Marina Valcheva ’28
Image Credit: Shutterstock
College is stressful! Between classes, internships, exams, social obligations, and planning for the future, students are constantly swamped with high-pressure demands. These few years are often described as some of the most formative in a person’s life. Such pressure can be overwhelming! But there’s one surprisingly simple (and often overlooked) tool you can use to improve mental health and your GPA: humor.
It’s not just about having fun while doom-scrolling on TikTok during a study break. Humor has real, research-backed benefits for improving attention and recall.
One study decided to take a deeper dive into the use of humor in teaching. To do this, researchers recruited 117 undergraduate students at a four-year university, all taking research methods and statistics. Oh so fun, right? That’s exactly why they chose statistics for this study. Students were to review three one-hour lectures presented in video format. Here’s the kicker: a humorous lecture group and a control lecture group. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups. Both groups saw the same digitally recorded video information, however only one was deemed “funny.” Obviously, humor is subjective, so this study included a group of “judges” to assess this academic-related humor. One example included a metaphorical joke about a planned escape by one of two prisoners from a desert jail. The story goes: one prisoner attempts to convince another to escape with him. After failing, he proceeds to escape on his own. However, after escaping, he finds himself surrounded by desert and sand for hundreds and hundreds of miles. After returning, he shares his findings with the other prisoner. To the failed escapee’s surprise, the other prisoner shares that he knew about the desert, as he attempted to escape a few years ago. The first prisoner, furious, asks why the other failed to mention any of this to him before his failed escape. The other prisoner simply shares that obviously, nobody reports negative results. Although slightly “corny,” I’d say it does the job.
Following each lecture, participants were asked to complete a short survey to provide an assessment of the video course delivery. Questions asking what their overall opinion of the lesson was and how well they believe the important information was communicated were asked. Following those surveys, the study included an additional exercise that had participants recall content that was addressed over the three lectures.
As a result, the humorous lectures were enjoyed significantly more than the regular lectures, despite them being slightly longer than the standard lecture! Not only did students enjoy the sillier lecture more, but when it came to content retention, the humorous lectures scored 88%, while the control lectures scored 77%! The difference between a B and a C. Quite significant if you ask me. Overall, a few jokes integrated into your classes not only make the lecture more enjoyable, but you end up remembering more! Go active recall!
In fact, humor isn’t only beneficial in academics. When times get tough, a good laugh can be the best stress relief. Whenever you get the chance, surround yourself with humor! Apart from laughing with friends, a quick visit at The Wellness Spot and checking out the massive book of jokes on one of the shelves can bring out a well-needed chuckle from time to time. Visit the Wellness Spot with friends and enjoy doing activities with one another, such as jigsaw puzzles, coloring, and bracelet making.
Laughter is good for your mood and funnily enough, your grades.
So today, laugh a little more. Your mind and your transcript will thank you!
References:
Garner, R. L. (2006). Humor in pedagogy: How ha-ha can lead to aha! College Teaching, 54(1), 177–180. https://doi.org/10.3200/CTCH.54.1.177-180
