II. SEVEN SOCIABLE CONVENTIONS - Mockery

Mockery referred to interaction in which people joined together to literally “make fun of” others with whom they were somehow connected. Typically, the in-group mocked the out-group, although the mocking attitude also could be extended to others. Mockery was more likely to occur in some situations than others. It was higher in groups than in dyads, higher for men than for women, and high under certain conditions of acquaintance.

A study of acquaintance by Robert J. Potter⁽³⁾

indicated that one kind of relationship was closely connected with mockery. He classified acquaintance by the frequency with which persons saw each other prior to the party, and the degree to which they had voluntary control over meeting. The “familiar” relationship was one in which people belonged to the same face-to-face group and had no choice about maintaining frequent contact with each other. “Institutional colleagues” also shared membership in some form of institution, but did not have frequent contact. Familiars were strongly inclined toward mockery, using it to convert an ambivalent relationship into a resource for festivity.

In our study, the persons with familiar acquaintance most often were graduate students, and the out-group whom they mocked was most often the faculty. Other examples of familiar groups might be neighbors who saw each other frequently, work groups, or, by our definition, married partners after several years of marriage.

Familiars have a special problem in sociability. A party is normally an event that celebrates the coming-together of persons who have something in common, but who have been apart. Familiars have not been apart. They have no special pleasure in coming together. Instead, they need to find a way of having fun that celebrates their distance from the daily situation that requires their presence, and yet affirms their positive connection with each other.

At the parties we observed most closely, familiars often took the route of mockery, joining together to make fun of their teachers and of others in the university. We also encountered other conventions. In one set of friends reported to us, each person adopted a kind of mythological character, and successive parties served to manifest and explore these mythological characters. At the luncheon group of graduate students, the conversation typically referred to an ongoing radio comedy team, repeating and enlarging on the most recent comedy routines.

Examples: Mockery

Mocking the out-group:

Someone asked if everyone had seen the article in the student newspaper asking who runs the University. Karl agreed with the article that the Development Office does. There was general disapproval of “development offices”; laughter and jokes.

Mocking Others:

Derek told a story about an Austrian lieutenant in World War I, who gave the order to “charge” and jumped up to lead his men. As he got outside the trench he turned to find the men all clapping for him. David said they must have been replacement troops.

© 2010 Jeanne Watson Eisenstadt. All Rights Reserved
Table of Contents/Site Map
This site designed and maintained by The Dandelion Group™