From theory to practice: an empirical investigation of the Mutual Vulnerability Theory of laughter using Trevor Noah’s comedy

Abstract

This study constitutes the first systematic investigation of the Mutual Vulnerability Theory (MVT) of laughter, through an exploratory examination of audience responses in Trevor Noah’s 2013 stand-up comedy segment “It Makes No Sense”. While classical humour theories— incongruity (triggering laughter through resolution of cognitive contradictions), superiority (eliciting laughter via perceived dominance over others’ misfortunes), and relief (producing laughter as tension release from repressed emotions)—have dominated scholarly discourse for centuries, the MVT presents a paradigm that conceptualises laughter as a communicative mechanism for negotiating social status hierarchies through the recognition and articulation of shared human vulnerabilities. The investigation examines three primary objectives: to evaluate the MVT’s explanatory capacity in accounting for observable laughter patterns within this specific comedic context; to assess the theoretical coherence and analytical utility of its vulnerability taxonomy; and to identify conceptual limitations requiring theoretical refinement. Employing systematic video analysis methodology, all 57 instances of audience laughter were documented and categorised according to MVT principles, with each episode analysed for antecedent vulnerability references across the framework’s four domains—physical, emotional, cognitive, and social areas. The empirical findings demonstrate that every documented laughter instance was preceded by the identification of at least one vulnerability type. This empirical examination provides supporting evidence for the MVT's explanatory capacity within this specific context while simultaneously illuminating theoretical tensions, particularly concerning the theory’s conceptualisation of vulnerability and its epistemological alignment with contemporary disability studies scholarship.