AN EXPLORATION OF THE SOCIAL FUNCTIONS OF HUMOR AMONG COLLEGE-STUDENTS IN WHEELCHAIRS

Interview data were collected from a sample of college students in wheelchairs. The interview schedules were designed to gather information about the kinds of humor that was directed outward toward their non-handicapped peers and the types of inside humor that emerged within the group. Analysis of the data reveal that these students use humor as a means of building group solidarity, as a form of social aggression, as a means of turning tragedy into comedy, as a means of blurring group differences, as an instrument of social reform, as a means of diminishing group disadvantage and as a means of removing the barriers between groups.