Violates some but not all norms› Psychological distance from norm being
violated – Warren and McGraw
Why does humor work in the classroom?
Humor forces the listener to identify and resolve the incongruity
Forces engagement› Studies have shown more areas of the
brain get used› Attention is directly related to memory
Rewards engagement
Benefits of humor Ameliorates “Library Anxiety” Reduces avoidance behaviors Generates positive feelings that
transfer to the material
Benefits of humor Builds rapport Increase approachability Increases perceived competence and
credibility
“Drawbacks” to humorDrawback Response %
Off-putting/Offensive 20 39%
Perceived to be out of touch 16 31%
Credibility undermined 11 22%
Not professional behavior 11 22%
No drawbacks 7 14%
May cause confusion 3 6%
Cause inappropriate behavior 3 6%
Perret, RUSQ 2016
Good humor, manHumor Type Response %
Relevant 11 24Puns 9 20
Self-deprecating 9 20Funny
sources/topics 9 20
Silly 7 15Anecdotes 6 13
G-rated/Politically Correct 5 11
Pop Culture 5 11Memes 4 9
Sarcasm 4 9Witticisms 3 7
Jokes 3 7Topical 2 4
Absurdist 1 2Accents 1 2
Impersonations 1 2Physical 1 2
In a Bad HumorHumor Type Response %
Belittling of an individual 17 36
Belittling of a group 16 34
Offensive 12 26
Racy/Bawdy 7 15
Distracting/Too Much 7 15
Too sarcastic/dark 7 15
Slapstick 2 4
Gross out 2 4
Most humor 2 4
Lame puns 1 2
Nothing 1 2
Perret, RUSQ, 2016
So you want to be the “funny” librarian
Start small› add one or two moments of humor per
class› Grow your patter over time
Script your known hiccups› Database always takes forever to load?› Hold process clunky/cumbersome?› Lights have a mind of their own?
So you want to be the “funny” librarian
Outsource the funny› Colbert Report, Sesame Street, IT Crowd,
Monty Python› The Information Cycle,
Why Citation is Important, Study Like A Scholar
› The Onion Funny canned topics
› Roswell, Cats – Humor, Elvis is alive
So you want to be the “funny” librarian DON’TS
Get into a game of one-upmanship with your audience
Belabor a joke at the expense of teaching the material
Continue to be “funny” if it is confusing or aggravating your audience
Be too dated OR too trendy
How I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb
It’s not you, it’s them› Or the weather, or the time of day, or the
regular instructor, or the traffic Get back on the horse as soon as possible Try material at least twice before you
abandon it Even in classes I perceived as bombing I
got many positive comments, incl. humor