Question 1: According to Freud, a good joke teller should:

a. get to the punch line quickly.
b. get people to relax as the punch line approaches.
c. build tension in the audience as the joke is told.
d. avoid jokes with hostile or aggressive content.

Question 2: According to Freud, which of the following functions is served by telling or listening to jokes?

a. One’s enemy can be attacked through humor.
b. The punch line of a joke provides the satisfaction that comes with tension release.
c. Sexual thoughts can be expressed in socially acceptable outlets.
d. All of these

Question 3: When researchers asked people to rate cartoons for funniness, they found that:

a. each participant experienced a cathartic release of tension.
b. cartoons with sexual and aggressive themes were rated as funnier than cartoons with other themes.
c. the likelihood of participants acting aggressively significantly increased.
d. funniness ratings were inconsistent with predictions from Freudian theory.

Question 4: According to Freud, which type of joke should you tell an angry person to reduce that person’s likelihood of acting aggressive?

a. A hostile joke
b. A sexual joke
c. A insulting joke
d. A really funny joke

Question 5: One problem researchers have had in finding experimental evidence in support of Freud’s theory of humor is that:

a. many of the findings are subject to alternative explanations.
b. predictions can’t be derived from Freud’s theory.
c. very few, if any, of the findings have been replicated.
d. researchers are unable to manipulate the participant’s unconscious thoughts.