Dr. McGhee’s Most Recent Books
Humor: The Lighter Path to Resilience and Health
The verdict is finally in. Humor and laughter do support a healthy body, mind and soul! This book discusses in a readable fashion the latest exciting research on humor/laughter and 1) health, 2) resilience/coping with stress and 3) the brain. Special attention is given to the new research demonstrating humor’s positive impact on heart disease, asthma, COPD, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis & skin allergies--as well as to its impact on expression of health-related genes. References to the original research are provided for those who need to document claims about the health benefits of humor. MORE
Humor as Survival Training for a Stressed Out World: The 7 Humor Habits Program
Good news: The program really works! You’ve all heard it: “You’re either born with a good sense of humor or you’re not.” This hands-on program for improving your sense of humor finally disproves the old axiom. It shows exactly what you need to do to build the basic foundation skills of your sense of humor and then use humor to cope with the stress in your life. Studies in five countries have documented its effectiveness from age 20 to 70. MORE
Understanding and Promoting the Development of Children’s Humor
When do children first show a sense of humor? Does infant laughter = a sense of humor? How does their sense of humor change as they get older? How does humor contribute to children’s intellectual, social & emotional development? Are there things you can do to nurture their budding sense of humor? Why do 5-year-olds seem to have a “cruel” sense of humor? This book answers all of these questions, and more. MORE
Small Medium at Large: How to Develop a Powerful Verbal Sense of Humor
This book jumpstarts your spontaneous verbal wit. It contains several hundred adult jokes with a key part of the punch line missing. A clue is provided to get you thinking in the right direction without giving the answer. Using the clue to generate your own funny punch line strengthens your ability to come up with spontaneous puns and other verbal humor in the midst of social interaction. As you move through the book, a generalized boost in thinking funny occurs. Coming up with your own punch lines takes real mental effort at first, but gradually begins to happen spontaneously and automatically. MORE
Humor Skills Training on the Radio: Innovation in Radio broadcasting
An Upcoming (February, March & April) Weekly Series of Live Radio Broadcasts devoted to Learning to Use Your Sense of Humor to Promote Greater Resilience, Health and Happiness Every Friday, 11-11:15 a.m. (Eastern time in the USA) February 10 – April 27, 2012 Weekly Skill-Development Exercises Posted after each Show at www.LaughterRemedy.com. WNZK (690 AM) & WCXI (1160 AM) in the Detroit, Michigan area & on the Internet at www.birach.com (or directly at http://wnzk.birach.com:9000 This series of broadcasts marks an innovative breakthrough in radio broadcasting. A weekly live radio show will be used as a vehicle for actively engaging listeners around the world in working on … [Read More...]
Build Your Child’s Verbal Humor Skills Using Riddles
[Adapted from P. McGhee, Stumble Bees and Pelephones: How to Develop a Powerful Verbal Sense of Humor (children’s edition). See “Books by Paul McGhee” to order.] An earlier article at this website noted that children become intellectually capable of understanding the double meanings that form the basis for most riddles at six or seven years of age. Since this new form of verbal humor automatically occurs when children achieve the prerequisite level of cognitive (intellectual) development, your child will get hooked on riddles for a few years regardless of whether you make an effort to nurture this skill or not. The reason for making the effort to play with your child the kind … [Read More...]
Humor Facilitates Children’s Social & Emotional Development
Why did Mr. Timmons wear a seat belt while eating his dinner? Because he was on a ________ diet. (Answer is given at end of article.) [Adapted from P. McGhee, Understanding and Promoting the Development of Children’s Humor. See “Books by Dr. McGhee” to order.] The previous article on children’s humor discussed the important benefits that the active use of humor during childhood has on the child’s intellectual development. Most of my programs for early childhood educators emphasize the importance of learning to use the love of humor to support children’s acquisition of new knowledge by bringing age-appropriate humor in educational settings. While we all know … [Read More...]
