Blackout in America



lllHumor in Action!R. Wilburn Clouse, PhDVanderbilt University Using Humor inDeveloping theEntrepreneurial SpiritLearning in Action! A Cross-disciplinary Problem-Based Learning Environment for EntrepreneurshipThe Case of the Dating FollyTest Version 1.0(A Work in Progress)-571500-457200The Case of the Dating FollyStoryline by Kathleen Armour-SpitzerIntroductionMany times when we are playing the dating game, we feel insecure about our relationships and ourselves. Before a first date, we may feel especially nervous. He may think to himself, “Will she find me attractive? Will she want to go out again? Will she look good??”. She may think to herself, “Will he think I’m funny? Will we have things to talk about? Will he look good??” It is natural to be nervous before a first date, especially if we do not know the other person well. Most of us will overcome our nervousness and go out on the date, in the hopes of having a good time. And, maybe we will connect with that person to the extent that we will pursue a long-term relationship with them.However, because of the feelings of insecurity that most people experience when it comes to dating, we all hope that a first date is uneventful. We hope that we have an enjoyable time, with no event occurring that will make the date especially memorable in a negative way (a positive memory would be wonderful!). However, if something horrible does happen, most of us are ready to throw in the towel and think that “it just wasn’t meant to be” and go on with our lives. But every once in a while, even though it may seem that we should just give up on a possible relationship, we find a person who makes us want to overcome every possible obstacle because we know that person is the one for us.The VignetteElise had just begun a Master’s program at the University of Tennessee. She was 21, just out of undergrad, and did not know a soul on a campus of 25,000 people. Mike was also in the Master’s program at UT. However, Mike had received his undergraduate degree from UT and had grown up in Knoxville, so he had a strong network of friends before he even started the program. On the first day of class, Mike noticed Elise out of the corner of his eye. This was not difficult to do because out of the sixty people in the Master’s program, only fifteen were women! He thought that he might want to get to know her better, so he decided to take a chance and ask her out to lunch. After spending the morning thinking of the best way to approach her, he got a group of guys together for lunch and casually asked Elise if she would like to join them. She said sure, she would love to join them. However, when the group started out the door for lunch, Elise was nowhere to be found.QuestionsHow do you think Mike felt after realizing that Elise did not join him for lunch?What could be some possible reasons that Elise did not make lunch?If you were Mike, would you pursue this relationship?The following morning, when Elise and Mike were in class, Mike asked Elise why she did not show up for lunch. She told him that all the other women in the class had decided to go somewhere else. Since there were so few women in the class, she thought that it was important for her to forge some friendships with the few women there were. Mike thought about that for a while, and decided that it made sense to him. A month or so later, after getting to know Elise on a more platonic level, Mike decided to try again. He organized another lunch with people from the program and invited Elise to come along. Again, Elise said yes. However, by the time they reached the restaurant, Elise was no longer with the group. Guiding QuestionsDo you think Elise had legitimate reasons for not showing up at the restaurant, or do you think that she was trying to let Mike down easy?If you were Mike, what would you be thinking when Elise did not show up, AGAIN?What do you think happened between Elise and Mike after this incident?Resources (Relationship advice for women) (Relationship advice for men) (Relationship advice for women) (Relationship advice for men)ProductWrite three potential outcomes for this situation. What do you think most likely happened?Playing the role of an advice columnist, write to both Mike and Elise with advice on how they should handle this situation. ConclusionsSome of you may be curious as to what happened between Elise and Mike. After Elise missed the second lunch with Mike, she called him to explain what had happened. It was pouring down rain, she had no umbrella, and the entire group had already left for lunch. She apologized for not letting him know that she wasn’t going to be able to make it after she had said she would go.After Elise explained the situation, Mike asked her to go out that Friday night. Elise said yes (and actually went on the date) and the rest is history. Elise and Mike got married two years later and now have a daughter and one on the way!As a result of the insecurities of dating, many people would have given up on this relationship. However, sometimes it is worth it to put yourself on the line and take a chance (or two!). The TheoryThe humor theory that can be observed in this case study is the Incongruent Theory. What exactly is meant by incongruent? In the book Humor Works by John Morreall, he defines incongruity as “a mismatch between what we expect and what we experience” (1997). An event is not humorous if what we expect actually occurs (Morreall 1997). However, if something occurs that is not what we expect, and we take pleasure in that incongruity, then we find the situation humorous (Morreall 1997). Put in another way, in the article Corporate Analysis of Humor, Clouse and Spurgeon state that theorists Kant and Bergson believed “humor is expressed when an incongruity exists between what an individual expects and what one gets” (1995).The dating situation described above can be considered humorous according to the incongruity theory because what we expected to happen between Elise and Mike, on several different occasions, did not occur. After Elise did not attend lunch with Mike the first time, most people would have expected Mike to move on, and not ask Elise out again. However, the exact opposite happened when Mike asked Elise to lunch again. After Elise accepted, most observers would assume that Elise would attend the date. After she missed the second date, most would have assumed any possibility for a relationship was over. However, Mike persisted and after overcoming two setbacks in the beginning, Elise and Mike are happily married, which is an outcome few would have predicted.ReferencesClouse, R. & Spurgeon, K. (1995). Corporate analysis of humor. Psychology A Journal of Human Behavior, 32 (3/4), 1-24.Morreall, J. (1997). Humor works. Amherst, MA: HRD Press. ................
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