Tommy Matysik

Research Project Annotated Bibliography

Multimedia Writing and Rhetoric--McLaughlin
17/11/2015
I am studying the role of humor in the treatment of physical
symptoms because I want to find out how humor affects physical
health, and how that should be implemented in hospitals. My primary
research question is: What is the effect of humor on physical health,
and how is/should this be implemented in hospitals today? I became
interested in this topic after visiting my grandpa in the oncology wing
of the hospital. I remember it being so depressing and the doctor never
socialized with any of the patients. I thought that it would be better for
patient outcomes if there were some kind of social connection between
the staff and the patient, or at least something to keep the patient
occupied. About a month later, I shadowed a physician at Ann & Robert
H. Lurie Childrens Hospital of Chicago. The staff there were constantly
socializing with the kids, telling jokes and making them laugh. They
even brought in clowns or other entertainment. A doctor told me that
the staff truly believes that by doing this, the kids morale stays higher,
which leads to better outcomes. To me this made a lot of sense, but
then I started wondering why they dont utilize this in treating adults as
well. As a pre-med student, I thought it would be interesting and
important to find out whether or not humor affects physical condition.
Furthermore, if there is evidence to suggest that humor helps patients
recover, then it should be implemented at hospitals across the country.
I plan to examine this issue by looking at a variety of different credible
sources (mainly scholarly articles) and possibly addressing a
counterargument. By the end of the article, I hope to present a
reasonable claim that humor can affect physical health, and
laughter/humor therapy should be instituted on a much wider scale
than it already is. By doing so, it would improve patient morale, doctorpatient relationships, and possibly even the patients physical health.
Could also reference Dr. Thomas Merluzzis presentation at HCRI on the
psychology of cancer patients and survivors. Could discuss how he is
currently doing research on the impact of others (emotional support
and instrumental support). He said that humor could fall under
emotional support, making the person feel included and helps
strengthen relationships that have been tried throughout the cancer
treatment process. According to Dr. Merluzzi, people with high levels of
impairment should receive high levels of emotional support for optimal
psychological distress.
In intro could reference personal experiences from annotated bib

And also make sure that we talk about how the hospitals should
integrate it and where the money will come from.
=from Dr. Mclaughlin
Counterargument.
Show statistical insignificance, then describe how there are
contradicting studies, and in science, this usually leads to more
research being done with more controls and more subjects, making it
more definite. However, this has not yet been done for humor therapy,
largely because
Penson, Richard. "Laughter: The Best Medicine?" The oncologist 10.8 (2005): 651-60. Print.

Dr. Richard Penson is the clinical director of medicinal gynecologic

oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital, one of the best research
hospitals in the country. His article is directed toward the readers of
The Oncologist, which consists of hospital staff and researchers in
oncology, and some other people that simply have an interest in
oncology. This article offers an overview of how humor can help the
patients in their mental health, which goes on to affect their physical
health. Penson advises that, humor may help to ease the pain, show
the human side of the health care team, and help everyone cope.
Whether the patient uses humor to lighten the mood of a difficult
consultation with their physician, or health care workers use it to help
cheer each other through the day, humor and laughter can be valuable
tools. Humor can soften the isolation experienced by both patients and
staff (651). This quote is particularly useful because it gives me a
solid foundation to work off of. Few people would argue against this
point, but it gives me something that I can build upon, in order to build
a solid case for a less obvious statement. It is similar to my other
sources in that it is a scholarly source, and it offers clinical
perspectives, but it is different in that it approaches the issue from less
of an extreme. It doesnt attempt to prove any crazy statements,
instead, it establishes the fact that humor has positive mental effects,
which helps everybody involved.

Lothane, Zvi. "The Uses Of Humor In Life, Neurosis And In Psychotherapy: Part 2."
International Forum Of Psychoanalysis 17.4 (2008): 232-239. Academic Search Premier.
Web. 9 Nov. 2015.

This article is written by Dr. Henry Zvi Lothane, who is a psychiatrist,

psychoanalyst, and Clinical Professor at Icahn School of Medicine at
Mount Sinai, New York, specializing in psychotherapy. The article
seems to be targeted toward other psychologists, particularly those
with an interest in psychotherapy. I found this article to be helpful
because it describes the use of humor in psychological therapy, and
why it is effective as a treatment for psychological disorders. I plan to
use this article as a transition from humor bringing people together,
instead bringing the essay into the realm of treatment. This is a really
good example because it is actually being used now, so I can show that
humor as a therapy is a ridiculous notion, it is already being used. This
is similar to my other sources in that it discusses the plausibility of
humor as therapy, but it departs from the other sources in that it is
already being used in a clinical setting, whereas many hospitals have
yet to implement humor therapy for physical diseases. I think that this
article is really useful in relation to my own argument because this
source gives me some credibility and justifies my claim. It isnt crazy to
think that humor therapy could work on physical conditions, because it
already is proven to work on psychological conditions.
Martin, R. A. "Is Laughter the Best Medicine? Humor, Laughter, and Physical Health." Current
Directions in Psychological Science (Wiley-Blackwell) 11.6 (2002): 216-20. Print.

Dr. Rod Martin is a clinical psychologist and professor at the University

of Western Ontario specializing in the nature and function of humor
and laughter as well as their relationship to psychological health and
well-being. This article seems to be targeted toward other researchers
who have suggested that humor might be used as therapy for physical
conditions, as well as hospitals or physicians who have an interest in
the possibility of using humor as a therapy for physical health. I
thought that this article would be useful in crafting my research essay
in that it provides possibilities for mechanisms that would be result in
humor being beneficial for physical health, and it includes a critique of
the methods and statistical evidence of other studies. In the abstract,
Martin provides an overview of the goal of his study which, examines
research evidence for the popular idea that humor and laughter have
beneficial effects on physical health. Potential mechanisms for such
effects are discussed first. Evidence for beneficial effects of humor and
laughter on immunity, pain tolerance, blood pressure, longevity, and
illness symptoms is then summarized. Overall, the evidence for health
benefits of humor and laughter is less conclusive than commonly
believed. (216). While he did conclude that much of the research
suggesting that health benefits and laughter was statistically
significant was using faulty methods, there is still some evidence to

suggest that there may be a difference, and Martin mentions this in his
conclusion. It is similar to my other sources in that it examines
scientific evidence for the health benefits of humor and laughter, but it
is different in that it also disproves some other studies that made more
definite conclusions. I plan to use the proposed mechanisms in my
paper to provide evidence of how humor can affect physical condition,
and I might use the part about a lack of statistical significance as a
counterargument.
Lackner, Helmut, et al. "Cardiovascular Effects of Acute Positive Emotional Arousal." Applied
Psychophysiology & Biofeedback 39.1 (2014): 9-18. Print.

Dr. Helmut Lackner and his colleagues are Austrian researchers

specializing in psychophysiology, cardiovascular studies, and other
related technologies. The intended audience of this article is other
researchers and physicians who are doing research in, or are treating
cardiovascular-related ailments. In this study, the researchers
examined the effect of humor (watching humorous films) on heart rate,
blood pressure, and respiration. I believe that this source will
effectively communicate that humor can stimulate physiological effects
and responses that can affect health. The article also includes an
extensive statistical evidence section, which I should be able to
evaluate using my newfound background in statistics in life sciences
(ACMS 20340 ). This article follows my main train of though in my
paper, but it is somewhat different in that it deals directly with physical
effects, which means that it will probably one of my strongest pieces of
evidence.
Bennett, Paul N., et al. "Laughter and Humor Therapy in Dialysis." Seminars in dialysis 27.5
(2014): 488-93. Print.

The authors of this article are professors and researchers from a wide
variety of universities and medical schools in the United States,
Canada, and Australia. The article seems to be addressing other
professionals that specialize in dialysis. The article reviews the existing
evidence suggesting that dialysis patients might be medically treated
with laughter and humor therapy. The article suggests that,
therapeutic interventions could range from humorous videos, stories,
clowns, through to raucous simulated laughter and laughter yoga. The
effect of laughter and humor on depression, anxiety, pain, immunity,
fatigue, sleep quality, respiratory function and blood glucose may have
applications to the dialysis context and require further research (488).
These interventions are similar to what I saw at the childrens hospital,
and I hope to relate these methods back to how they can be used in

adults through this article. This article also recognizes that even
though it does make conclusions, there should still be further research
done on the effect of laughter on various relevant physical
symptoms/factors. This article is similar to the previous article about
the cardiovascular effects, except this article specifies a very specific
type of patient that could be targeted, and does a more thorough
analysis of how this could be implemented and why it could work. I
think that this article will be a staple in my essay, as I think it is one of
the strongest pieces of clinical evidence that I have found thus far.
Shorter, Edward. Doctors and their Patients: A Social History. New Brunswick, U.S.A.:
Transaction Publishers, 1991. Print.

Dr. Edward Shorter is a social historian of medicine at the University of

Toronto, who has published articles in many different areas within
medicine. His book is targeted toward both physicians and patients
who are interested in learning about medical sociology and the history
of medicine. I plan to use this source to describe why humor therapy
might be able to reestablish a mutually beneficial relationship between
physician and patient, especially in a time where bedside manner
seems to be nonexistent. Just like my grandpas experience at the
hospital, Shorter describes the fact that many doctors alienate
themselves from their patients. Overall, this book will help me tell my
audience why this matters, and how this change could snowball into a
larger impact, healing the relationship between doctors and patients
on a large scale. It relates to my overall message by describing why
this issue matters, but departs from the other sources in that it focuses
on the doctor-patient relationship rather than just the patients physical
condition. I also believe that improving the doctor-patient relationship
may also help the patients physical condition. I think that this book
will be very useful in helping me extrapolate the information from the
medical studies to a more broad idea, such as the doctor-patient
relationship.

Robin Williams movie w/ doctor

Patch adams