This kinda makes sense. Subordinates will often try to inject humour in order to break a the tension in a serious situation. Superiors can't allow their subordinates to control the tone of the conversation like that, though, so they'll ignore it.
The article ignores, however, the fact that an awful lot (the vast majority?) of joking takes place between social equals. Now I come to think of it, jokes between social equals are the only ones which are actually particularly funny -- jokes told across different social levels tend to elicit a good-natured chuckle, not uncontrollable guffawing.
except perhaps in the case of stand up comedy: which for me usually elicits the loudest laughter.
There's nothing more tense than a showdown between a stand-up comedian and their heckler. It's like a being in the saloon in one of those Western movies when a some tike speaks out of turn to the local gunslinger.
Re:Humour is an act of aggression
by joe_the_user on Saturday August 29, 2009 @01:41PM
(#793419)
There's a big step from "Humor can be a form of aggression" to "humor is a form of aggression - study says". In fact, if the study said only what it was justified in saying, it would read like an Onion headline:
"Nurses Laugh Snarkily While Doctor Away, News At 11:00"
"Nurses and midwives tend to tell jokes about patients but not when the doctor is present. And when someone initiates a joke they tend to be ignored if they are in the presence of someone of a higher status."
I've seen this played out countless times from both perspectives (not literally in a doctor's office), and it always smacks of a power struggle.