What is Humour Intelligence?
As the world fixates over Artificial Intelligence, another Intelligence is finding it's identity. And this Intelligence likes to have fun.
Humour Intelligence
Most people are aware of emotional intelligence however humour intelligence (hi), it's lesser known but equally smart sibling, is just starting to get the academic recognition it deserves. Humour Intelligence describes a unique set of highly valuable human abilities, similar but distinct from emotional intelligence and strongly linked to high IQ and Verbal Intelligence. It’s been described as “intelligence having fun”, representing an ability to apply cognitive skills to social situations, in a playful manner. However it goes much deeper than that.
Apart from being a fascinating and emerging concept in modern psychology, humour intelligence is one of the most fundamentally useful, creative, and empathically human capacities we have. Until just a few years ago, it wasn't actually recognised as a legitimate form of intelligence in it's own right. It was considered a side effect of other intelligences. However as many people have figured out for themselves and comedians will attest, the intelligence of humour is more like a super hero than an NPC. It's no coincidence that academia would be a little slow on the uptake here, but that's another story.
To fully understand humour intelligence we need to understand humour. And that is no small thing. We might think we know what humour is and all of us have some idea, however on closer inspection the nature of humour is a lot more significant and multifaceted than one might ordinarily assume. Of course it includes things like cracking jokes and being silly, stand-up comedy, funny movies and just mucking around and laughing with friends. However if we look at the very origins of the word humour, we get clues to what is now becoming more known and understood by psychologists and even scientists a like.
Humour comes from the latin humor, which means fluid. To be in good humor used to mean than all the fluids of the body were in good health. Indeed we are now beginning to understand that ones sense of humour is a fundamental aspect to our health and wellbeing as a human being. When Bruce Lee said “be like water”, he could well have been saying to be in good humour. to be in a state of continuous flow.
Having a good sense of humour, or high humour intelligence, is about being fluid. It’s about going with the flow but not in a wishy washy ‘new age’ way. In regards to humour, going with the flow is referring to being flexible, adaptable and resilient. This means finding ways to maintain a creative mindset, even in the throws of adversity.
Components of Humour Intelligence
Researchers have defined HI through three core components:
Production: The ability to generate and deliver humorous material, such as witticisms or jokes.
Perception: The capacity to recognise humour, including the ability to find humour in situations (intrapersonal) and to understand when others are being humorous (interpersonal).
Prediction: The ability to anticipate what others will find funny, which requires understanding specific audiences and contexts.
Key Findings on Humour and Intelligence
Correlation with IQ: Studies indicate that people with a better sense of humour—particularly those who appreciate complex or dark humour—tend to have higher IQs.
Verbal Aptitude: High-quality humour production is strongly linked to high verbal intelligence.
Dark Humour Link: A study by the University of Vienna found that people who appreciate black/dark humour have higher verbal and nonverbal intelligence, higher education levels, and lower levels of aggression.
Cognitive Flexibility: Creating and understanding humour requires rapid, "whole-brain" processing—engaging the prefrontal cortex (reasoning), temporal lobes (language), and limbic system (emotion).
Benefits and Social Aspects
Social & Economic Success: Individuals high in HI are often perceived as more confident, competent, and influential.
Resilience & Coping: Humour acts as a coping mechanism, helping individuals manage stress and adversity by providing a new perspective on difficult situations.
Evolutionary Signal: Evolutionary psychologists suggest that a good sense of humour is a "hard-to-fake" signal of mental fitness and intelligence, making it attractive to potential mates.
AI & Humour
As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly incorporated into the way humans work and think, it stands to reason that the role of both humour intelligence and emotional intelligence will appreciate as we are forced to realise more about what is unique about human intelligence. What is it about humanity that can't be easily replicated or surpassed by a machine? While AI is still in it's early stages of understanding humour and currently seems unable to differentiate between funny and pure cheese, it's ability to develop humour intelligence will be a key metric in it's evolution. As, whether we realise it or not, it has been and will be in ours.
