PhD position - Laughing Across Differences: The Role of Humor in Pluralistic Social Cohesion.

• Supervisors:

Hedy Greijdanus (University of Groningen)

Namkje Koudenburg (University of Groningen)

Lisa Bastian (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)

• Aim of the project

The proposed project examines whether humour can bridge divides between opposing social or ideological groups by combining social-psychological experiments with philosophical analysis. The aim is to investigate when and how humour as an interaction ritual can result in more versus less valuable forms of social cohesion between individuals and groups in society. Although the main focus of this project is to contribute to theory development and provide conceptual insights, these outcomes should also be useful in practice to help foster cohesion in a range of social settings (e.g., citizen assemblies by regional or national governments concerning policy on topics such as migration or climate adaptation; interactions of the police with diverse groups of citizens).

• Project description

Humour: Dividing or Bonding Opposed Groups?

Research on humour has largely focused on individuals, while studies at the group level tend to show that humour strengthens bonds within like-minded groups but deepens divides between opposing ones. This project instead examines whether humour can also serve as a bridge across group boundaries. Humour is a multifaceted phenomenon – ranging from cartoons and internet memes to everyday joking in conversation – and it can have both constructive and harmful effects. It can ‘break the ice’ by easing tension, signalling shared norms, creating a safe space for honesty, addressing norm violations in a tactful way and fostering connection through shared laughter. Humour can also function as a form of play that supports moral learning.

However, humour can also divide. Disparagement and satire may insult, entrench stereotypes and undermine trust. Effects depend on both target (out-group-directed jokes are funnier) and source (disparagement by outsiders is more offensive). Because jokes are harder to confront than overtly hostile remarks, disparaging humour can slip by uncorrected and thereby deepen social divides. Thus, humour effects are mainly positive within groups but negative between groups.

Theoretical Framework: Cohesion in Social Psychology and Philosophy

In social psychology, cohesion includes the cognitive idea of groupiness and the emotional energy that arises when being a part of a group (akin to what philosopher and sociologist Durkheim called ‘effervescence’). Cohesion can be developed top-down, by identifying similarities within groups that distinguish in-groups from out-groups, and bottom-up, based on interpersonal relations. Importantly, bottom-up cohesion is shaped not only by cognitive comparisons but also by lived interaction within the group, with experiences of interpersonal ‘flow’ acting as a signal of cohesion. This leaves room for individual differences, because cohesion is not based on similarity alone.

Thus, people who hold diverging views on issues such as migration or climate change may still experience social cohesion, because bottom-up processes not only allow for but actively value idiosyncratic individual contributions. We reason that the cohesion produced by these different processes is qualitatively distinct in the relations it affords a) between groups, b) between individuals and the group (e.g., between individual and general will in Rousseau’s sense or through social identification in Tajfel and Turner’s theorizing) and c) among (diverse) individuals (e.g., interdependence, Durkheim). One aim of the project is a philosophical normative evaluation of these top-down and bottom-up cohesion types. This evaluation examines when and why particular forms of humour can be considered more or less valuable, and for whom.

Humour’s Role in Shaping Cohesion

Humour fits naturally with experientially developed, bottom-up cohesion and can shape how people come to understand ‘us’ (Koudenburg et al., 2025). Specifically, humour can act as an interaction ritual (see Collins, 2005), generating emotional energy that connects people. Yet, the cohesion it produces can take different forms. In its negative form, humour enforces conformity to top-down group norms by ridiculing those who deviate from them. In its positive form, humour may foster pluralistic cohesion, which values both difference and solidarity and may arise bottom-up when individuals negotiate who ‘we’ are and which norms define the group.

Humour may facilitate such collective negotiation in diverse groups. Laughter can signal that an expectancy or norm violation is benign and non-threatening rather than something that must be policed by ridicule. Indeed, in humans and other animals, laughter (or the use of similar vocalizations) in response to something unexpected signals playfulness and safety, highlighting humour’s role in social regulation and de-escalation. This implies that humour and laughter can pave the way for accepting more diversity in who ‘we’ are – pluralistic social cohesion.

In this project, we examine how humour as an interaction ritual affects the stability of intergroup distinctions and their meaning within the larger social system, as well as the forms of cohesion that result from this. By combining the emotional energy with the distinct meanings attached to it – whether divisive or cohesive – humour provides a unique tool to understand and maintain different types of cohesion.

Project Approach

These complexities call for careful empirical study grounded in clear conceptual distinctions. We aim to identify which humour likely promotes which cohesion and through which mechanisms. Our approach combines social psychology (intergroup dynamics, bottom-up emergence of social cohesion) with philosophy (social epistemology, ethics, philosophy of language).

Project Deliverables

• Conceptual framework: a taxonomy of humour types and social cohesion.
• Empirical, experimental evidence on the taxonomy and humour’s potential to foster pluralistic cohesion.
• A theoretical model explaining humour’s role in interpersonal and intergroup cohesion.
• Practice guidelines on using humour to support constructive, cross-ideological dialogue in diverse settings.

Connection to Social Cohesion

Cluster 6 concerns questions about the value of cohesion and the norms supporting it. Together, the projects investigate social contracts, shared responsibility and (in this project) humour as a normative ritual as foundations for cohesion. This project primarily contributes to understanding group boundaries, focusing on individual- and group-level humour effects around societal challenges (migration, climate).

• Research design

The proposed design involves three phases, using mixed methods (a standardized literature review, a philosophical analysis and standardized experiments). The research design will be further concretized in collaboration with the PhD student.

Phase 1: From Humour to Social Cohesion

The method combines a systematic literature review and philosophical analysis. This phase investigates a) which types of humour are identified in philosophy and social psychology and b) how these relate to cohesion and division (polarization) at both the interpersonal and intergroup levels. The aim is to develop a taxonomy that links types and mechanisms of humour to their expected interpersonal and intergroup outcomes. Standardized experiments will then test the extent to which this taxonomy can be empirically validated.

Phase 2: From Humour in Diverse Groups to Pluralistic Social Cohesion

This phase again combines literature review and philosophical (normative) analysis to explore existing types of social cohesion and their ethical status. For instance, we distinguish between conformity-based cohesion, which relies on enforcing norms and sanctioning deviation, and pluralistic cohesion, which values both connection and difference among individuals and groups. From a normative perspective, pluralistic cohesion appears more desirable than conformity-based cohesion.

Standardized experiments further investigate which humour types and contexts promote normatively valuable (versus less valuable) forms of cohesion. These studies will also examine the mechanisms through which humour facilitates intergroup rapprochement or instead fuels polarization and ideological entrenchment.

Phase 3: Theoretical Integration and Practical Application

The final phase focuses on conceptual integration. Empirical findings from the experiments are incorporated into a theoretical framework (building on the taxonomy developed in Phase 1) that specifies how and when different humour types and mechanisms can give rise to pluralistic (or otherwise normatively valuable) forms of cohesion. Alongside this theoretical contribution, Phase 3 also translates these insights into practical guidelines for the responsible and effective use of humour in settings with diverse or opposing groups.

• Core readings

Collins, R. (2005). Emotional energy and the transient emotions. In Interaction ritual chains (pp. 102–140). Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400851744-006

Koudenburg, N., Greijdanus, H., & Angelini, C. (2026). The individual and social benefits of confronting sexism with humour. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/vf3ja_v1