The BVT claims that humor occurs when three conditions are satisfied: 1) something threatens one’s sense of how the world “ought to be”, 2) the threatening situation seems benign, and 3) a person sees both interpretations at the same time.
I think your description of pranks etc. fits in nicely with this—you even chose the same words to describe it so maybe you’re already aware?
There’s a theory of humor called benign violation theory.
I think your description of pranks etc. fits in nicely with this—you even chose the same words to describe it so maybe you’re already aware?
Yeah, I was hoping to catch a little resonance there.