Benefits of Humor

Here is one from the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. In my never ending Quixotic quest to finding what is funny, I stumbled on this tidbit that suggests that watching comedy can increase your creativity, but it still does not answer 'what is funny'.

Researchers found that watching a comedy film has several benefits. First, that it makes you feel better and we all know that. Second, that it makes you more creative. Third, that it aids in problem solving.

Are you bored and wondering what to do next (after finishing this).  Well, view a comedy film, or maybe this quickie of Mr. Bean making faces.

The movie makes you laugh and it makes you feel better. Now, don't you feel more creative?

Experiment results from, Isen, Daubman, and Nowicki found that people who watched a comedy film were more likely to solve a problem requiring a creative solution than people who watched a neutral film. 

Another experiment involved a comedy film and the Remote Associates Test. The mean number of items correct on this test was higher for people who watched a comedy film than for people who did not watch a comedy film. The hypothesis was that positive emotion would foster creativity.

The bottom line is that if you are working on a problem at home or work that requires a creative solution, it may be good to first view some comedy. I know that I always feel better after watching Laurel and Hardy, but am not sure if it makes me feel more creative.