Laughter as the Best Medicine: Exploring Humour-Mediated Health Applications

Despite the physiological and psychological benefits of humour on health, many health applications for aging hold very little humour. We investigate the potential of humour in health for aging, reviewing studies from humour therapy. To show the potential of humour in this domain, we look at the functions of humour and discuss their application to the design of virtual agents. Then, we propose new conceptual designs based on the therapeutic use of humour: agents as comic relief, agent as comic partners, and agents as virtual clowns. We aim to initiate a new research agenda in this domain and stimulate further investigations in the use of humour-mediated technology