We’re more motivated by and remember things that make us laugh
An immensely powerful social tool that can reduce stress, improve task completion and heighten brand attachment.
Cheng & Wang (2014). Examining the energizing effects of humor on persistence behavior. Journal of Business and Psychology, 1-14.
The study
72 people were split into 3 groups: Humor, Neutral or Contentment and shown a respective video: Mr Bean (a British comedy show), an educational video or a beach scene. They were then all asked to solve a secretly-impossible puzzle.
Those humored spent 50% more time and made 2x more attempts trying to solve the problem than others.
Cheng & Wang (2014). Examining the energizing effects of humor on persistence behavior. Journal of Business and Psychology, 1-14.
Key Takeaways
Make it funny. Consumers have more positive attitudes towards humorous ads and their brands, increasing intentions to buy (Eisend, 2008). However, levels are dictated by product category and how related the humor is to the product.
Funny stories are more memorable than other positive emotions like admiration or respect. Puns are particularly memorable because they force us to simplify our humor delivery to a single line, reducing mental effort (Summerfelt et al., 2010).
Bring humor into the workplace. It helps boost employee satisfaction (Decker 1987), leads to higher productivity (Avolio et al. 1999) and boosts creativity (Brotherton 1996). Ben & Jerry’s, Southwest Airlines and Sun Microsystems are well-known for their use of humor within organizational culture (Barbour, 1998).
In further detail
We’re more motivated by and remember things that make us laugh
An immensely powerful social tool that can reduce stress, improve task completion and heighten brand attachment.
Cheng & Wang (2014). Examining the energizing effects of humor on persistence behavior. Journal of Business and Psychology, 1-14.
The study
72 people were split into 3 groups: Humor, Neutral or Contentment and shown a respective video: Mr Bean (a British comedy show), an educational video or a beach scene. They were then all asked to solve a secretly-impossible puzzle.
Those humored spent 50% more time and made 2x more attempts trying to solve the problem than others.
Cheng & Wang (2014). Examining the energizing effects of humor on persistence behavior. Journal of Business and Psychology, 1-14.
Key Takeaways
Make it funny. Consumers have more positive attitudes towards humorous ads and their brands, increasing intentions to buy (Eisend, 2008). However, levels are dictated by product category and how related the humor is to the product.
Funny stories are more memorable than other positive emotions like admiration or respect. Puns are particularly memorable because they force us to simplify our humor delivery to a single line, reducing mental effort (Summerfelt et al., 2010).
Bring humor into the workplace. It helps boost employee satisfaction (Decker 1987), leads to higher productivity (Avolio et al. 1999) and boosts creativity (Brotherton 1996). Ben & Jerry’s, Southwest Airlines and Sun Microsystems are well-known for their use of humor within organizational culture (Barbour, 1998).
In further detail
We’re more motivated by and remember things that make us laugh
The study
72 people were split into 3 groups: Humor, Neutral or Contentment and shown a respective video: Mr Bean (a British comedy show), an educational video or a beach scene. They were then all asked to solve a secretly-impossible puzzle.
Those humored spent 50% more time and made 2x more attempts trying to solve the problem than others.
In detail
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Read moreScarcity
We value things more when they’re in limited supply
Social Proof
We copy the behaviors of others, especially in unfamiliar situations
Prospect Theory
A loss hurts more than an equal gain feels good
Reciprocity
We’re hardwired to return kindness received
Framing
We make very different decisions based on how a fact is presented
Loss Aversion
We feel more negative when losing something than positive when we gain it
Self-Expression
We constantly seek out ways to communicate our identity to others
Default Effect
We tend to accept the option pre-chosen for us
Anchoring
What we see first affects our judgement of everything thereafter
Autonomy Bias
We have a deep-seated need to control our situations
Fast & Slow Thinking
We make knee-jerk spontaneous decisions that can cause regretful damage
Status Quo Bias
We tend to stick with our previous choices, even if the alternatives might be better
Dynamic Norms
We’re more likely to change if we can see a new behavior developing
Salience
Our choices are determined by the information we're shown