At some point we have all been the victim of an unexpected scare by a friend or family, which often ends with one or both parties laughing. This Mannequin Scare Prank shows how fear is typically replaced by laughter: According to the Benign Violation Theory, humor arises when something is wrong yet okay, threatening yet […]
From the T9 function on flip phones to Swype on smart phones, spelling mis-predictions are the bane of handheld communication. It’s hard to catch all the typos that result from Autocorrect Fails. Using The Benign Violation Theory, we can break down when Autocorrect Fails will be (especially) funny. Humor arises when something is wrong yet […]
Public shaming often makes the viewer uncomfortable. What happens, however, when you replace the shamed person with his or her’s best friend? According to the Benign Violation Theory, humor arises when something is wrong yet okay, threatening yet safe, or what we call a benign violation. This intersection explains why it is often funny to […]
