If it stops, then I’ll start worrying.” Humor as part of the fire service culture, specifically as part of coping with critical incidents
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12196316 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Karin Dangermond (0000-0003-0973-8872, Netherlands Institute for Public Safety , Arnhem , Netherlands, corresponding author), Ricardo Weewer (0000-0001-5156-906X, Netherlands Institute for Public Safety , Arnhem , Netherlands), Joachim Duyndam (0000-0001-8216-214X, University of Humanistic Studies , Utrecht , Netherlands), Anja Machielse (0000-0002-5665-1684, University of Humanistic Studies , Utrecht , Netherlands) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 35 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 31-50 |
| Publication date | 2022-02-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Humor - International Journal of Humor Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0933-1719 • E-ISSN: 1613-3722 |
| Publisher | De Gruyter Mouton (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1515/humor-2021-0106 |
| OpenAlex | W4210823133 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 7 |
| References cited | 32 |
Firefighters are reluctant to talk about firefighters’ humor with outsiders. This closed attitude has led to a lack of understanding of this important coping strategy in the outside world. It is not clear how firefighters experience humor and its role as part of the fire service culture and why they consider humor to be important when coping with critical incidents. Data has been collected by means of 20 participant observations and 72 interviews with Dutch firefighters from 37 different fire stations. Joking culture and joviality are important elements of the Dutch fire service culture. Firefighter humor usually creates unity, but can also lead to exclusion. Whether a joke is perceived as funny depends on who makes the joke, the moment, the content, and the frequency of the joke. Black humor is used as a means to start a conversation and, indirectly, to make it possible to discuss emotions and it tends to positively influence group dynamics. However, black humor is absent in the case of certain critical incidents because of personal boundaries and unwritten rules. The absence of humor is a sign for the crew commander to pay extra attention to coping
Aeronautics · Art · Conversation · Coping (psychology · Crew · Joke · Literature · Communication · Engineering · Humor Studies and Applications · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition · Leadership, Courage, and Heroism Studies · Psychology · Social Psychology
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| Unique citing works | 7 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2,33 |
| Citation span | 2023 - 2026 (4) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 7 |