humor

(noun)

In an old usage, one of four fluids that were believed to control the health and mood of the human body.

Related Terms

Examples of humor in the following topics:

  • Defining Personality

    • Personality as a field of study began with Hippocrates, a physician in ancient Greece, who theorized that personality traits and human behaviors are based on four separate temperaments associated with four fluids of the body known as “humors”.
    • This theory, known as humorism, proposed that an individual's personality was the result of the balance of these humors (yellow bile, black bile, phlegm, and blood), which corresponded to four dispositions (grumpy, melancholy, calm, and cheer, respectively).
    • Interestingly, several words in the English language that describe personality traits are rooted in humorism: "bilious" means bad-tempered, which is rooted in humorists' thought that yellow bile was associated with grumpiness; "melancholic" is from the Greek words for "black bile," again rooted in humorists' thought that black bile was associated with depression.

  • Managing Stress Through Conventional and Alternative Medicine

    • Other alternative methods to stress management include meditation, deep breathing, relaxation techniques, spending time in nature, humor, spas, and social activity, among many others.

  • Coping with Stress

    • Maintaining good physical and mental health, practicing relaxation techniques, and employing humor in difficult situations are other types of positive coping strategies.

  • Positive Psychology

    • Self-actualizing individuals, he argued, value deep personal relationships with others, but also value solitude; they have a sense of humor, but not one used against others; they accept themselves as well as others; they are spontaneous, humble, creative, and ethical.

  • The Five-Factor Model

    • Some psychologists have dissented from the model because they feel it neglects other domains of personality, such as religiosity, manipulativeness/machiavellianism, honesty, sexiness/seductiveness, thriftiness, conservativeness, masculinity/femininity, snobbishness/egotism, sense of humor, and risk-taking/thrill-seeking.

  • Vision: The Visual System, the Eye, and Color Vision

    • Clockwise from left: Optic nerve, optic disc, sclera, choroid, retina, zonular fibers, posterior chamber, iris, pupil, cornea, aqueous humor, ciliary muscle, suspensory ligament, fovea, retinal blood vessels.

  • Cluster A: Paranoid, Schizoid, and Schizotypal Personality Disorders

    • In most cases people with STPD do not respond to informality and humor.