Describing humour around the world.

Photo by Chris Curry on Unsplash

If you haven’t already, check out part 1, “What Makes Something Funny? The Psychological Theories of Humour,” and part 2, “Cultural Variations in How Humour Affects Us.”

Today, we’re leaving psychology out of it. We’re focusing on opinions and observations from people around the world. Yes, people’s observations are prone to pluralistic ignorance, acquiescence bias, reference-group effects, deprivation effects, and everything else you can learn about in “How to Understand Culture & WEIRD People.”

But, if you checked out the papers and studies from where I got my previous information, you know psychological humour research is full of limitations.

Writing about every culture’s sense of humour could turn into a newsletter that lasts a lifetime. I focused more on some cultures than others because I’m familiar with them and could find more information. If I left out a country, religion, or group that’s important to you, comment and share. I hope people return to the comments to create an ongoing discussion. Culture and subcultures change, merge, and adapt just like you do… hopefully.

What not to do in different cultures

Avoid making comparisons between the country you are in and other countries.

Even if people in the culture are self-deprecating, this is not an invitation to join in. Most people can laugh at themselves but feel quite different when someone is laughing at them. 

— Esther Snipe

Well, that’s no fun. My advice is a little different. If you’re going to make comparisons, just don’t be Dutch about it. Instead, you can be fun, kind, and HSBC about it:

But wait, Nolan, what the hell does being Dutch about it even mean?

The Dutch have the most blunt culture in the world, together with the Israelis. I love the Dutch for that, but I’m Belgian. In other words, the Dutch don’t love me.