There is nothing like a well -timed joke to create the atmosphere. The jokes can help relieve tensions in a conversation, make people more comfortable and engaged, and can even make you more reliable. Humor is something that actors and politicians have used to connect and captivate their audience.
However, this technique has not often been used by scientists and scientific communicators for fear that the public does not take scientific information seriously, which led some to have a disinterest or distrust of science.
A research team from the Grady College of Mass Communication from the University of Georgia wanted to see how the addition of humor to scientific communication would change the vision of an audience on information, in a study published in the Journal of Scientific Communication. It turns out that the proof is in the punch line.
Scientific communication and humor
Sometimes science can be a difficult subject to digest. This is why we have scientific communicators – people who help translate these complex subjects into a language easier to understand.
Study results noted that when scientific communicators introduced humor to the subject, there were positive reactions.
The addition of humor to communication “can both have positive impacts on the sympathy of a communicator, as well as the improvement of perceptions according to which the message is an appropriate and legitimate source of scientific information,” said Alexandra Lynn Frank in a press releaseA postdoctoral student at the University of Georgia.
Frank and his team work contributes to an increasing set of research on adding humor to scientific communication.
Learn more:: What your sense of humor says about your mental health
Scientific communication by social media
(Image credit: Alexandra L. Frank, Michael A. Cacciatore, Sara K. Yeo and Leona Yi-Fan Su) Examples of the tweets seen by the participants
For this study, the research team examined humor in scientific communication via social media.
The study team has created several images of similar cartoons that focused on a similar IA joke and made them look like a Twitter / X article published by a fictitious scientific communicator named Dr. Jamie Devon. The jokes went from satire (Horatian type) to anthropomorphism – giving animals or objects of the human type – and one which is a combination of the two.
The research team then used the images in an online survey where the participants in the study (who were aware of the investigation but not the study) each received one of the eight versions of the image of the joke and the conversation on social networks with Dr. Devon.
The participants then had to assess the cheerfulness that the joke made them feel, how reliable / sympathetic the communicator was and how valid the form of scientific communication was.
The results of the study revealed that the combination of satire and anthropomorphism caused the most cheerfulness.
Perfect punchline
Overall, the results have shown that adding a little humor to scientific communication can really go very far.
“Politicians, artists and advertisers often use humor because people tend to love and connect with people who can make them laugh,” Frank said in a press release. “When people find something funny, they are generally less likely to challenge or reject the message or the person delivering it. Our research supports this idea. We have found that humor can help scientists’ communication efforts, but only if people think they are funny. “”
However, although humor can add to communication, it should be effective and cause gaiety. Otherwise, the public could find you too aggressive.
“It is important to note that recent research carried out by my co -authors indicate that severe forms of satire can be perceived as aggressive, which can undermine the credibility of the source of scientific information,” Frank said in a press release.
According to the team, the sarcasm and targeting of an individual can also affect your credibility with the public.
“When used in a responsible manner, humor is a powerful tool that can humanize scientists and create significant links with the public on social networks. By taking advantage of humor, scientists can simplify complex concepts, making them more relatable and easier to understand, “said Frank in a press release. “This approach not only promotes good will, but also has the potential to dispel the disinformation in a friendly way. In addition, humor can arouse curiosity, motivating people to seek additional information on important scientific subjects. »»
Learn more:: Why we laugh at the most inappropriate moments and what he says about us
Article Sources
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A graduate of Uw-Whitewater, Monica Cull wrote for several organizations, including a focus on bees and the natural world, before coming to Discover Magazine. His current work also appears on his travel blog and his Common State magazine. His love of science came to watch PBS shows like a child with his mother and spend too much time at Binging Doctor who.