多數人以為創造與創新是辛苦艱鉅而嚴肅的歷程,必須有祖逖聞雞起舞、苦行僧毅力以及勾踐頭懸樑、錐刺股的堅忍不拔情操,方能有所成;很難將之與幽默遊戲這種不正經(或者說難聽點是喪志沈淪、不求上進)之活動相提並論。然而,過去的研究不但發現幽默感與創造力間有顯著的正相關(Edgar & Pryor,2003;孫聖和,2000),而Ziv (1976, 1983)及陳學志(2004)也發現,幽默的氣氛以及課程均能提昇創造力。究竟幽默為何能提昇創造力,是一個值得探討的議題。本文從情緒、動機、以及認知三個層面深入剖析幽默何以能夠提昇個體的創造力外,並提出最簡單但能提昇幽默的小技巧。冀望經由本文能使國人以更為正向的態度來看待幽默,並且在創造歷程中培養童心與幽默,使人人均能創造快樂、樂在創造。
Most people regard creative and innovative behaviors as tough and difficult processes, and seldom mention them in the same breath with humorous manner. However, past research has not only found a significant positive correlation between humor and creativity (Edgar & Pryor 2003 Sun, 2000), Ziv (1976, 1983) and Chen (2004) also showed that humorous atmosphere and humor training programs could improve creativity. Why could humor promote one’s creative behaviors? This article proposed a three dimensional framework, including cognition, emotion and motivation, to explain the hidden mechanisms of humorous creativity. Some helpful humor skills were also proposed to cultivate playful, humorous feelings and to develop creative habits.