Episode Details

Why did half the internet hear a joke in that Oval Office clip while the other half heard an insult? This episode unpacks the psychology of humor styles — affiliative, self-enhancing, aggressive, and self-defeating — and what your personal "humor signature" says about your personality, social processing, and even your neurology. We explore the Humor Styles Questionnaire, the Big Five personality correlations, and how humor evolved as a costly signal of cognitive fitness. Plus, why text messages are the worst medium for comedy and how deadpan becomes a high-risk coalition signal.