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Browsing by Author "Matter, Michelle M., author"

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    Intervening with laughter: using laughter/humor to create positive experiences in dementia relationships
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Matter, Michelle M., author; Faw, Meara H., advisor; Knobloch, Katherine R., committee member; Long, Ziyu, committee member; Lucas-Thompson, Rachel G., committee member
    Humor and laughter have various positive outcomes on people's health and relationships both within healthcare settings and in daily life. In particular, humor and laughter can be beneficial for individuals impacted by dementia. This dissertation project was an engaged, mixed methodological intervention in which a program containing humor activities was created for people with dementia and their care partners to determine whether actively engaging with humor and laughter would be associated with positive outcomes for participants' well-being, observed behaviors, and relationships. Data collection methods included real-time observations as well as pre- and post-test surveys. Results indicated that participants were able and willing to participate in the program, that they engaged in various relational maintenance strategies during the program, and that the program was enjoyable and effective at creating positive personal and interpersonal outcomes for participating dyads. This project contributes to the scholarly community by investigating the usefulness of a noninvasive intervention within an understudied dyadic and aging population while demonstrating the powerful outcomes that can result from engaged scholarship and community collaborations. Additionally, this work offers the community partner a "plug-and-play" program that can be repeated in the future and provided participants with valuable and enjoyable experiences.
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    Made you laugh: the interpretation of interactive laughter within friendships
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2020) Matter, Michelle M., author; Faw, Meara, advisor; Williams, Elizabeth, committee member; Lucas-Thompson, Rachel, committee member
    Although past scholars have studied laughter as a form of communication, prior research is scarce on how laughter is perceived by interactants. This mixed methods study deepens scholarly understandings of laughter as both a communicative act and a form of affection by investigating how friends in dyadic interactions make meaning of the laughter they share during those interactions. Pairs of friends were video-recorded having a short, light-hearted conversation. Following the conversation, each individual watched the video, explaining at each instance of laughter what they were feeling and why they believed laughter occurred at that point in the conversation. Data from both interactants was then compared to examine the types of laughter that were manifested in conversations as well as patterns regarding participants' perceptions and communication of laughter. In general, previous laughter categories were supported by the data, but new categories were also identified, including laughing out of relatability (show understanding), lighten (decrease stress or negative feelings), memory (remember the situation being discussed), reactionary (because the other person laughed first), anticipation (expecting something funny to happen), cue (indicate that the other person should laugh), common joke (previously shared and recognized humor), mental image (picturing the event or story), and endearing (out of love) laughter. A new categorization system is proposed which assesses laughter in terms of its relational effects along the spectrums of prosocial-antisocial and basic-complex; in particular, prosocial laughter is examined as an affectionate behavior according to the definitions from Floyd's Affection Exchange Theory. This study offers a deeper understanding of laughter as a crucial yet understudied form of nonverbal communication by highlighting the relational meanings and implications of laughter among friends.