Joking, Juries, and Jurisprudence: Informal Communication in a Formal Workplace Setting
Disciplines
Courts | Judges | Legal Profession | Other Communication
Abstract (300 words maximum)
Humor is everywhere, and that is no exception in a work environment. Humor is a way for humans to cope with stress, anxiety, and sadness in a job. Those with a courtroom profession tend to use dark humor to cope with some of the situations they experience in their jobs. Dark humor is used to make sense of what occurs in the courtroom as courtroom personnel must deal with atrocities at times. This research should find that dark humor is common among courtroom personnel due to the events experienced in a courtroom setting. In addition, those who have a long time working in courtroom settings use more dark humor than those who have a shorter time working there. This research goes in-depth on dark humor in a courtroom setting compared to regular humor. This research will also allow a better understanding of how courtroom personnel interacts with others. The future of this research is to find out how people around courtroom personnel view their humor.
Keywords: dark humor, courtroom, judges, coping, stress
Academic department under which the project should be listed
RCHSS - Communication & Media
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Robin Mathis
Joking, Juries, and Jurisprudence: Informal Communication in a Formal Workplace Setting
Humor is everywhere, and that is no exception in a work environment. Humor is a way for humans to cope with stress, anxiety, and sadness in a job. Those with a courtroom profession tend to use dark humor to cope with some of the situations they experience in their jobs. Dark humor is used to make sense of what occurs in the courtroom as courtroom personnel must deal with atrocities at times. This research should find that dark humor is common among courtroom personnel due to the events experienced in a courtroom setting. In addition, those who have a long time working in courtroom settings use more dark humor than those who have a shorter time working there. This research goes in-depth on dark humor in a courtroom setting compared to regular humor. This research will also allow a better understanding of how courtroom personnel interacts with others. The future of this research is to find out how people around courtroom personnel view their humor.
Keywords: dark humor, courtroom, judges, coping, stress