# Psychological term for a sudden shift in perspective accompanying great emotion **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 22, 2019, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychological-term-for-a-sudden-shift-in-perspective-accompanying-great-emotion/830010 "2019-02-22T12:06:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Scott\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Scott\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_H)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychological-term-for-a-sudden-shift-in-perspective-accompanying-great-emotion/830010/1 "2019-02-22T12:06:32Z")
I have a theory about laughter that it is based upon a stimulus that shifts our perspective about an entire preceding state of affairs. The preceding events build up to create an impression of what kind of social situation one is in, and at the moment of the ‘punch line’, the brain reforms its impression to recognize that the situation was really different all along, resulting in an instant burst of a feeling of relatively increased social status. This burst of feeling is created because the voluminous aggregate of preceding sense data, which had been slowly emotionally interpreted one way, is suddenly, all at once, interpreted another way. This reinterpretation of large amounts of sense data ‘overloads’ the emotional brain and creates a strong emotion such as laughter. Of course, my theory can be used to explain many other profound emotions. You might feel energized and productive at work, bossing others around with a take-charge attitude. Sparks are flying, and you’re proud of everything you can achieve. Suddenly, your manager calls you in, and you think you’re getting a promotion. But then, he tells you – you’re fired. You are instantly dismayed that your previous interpretation of all the prior sense data has suddenly shifted at one additional stimulus. I decided to call this psychological event, where a plethora of past sense data is suddenly given a new emotional interpretation, a ‘brain flip’. The idea is that the brain ‘flips’ from one interpretation of the sense data to another, all in a single instant. However, I’m wondering if there is a more correct term for it. Has this phenomenon been studied in psychology? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychological-term-for-a-sudden-shift-in-perspective-accompanying-great-emotion/830010/2 "2019-02-22T13:10:04Z")
I don’t know, but it reminds me of an **epiphany** in literature: “when a character has a sudden insight or realisation that changes his or her understanding of themselves or their comprehension of the world.” Not an exact match to what you’re looking for, I don’t think, but in the same ballpark. ---
**Author:** ![MDfive21](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@MDfive21](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MDfive21)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychological-term-for-a-sudden-shift-in-perspective-accompanying-great-emotion/830010/3 "2019-02-22T13:53:04Z")
paradigm shift ---
**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychological-term-for-a-sudden-shift-in-perspective-accompanying-great-emotion/830010/4 "2019-02-22T14:47:52Z")
Or to quote Scott Adams - Paradigm shift without a clutch. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2019, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychological-term-for-a-sudden-shift-in-perspective-accompanying-great-emotion/830010/5 "2019-02-23T12:57:53Z")
Your theory sounds to me exactly like what Isaac Asimov said about humor. I think he said “shift in viewpoint”, if you want to look it up. ---
**Author:** ![D18](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@D18](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D18)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2019, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychological-term-for-a-sudden-shift-in-perspective-accompanying-great-emotion/830010/6 "2019-02-23T14:51:14Z")
I believe your theory has overlaps with the [Benign Violation Theory](http://leeds-faculty.colorado.edu/mcgrawp/Benign_Violation_Theory.html) of humour. You may find that of interest to look into. ---
**Author:** ![filmstar-en](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/50afbb/32.png) [@filmstar-en](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmstar-en)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2019, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychological-term-for-a-sudden-shift-in-perspective-accompanying-great-emotion/830010/7 "2019-02-23T15:57:19Z")
I guess it depends on the intensity of the experience. An eye opener, a reality check. A Paulian road to Damascus revelation. A Damascene moment? But maybe catharsis? > **[Catharsis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catharsis)** > > Catharsis is from the Ancient Greek word κάθαρσις, katharsis, meaning "purification" or "cleansing". In English it can refer to a number of different excreting acts. > It is most commonly used today to refer to the purification and purgation of thoughts and emotions, and to a resulting emotional state that results in renewal and restoration. > In dramaturgy, the term usually refers to arousing negative emotion in an audience, which then expels it, making them feel happier. In psychology, the term ... :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2019, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychological-term-for-a-sudden-shift-in-perspective-accompanying-great-emotion/830010/8 "2019-02-25T08:03:08Z")
I like epiphany. It feels too much like God\* laughing at you to be reduced to the computerese “paradigm shift” We’re not talking about thinking outside the box here. The box has been blown into its constituent quarks. * * * - No belief is intended. He’s just a convenient hat rack here.