Alternative Teaching Opportunities through Low

Tech, Humor, and Cognitive Disruption: Humor

Robert PerretWashington Library Association 2016

(No pressure.)

Library instruction is boring.

For everyone.

Boredom kills retention.Craig and Graesser, 2004

Boredom kills engagement.

Boredom kills innovation.Podsen, 2013.

What is humor?

What is humor? Intentionally incongruous behavior

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

Benefits of humor in the classroom?

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?

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

Bad humor?

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

Let the students be funny too

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