Investigating How Visual Features Contribute to Conceptual Associations with Humour : Do People Sense Humour in Colors and Geometric Figures?

This study aimed to explain the psychological mechanism underlying the perception of humour in non-humorous stimuli, specifically monochromes and geometric figures, through the lens of an associative process. Regarding colour, the findings suggest that higher-order conceptual associations between hue and senses or emotional experiences contribute to associations with humour. Regarding shape, the characteristics of the Japanese concept of humour, as elucidated through a comparative analysis with English, led to the hypothesis that a sense of humour associate with the perception of positive qualities in geometric figures. We conducted a survey on 129 undergraduate students at a university in Osaka, Japan. The results support the hypothesis that the perception of humour in non-humorous stimuli can be attributed to their association with perceptions of good quality or social value. Specifically, the certain shapes selected by participants, such as circles and stars, were regarded as both good and humorous due to their simplicity of contour, good meaning as a symbol, and Gestalt coherence that evokes a sense of roundness. Shapes with angles, such as a decagon and a star with curves, were also perceived as humorous, attributed to their aesthetic decorative non-standardness highlighted by the juxtaposition with the regular shapes, such as the circle which has a perfect contour.