Abstract Using participants’ reactions to puns (words or phrases with two or more possible meanings) embedded in hypothetical scenarios, we investigated how perceptions of punning are influenced by characteristics of both the social situation and the punster. Consistent with the reversal theory of humor, Study 1 (N=185) showed that puns are considered funnier and more appropriate in playful than serious situations and less appropriate when they interrupt conversation than when they complete a conversation sequence without causing an interruption. Consistent with age-based developmental expectations of punsters, Study 2 (N=333) indicated that obvious puns told by children are perceived more favorably than those told by adults of varying ages and levels of expertise in the subject area of the pun. Future research might benefit from using more naturalistic settings and examining the extent to which various contemporary humor frameworks (e.g. benign violations theory) apply more specifically to punning in context.

中文翻译：

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一次双关语：探索与幽默双关语认知相关的因素

摘要 利用参与者对嵌入在假设场景中的双关语（具有两种或更多可能含义的单词或短语）的反应，我们调查了双关语的看法如何受到社会情境和双关语者特征的影响。与幽默的逆转理论一致，研究 1 (N=185) 表明，双关语被认为更有趣，更适合在开玩笑的情况下而不是在严肃的情况下，并且在他们打断谈话时比在他们完成谈话序列而不引起中断时更不合适。与双关语者的基于年龄的发展期望一致，研究 2 (N=333) 表明，在双关语学科领域，儿童说出的明显双关语比不同年龄和专业水平的成年人更受欢迎。