Danielle Krage interviews Caleb Warren, Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Arizona. Caleb researches and writes about what makes things funny, what makes things cool, and what helps people reach their goals. In this conversation, Caleb shares some of his key findings about humour and how it works.
00:00 Introduction to Consumer Psychology and Humour
01:20 How Caleb Got into the Study of Humour
04:01 Physical Comedy and Empathy
06:00 Psychological Distance and Humour
07:27 The Role of Absurdity in Comedy
08:21 Psychological Distance and Animation
09:08 The Difference Between Comedy and Serious Settings
09:39 The Flawed Theory of Surprise in Humour
10:40 The Relationship Between Surprise and Humour
11:36 The Benign Violation Experiment
13:19 The Difference Between Humour and Coolness
14:18 Coolness as a Positive Deviation from the Norm
15:10 How Coolness and Humour Overlap
16:00 The Importance of Autonomy and Enjoyment in Goal Pursuit
18:27 The Importance of Product in Marketing
19:54 The Role of Humour in Marketing
20:20 The Benefits of Humour in Enjoyment and Happiness
21:46 How Humour Translates and Changes with Distance
22:44 How Sense of Humour Changes with Age
23:46 The Evolution of Humour and Cultural Norms
26:56 Research on Coolness Across Different Cultures
28:57 The Personality Traits of Cool People
30:06 The Role of Effort in Coolness and Status
32:27 The Tension Between Marketing and Coolness
35:23 The Importance of Being Good vs. Being Cool
36:54 Caleb's Band and Songwriting
You can find Caleb here:
Research website: https://www.calebwarrenresearch.com/ TedX talks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jxh-ispLUmA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z7hkfkCEno Band website: https://bandoftownies.com/
You can find the transcript at:
And Danielle’s socials here:
https://twitter.com/daniellekrage
https://www.instagram.com/dekrage
https://bsky.app/profile/daniellekrage.bsky.social
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