Description of the resource
This website was created by Steven M. Sultanoff, Ph.D. clinical psychologist and researcher who received his doctorate from the University of California and serves as a psychology professor at Pepperdine University. The purpose of the website is to propagate humor as a therapeutic tool encouraging people to find ways to laugh more. It can be found through the google search of “Sultanoff” and is also listed on the Pepperdine University website in the section dedicated to the researcher, as to one of the faculty members (Steven Sultanoff, n.d.). This page seems to be designed partly for psychology researchers as it provides some workshops and academic articles on therapeutic humor. However, its primary audience appears to be the general public, as it aims to raise awareness about the health benefits of laughter and offers some practical advice on introducing more of it into one’s daily life. While the website seems to be dedicated to adults, overall language is simple, and the sentences are short, not requiring any psychological knowledge to understand (Sultanoff, 1999). The website was copyrighted in 1998, and the pages have not been updated for a while, with the last seminar offered dating back to the fall of 2011. It is worth noting that the overall design is outdated.
Evaluation of the resource
Since the website was created by a clinical psychologist whose studies were published in peer-reviewed journals and are still cited today, it had some credibility at the beginning of the century (Sultanoff, 2013). However, 20 years later, it is not likely to provide the reader with information backed by relevant psychological research. It can still inspire people to think about the health benefits that can be derived from humor. Still, anyone interested in this topic should search for contemporary sources to become familiar with the results of recent publications on that matter.
References
Humor Matters. (1999). 1998, 2009 Steven M. Sultanoff Ph.D., Web.
Steven Sultanoff(n.d.). Pepperdine University. Web.
Sultanoff, S. M. (2013). Integrating humor into psychotherapy: Research, theory, and the necessary conditions for the presence of therapeutic humor in helping relationships. The humanistic psychologist, 41(4), 388-399. Web.
Sultanoff, S.M. (1999). Tickling our funny bone: Humor matters in health.Humor Matters. Web.