Editing Amusement (section)

{{Short description|Positive emotion related to humor}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Redirect|Amuse|the Japanese entertainment company|Amuse, Inc.|the Swedish music company|Amuse (music company)}}
{{Emotion}}
'''Amusement''' is the state of [[experience|experiencing]] [[humour|humorous]] and [[entertainment|entertaining]] events or situations while the person or animal actively maintains the experience, and is associated with [[enjoyment]], [[happiness]], [[laughter]] and [[pleasure]]. It is an emotion with positive valence and high physiological arousal.

Amusement is considered an "[[epistemological]]" emotion because humor occurs when one experiences a cognitive shift from one knowledge structure about a target to another, such as hearing the punchline of a joke.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Shiota, M. N.|author2=Keltner, D.|author3=John, O. P.|name-list-style=amp|title=Positive emotion dispositions differentially associated with Big Five personality and attachment style.|journal=The Journal of Positive Psychology|date=2006|volume=1|issue=2|pages=61–71|doi=10.1080/17439760500510833|citeseerx=10.1.1.421.1730|s2cid=11280410}}</ref> Emotions perceived overtime are focused on the daily dynamics of life as [[Augmentative|augment]] or blunt. The pleasant surprise that happens from learning this new information leads to a state of amusement which people often express through smiling, laughter or chuckling.

Current studies have not yet reached consensus on the exact purpose of amusement, though theories have been advanced in the fields of [[psychology]], [[psychiatry]], and [[sociology]]. In addition, the precise mechanism that causes a given element ([[image]], [[sound]], [[behavior]], etc.) to be perceived as more or less 'amusing' than another similar element to a particular individual is not clearly understood.