Ruch
Fakultäten » Philosophische Fakultät » Psychologisches Institut » Persönlichkeitspsychologie und Diagnostik » Prof. Dr. Willibald Ruch » Ruch
Current research project
| Title / Titel | Humorous interactions in hospitals and homes | ||||||||
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| Abstract (PDF, 14 KB) | |||||||||
| Summary / Zusammenfassung | Over the past 40 years international organisations such as the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humour (AATH) or the well known Gesundheit!Institute have contributed to the promotion of the holistic approach to medical care which has been developed with the ideology that laughter, joy and creativity are important in healing people. Since the idea was pioneered it has led to various programmes, such as clowns in hospitals, humor professionals in homes for the elderly, or doing house calls. Research is very sparse, but so far scientific endorsement of this approach has shown the presence of clowns can reduce anxiety in hospital settings. However, studies have also run into methodological difficulties, when measuring emotional state changes, especially in patients who can be tense or anxious through the very nature of old age or dementia. The aim of the present research project is to investigate four main research questions: 1) What are the personal factors that make a clown a good clown? 2) What changes happen within the audience during a clown intervention and how long do changes last? 3) What variations in clown/humour interventions exist and how can enjoyment and pleasure be measured (subjectively and objectively)? 4) What are the contributions from and effects on the institutional level? Positive psychology has put forward the concept of “positive institutions” which are ones that support positive emotions and focus on character strengths that foster better communities. Are hospitals with humour professionals positive institutions as humor and clowning may add to the overall wellbeing of their residents? To investigate how humour is used in the service of humanity the research team will collaborate with humor practitioners and institutions such as the Rote Nasen Verein Österreich, the Alters- und Pflegeheim Moosmatt and Clown Wieni. | ||||||||
| Publications / Publikationen | Proyer, R. T., Ruch, W., & Rodden, F. A. (2012). First things first! Caveats in research on “Laughter Yoga”. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 27, 873-874. doi:10.1002/gps.2793Ruch, W. & Müller, L. (2009). Wenn Heiterkeit Therapie wird. Geriatrie Praxis Österreich, 3, 22-24.Ruch, W., Rodden, F. A., & Proyer, R. T. (2011). Humor and other positive interventions in medical and therapeutic settings. In B. Kirkcaldy (Ed.), The Art and Science of Health Care: Psychology and Human Factors for Practitioners (pp. 277-294). Göttingen, Germany: Hogrefe Publishers. | ||||||||
| Keywords / Suchbegriffe | clown, interaction, humour, elderly, FACS | ||||||||
| Project leadership and contacts / Projektleitung und Kontakte |
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| Other links to external web pages | http://www.humorcare.ch | ||||||||
| Funding source(s) / Unterstützt durch |
No project-specific funding |
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| In collaboration with / In Zusammenarbeit mit |
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| Duration of Project / Projektdauer | Jan 2011 to Sep 2013 |