The present thesis will provide an overview of how the four humor styles, affiliative, self-enhancing, aggressive, and self-defeating humor, are connected to different brain areas. The thesis will also include an overview of how humor in general, and especially three factors of humor including, processing, appreciation, and comprehension is connected to different brain areas. The present study found a connection between these three factors of humor and activation in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). The four humor styles were all connected to activity in the midbrain and nucleus accumbens (NAc), though they were found to differ in other parts of the brain. Affiliative humor and self-enhancing humor are humor styles found to share activation of similar brain areas, whereas self-enhancing and aggressive humor was found to the least extent share activation of the same brain areas. No neural differences in relation to the four humor styles have been found between men and woman, or between cultures.

Thesis (M.S.)--Miami University, Dept. of Family Studies and Social Work, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 26-27).

Den ökade globaliseringen har resulterat i att många organisationer stiger in på denkonkurrenskraftiga internationella marknaden. Detta har influerat organisationer att spridaderas budskap globalt – oftast genom marknadsföring. Tv-reklam är en mediekanal som anseseffektiv när man tillämpar humor som en kommunikationsstrategi då den enligt tidigareforskning genererar högt medvetande hos konsumenterna. Dock, finns det ett behov av attbelysa de kulturella skillnaderna när reklamen riktas internationellt eftersom humor uppfattasolika beroende på kultur, vilken kan generera negativa effekter. Eftersom att de kulturellaskillnaderna i humoristisk reklam tenderar att bli bortsedda så fokuserar denna kvantitativestudie på att belysa dessa skillnader med hjälp av Hofstedes kulturdimensionsteori. Dennakvantitativa studie fokuserar därför på att belysa karaktärerna av de kulturella skillnaderna ihumoristisk reklam, genom att använda Hofstedes kulturdimensionsteori, eftersom de tenderaratt bli översedda. Länderna Sverige och Kina jämfördes genom att betona kulturen motreaktionerna gentemot de olika humorstilarna i tv-reklam kopplat till uppfattade känslor. Föratt kunna identifiera humortyperna, användes Rod Martins fyra humorstilar affiliative humor,self-enhancing humor, aggressive humor och self-defeating humor.Syftet med studien var att upplysa hur viktiga aspekterna av de kulturella skillnaderna är ihumoristisk reklam med betoning på kultur och hur känslor mottas i svensk och kinesiskkultur. Detta för att se hur humor kan tillämpas effektivt i reklam över internationella gränser.Enkäten utfördes på svenska och kinesiska universitetsstudenter vilket genererade i detinsamlade empiriska materialet. Resultatet visade att affiliative humor och aggressive humorapplicerad i reklamfilm tas emot likadant känslomässigt i både kinesisk och svensk kultur ochpåverkar även köpintentionerna på samma sätt. Medan, self-defeating humor och selfenhancinghumor tas känslomässigt emot likadant i båda kulturera, men de kinesiskakonsumenterna är mer villiga att köpa produkten. / The growth of globalization has resulted in more organizations entering the competitiveinternational market which has influenced organizations to disseminate their message globally- commonly through the use of advertising. Television commercial is a media channelconsidered to be highly effective if applied with humor as a communication strategy. Theeffectiveness of this strategy generates in high awareness according to previous studies.However, there is a need of highlighting the cross-cultural distinctions when promoting acrossinternational boarders as humor is perceived differently depending on culture, which cannegatively affect the results. As the cultural characteristics in this matter tend to beoverlooked, this quantitative research is focusing on highlighting the cross-culturalcharacteristics in humorous advertising, through the use of Hofstede’s framework of nationalculture. The countries Sweden and China were compared with emphasize on cultureassociated to the reaction toward different humor styles in television commercials linked toperceived emotions. For identifying the humor types, Rod Martin’s four humor stylesaffiliative humor, self-enhancing humor, aggressive humor, and self-defeating humor, wereused.The purpose of this research was to disseminate the importance of cross-cultural aspects inhumor advertising with emphasize on culture and how emotions are perceived in Swedish andChinese culture. The importance relied within how to effectively apply humor in commercialsover cross-cultural boundaries. The questionnaires were performed by Swedish and Chineseuniversity students that generated in the collection of the empirical chapter. The researchfindings indicated that affiliative humor and aggressive humor used in commercial is equallyperceived emotionally in both Chinese and Swedish culture and also affects the purchaseintention similarly. Whereas self-defeating humor and self-enhancing humor are emotionallyequally perceived in both cultures, but the Chinese consumers are more willing to purchasethe product.

The overall aim of this thesis is to present a model for rational goal-setting and to illustrate how it can be applied in evaluations of public policies, in particular policies concerning sustainable development and environmental quality. The contents of the thesis are divided into two sections: a theoretical section (Papers I-IV) and an empirical section (Papers V-VII). Paper I identifies a set of rationality criteria for single goals and discusses them in relation to the typical function of goals. It is argued that goals are typically set to enhance goal achievement. A goal that successfully furthers its achievement is “achievement-inducing”. It holds for each of the identified criteria that, ceteris paribus, improved satisfaction of a criterion makes a goal better in the achievement-inducing sense.Paper II contains an analysis of the notion of goal system coherence. It is argued that the coherence of a goal system is determined by the relations that hold among the goals in the system, in particular the relations of operationalization, means and ends, support, and conflict. Paper III investigates the rationality of utopian goals. The paper analyzes four arguments that support the normative criterion of attainability: that utopian goals are (1) too imprecise and (2) too far-reaching to guide action effectively, (3) counterproductive, and (4) morally objectionable. A tentative defence of utopian goal-setting is built on counter-arguments that can be put forward to weaken each of the four objections. Paper IV investigates the nature of self-defeating goals. The paper identifies three types of situations in which self-defeating mechanisms obstruct goal achievement: (1) situations in which the goal itself carries the seeds of its own non-fulfilment (self-defeating goals), (2) situations in which the activity of goal-setting contributes to goal failure (self-defeating goal-setting), and (3) situations in which disclosure of the goal interferes with progress (self-defeating goal disclosure). Paper V provides a brief description of the Swedish system of environmental objectives and a preliminary inventory of the management difficulties that attach to this goal system.Paper VI contains an investigation into the rationality of five Swedish environmental objectives through an application of the rationality criteria identified in Papers I-II. The paper identifies and discusses some difficulties that are associated with management by objectives and the use of goals in environmental policy. Paper VII analyses the rationality of the Swedish environmental quality objective A good built environment. Among the conclusions drawn in the paper are that some of the sub-goals to the objective are formulated in terms that are unnecessarily vague from an action-guiding standpoint and that others are problematic from the viewpoint of evaluability. / QC 20100715

Years of psychotherapy practice at university, state, and military hospitals developed the author's interest in the presentation of love relationship problems. Mood and anxiety disorders, as the most prevalent pathologies, were often co-morbid with or secondary to partner relationship issues. Most vexing for clients was a situation of repeated dysfunctional partner selections in which similar problems arose each time. This incubated the idea of a process, probably outside of awareness, that functioned to perpetuate self-defeating partner selection patterns. The author was introduced to Money's `lovemap' concept during studies and identified readily with its principles and mechanisms. The lovemap is defined as a highly individualised, developed, mental template or cognitive blueprint of the ideal lover. It is assumed that every person has a lovemap, and would be able to describe it if asked the right questions. The concept promised to be a useful vehicle for studying self-defeating partner selection patterns, as `errors' might be coded into the lovemap that are expressed in such a presentation. The author identified the need to ground the lovemap concept in recognised psychological theory in order to motivate for its relevance. Kelly's theory of cognitive constructs provided robust links for lovemap as a sophisticated construction system, and the developmental theories of Freud and Erikson situated lovemap genesis within recognised periods of emerging human capacities to love and relate sexually; the stages of puberty to young adulthood. Lovemaps are assumed to function optimally when love and lust co-operate in pairbonding, or the capacity to couple. Extensive literature reviews cover the research fields of romantic love, human sexuality, and pairbonding, affording hypotheses as to lovemap pathology. A qualitative, Phenomenological research design of case studies with six adult persons, who had experienced radical contradictions of original lovemaps, identified when and how lovemap change took place. Thematic analysis of the attributions for change distilled a number of implications for therapy that would encourage certain indicated change processes. An integrative psychotherapy model recognises the cognitively- and socially constructed nature of lovemaps and proposes intervention components that blend cognitive-behavioural and narrative approaches. This model will be tested extensively with a suitable client population. / Psychology / D. Litt. ET Phil. (Psychology)

Years of psychotherapy practice at university, state, and military hospitals developed the author's interest in the presentation of love relationship problems. Mood and anxiety disorders, as the most prevalent pathologies, were often co-morbid with or secondary to partner relationship issues. Most vexing for clients was a situation of repeated dysfunctional partner selections in which similar problems arose each time. This incubated the idea of a process, probably outside of awareness, that functioned to perpetuate self-defeating partner selection patterns. The author was introduced to Money's `lovemap' concept during studies and identified readily with its principles and mechanisms. The lovemap is defined as a highly individualised, developed, mental template or cognitive blueprint of the ideal lover. It is assumed that every person has a lovemap, and would be able to describe it if asked the right questions. The concept promised to be a useful vehicle for studying self-defeating partner selection patterns, as `errors' might be coded into the lovemap that are expressed in such a presentation. The author identified the need to ground the lovemap concept in recognised psychological theory in order to motivate for its relevance. Kelly's theory of cognitive constructs provided robust links for lovemap as a sophisticated construction system, and the developmental theories of Freud and Erikson situated lovemap genesis within recognised periods of emerging human capacities to love and relate sexually; the stages of puberty to young adulthood. Lovemaps are assumed to function optimally when love and lust co-operate in pairbonding, or the capacity to couple. Extensive literature reviews cover the research fields of romantic love, human sexuality, and pairbonding, affording hypotheses as to lovemap pathology. A qualitative, Phenomenological research design of case studies with six adult persons, who had experienced radical contradictions of original lovemaps, identified when and how lovemap change took place. Thematic analysis of the attributions for change distilled a number of implications for therapy that would encourage certain indicated change processes. An integrative psychotherapy model recognises the cognitively- and socially constructed nature of lovemaps and proposes intervention components that blend cognitive-behavioural and narrative approaches. This model will be tested extensively with a suitable client population. / Psychology / D. Litt. ET Phil. (Psychology)