All you have to do is hang out with young people for awhile and you'll see and hear it start.  A stream of teasing and zingers, followed the victim's call to their mom and the usual disclaimer of "I was only kidding," from the teaser.  Teasing and put-down humor have been around almost forever.  Despite many documented stories of it going horribly wrong, we've also all heard, and some researchers have studied and reinforced, that teasing behavior can also be a sign of affection and inclusion in a group.   The "we only tease the ones we love" explanation.  But a look toward popular humor - in sitcoms, movies and from stand-up comics - suggests that the put-down zingers only seemed to have escalated in recent decades. It's all left us wondering if, on playgrounds, in offices, and in families, many of us aren't trying to imitate these humor models, looking for that approving laugh track in our heads, without thinking about whether we might be contributing to conflict...or where the line is between benign good humor and agression or even verbal violence. And why does this type of humor seem to be such a sure-fire formula for comedy success?

Today on Peace Talks Radio, we'll be talking with a couple of writers and researchers who have given these topics some thought and study.  Paul Lewis is a professor of English at Boston College and the author of the book Cracking Up: American Humor in a Time of Conflict.  He's authored other papers on humor as well.  Also today, Dacher Keltner, professor of psychology at University of California at Berkely, director of the school's Greater Good Science Center, which studies the role of positive emotions in our lives.  He's author of the 2009 book, Born to Be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life. Paul Ingles hosts.

There's an hour long version of this program at PRX too: http://www.prx.org/pieces/51673

All you have to do is hang out with young people for awhile and you'll see and hear it start.  A stream of teasing and zingers, followed the victim's call to their mom and the usual disclaimer of "I was only kidding," from the teaser.  Teasing and put-down humor have been around almost forever.  Despite many documented stories of it going horribly wrong, we've also all heard, and some researchers have studied and reinforced, that teasing behavior can also be a sign of affection and inclusion in a group.   The "we only tease the ones we love" explanation.  But a look toward popular humor - in sitcoms, movies and from stand-up comics - suggests that the put-down zingers only seemed to have escalated in recent decades. It's all left us wondering if, on playgrounds, in offices, and in families, many of us aren't trying to imitate these humor models, looking for that approving laugh track in our heads, without thinking about whether we might be contributing to conflict...or where the line is between benign good humor and agression or even verbal violence. And why does this type of humor seem to be such a sure-fire formula for comedy success?

Today on Peace Talks Radio, we'll be talking with a couple of writers and researchers who have given these topics some thought and study.  Paul Lewis is a professor of English at Boston College and the author of the book Cracking Up: American Humor in a Time of Conflict.  He's authored other papers on humor as well.  Also today, Dacher Keltner, professor of psychology at University of California at Berkely, director of the school's Greater Good Science Center, which studies the role of positive emotions in our lives.  He's author of the 2009 book, Born to Be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life. Paul Ingles hosts.

There's an hour long version of this program at PRX too: http://www.prx.org/pieces/51673