Session 4 - Notes for the exam PDF

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Session 4.2 Humour in the tourism setting Introduction • Humour is one of the most fascinating yet confusing facets of human behaviour • In the last few years the health effects of humour and laughter have encouraged more study • Multi-disciplinary topic • Authors that studied humour in tourism: Frew (2006); Pearce (2009); Cohen (2010) Humour theories Superiority theory – People laugh at others because they feel some sort of pride over them or feel superior to them in some way • Incongruity theory – Humour bringing together 2 unrelated ideas or concepts in a surprising or unexpected manner • Relief theory – People use laughter to release built up nervous energy Humour response Behavioural response – Smiles and laughter Emotional response – Unique feeling of wellbeing Physiological changes – Increase of heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure (During laughter) Cultural nature of humour • Humour is based on the inside knowledge of a culture (Critchley, 2002) • A sense of humour can also be regarded as a national character (Ruch, 2002) • Humour in intercultural business meetings (Rogerson-Revell, 2007) Humour in the tourism setting • Tourism has the potential to provide a rich source of humour • Formal and informal humour (Frew, 2006) • Three distinctions are made in tourism humour (Pearce, 2008) – Humour for tourists – Humour about tourists – Humour created by tourists (BUT also: Humour amongst employees) Humour for tourists • Humour while delivering the product service • Humour can be used to promote goods and services Humour by tourists • Co-creation • Customers can also use humour to manage how they engage with a situation

Humour amongst staff • One of the most important functions of humour is to construct and maintain good relations with fellow workers • It amuses and entertains, and establishes good relations between co-workers • Self-deprecating humour Humour in the tourism setting 3 important roles (Pearce, 2009) • Establish visitor comfort levels • Assist visitor concentration • Establish connections to tourism presenters Student presentation on this topic • Focus on 3 tourist attractions Disney Jungle tour, (many Disney parks); Samoa show at Polynesian Cultural Centre, Hawaii; Canyon Swing NZ. Measuring humour • There is no all-encompassing measurement tool • There is also no consensus as to what research methods will lead to the best results • Methods used to elicit humour: o Funny films, comic strips/cartoons and jokes (Krannich, 2001; Ruch & Mueller, 2009) • Methods used to measure the humour response: o Self-report questionnaires, the keeping of humour diaries, informant peerreports, behavioural observations, interviews and experimental tasks (Martin, 1998; Ruch, 2008) Unintended humour • From a bill in a restaurant: “Mixed Gorilla $7.90” • From a fish and chip shop: “Wanted – a person for frying” Example: Kulula Airlines "Ladies and gentlemen, we've reached cruising altitude and will be turning down the cabin lights. This is for your comfort and to enhance the appearance of your flight attendants. “...