Strange psychology behind why we find dark humor so funny

A multitude of experts have revealed the real reasons we employ dark humor in our everyday lives - and why so many more think it’s hilarious.

Dark comedy goes by a myriad of monikers; black comedy, morbid humor, gallows humor and dark humor.

Despite having many names, all refer to a style of comedy which makes light of taboo, stressful or painful subject matters.

You could employ dark humor to poke fun at anything from death to dangerous situations, illnesses and life-threatening incidents.

But why do so many of us like using dark humor?

Research claims many people who enjoy dark humor have high intelligence levels. (Tim Robberts/Getty Images)

Well, a study, published in the popular journal Cognitive Processing claims that if you react to dire situations with black comedy then it could indicate you may have a high IQ.

Moreover, the same research concluded that these people resisted negative feelings more effectively and showed lower aggression when compared to those who didn’t employ gallows humor.

Elsewhere, social worker and counselling psychologist Namratha Dinesh claims black comedy enables people to assess incidents through cognitive reappraisal.

It also helps them to convert threatening incidents into easy-to-swallow and funny situations.

“Dark humor does not signify a ‘crooked’ mind, rather it is seen as an effective coping strategy to cope with anxiety and defend oneself from being entrapped in negative feelings,” she wrote.

Moreover, Claire Brummell, an expert in human behavior, claims that using black humor as a coping mechanism means one or more of our needs are being compromised.

Why do so many of us like using dark humor? (Getty Stock Image)

She told Patient.info: “It could be a period of intense grief or overwhelming stress; we might have been through a trauma - the list goes on.

“So the things that we use to try to cope are behaviors that we believe, consciously or subconsciously, will either stop those needs from being impacted, or will meet them in some way."

Brummell continued to say that dark humor can also be a way to welcome emotions such as amusement or cheer and to stop you from drowning in difficult feelings.

But while joking around can provide temporary relief, morbid humor does carry some negative connotations that can impact your health.

According to Brummell, these include: creating distance between yourself and others; upsetting your friends and keeping yourself enveloped in a horrible situation.

There is apparently a 'sweet spot' in comedy where you need the 'right' threat level. (Tim Robberts/Getty Images)

Suppressing your true feelings can also cause them to intensely arise later on - making what you are dealing with much more difficult and compromising the healing process.

So, while we know why we use dark comedy - why do so many of us find it such a relief?

“Humor arises from potentially negative situations,” said behavioral scientist Peter McGraw of the University of Colorado.

“That’s counterintuitive for obvious reasons: why does something so good originate from something potentially bad or wrong?"

“There’s some sweet spot to comedy where you need the right degree of threat,” McGraw added.

Another expert, Arnie Cann of the University of North Carolina, added: “Sometimes you might make a joke that helps everyone get over the fact that they’ve just dealt with a very difficult situation.

“Humor was, in their view, essential to their survival and their occupation.”