Psychology of Comedy

G Neil Martin is Honorary Professor of Psychology at Regent's University of London, a Life Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, former books editor of Deadpan magazine and editorial board member of the Annals of Improbable Research.

"Analysing comedy is like herding bubbles but this book is both a detailed study of the art of making people laugh and an entertainment in itself, and Neil Martin is an excellent bubble herder." - David Quantick, Emmy-winning writer of Veep; TV Burp, Brass Eye, The Thick Of It, On The Hour"Brilliant. The perfect guide to what’s going on in our heads while our faces are busy laughing"- Joel Morris, writer, the Ladybird book parodies, Viz, Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe, Paddington, Philomena Cunk"A fun and informative romp that will put a smile on your face"- Professor Richard Wiseman, Professor of Psychology and creator of The Laugh Lab"I have often found that the secret to comedy lies in the unexpected. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy a psychology book but I really enjoyed this one."- Phil Hughes, writer, Thunderpants, I Love Candy"Many people don't realize how important comedy is across so many facets of our life. This is an entertaining and thorough compilation of everything and did and didn't want to know about comedy." - Kasha Patel, stand-up comedian and science writer for NASA.

• CHAPTER 1An Introduction to the Psychology of ComedyCHAPTER 2Theories of comedy and laughterCHAPTER 3Individual differences in humour-sex, personality, culture and intelligenceCHAPTER 4Comedians and their personalitiesCHAPTER 5The uses of comedy i: health and therapyCHAPTER 6The uses of comedy ii: learning, marketing and advertisingCHAPTER 7Funny bones? The physiology and neurology of comedy