Loads of content online is, well.. weird. But sometimes even the most random of pictures can be explained with a little bit of contextual information or a much-needed explanation. When it comes to posts shared by the ‘Images That Require More Context’ Twitter account, neither is provided.
But even though it confuses us, such a lack of information is likely part of the reason we find similar posts funny. This phenomenon can be explained by the incongruity theory, which—together with the superiority and relief theories—comprises the three main theories of humor.
Based on the incongruity theory, we find some things funny because they don’t conform to certain mental patterns and expectations. For example, walking through a Walmart parking lot, you might expect to see some cars or a shopping cart here and there, but spotting a horse in the middle of it would likely be quite confusing. Chances are, you would even start giggling at such a bizarre and unexpected sighting.
With no context or information about how the horse got there—and more importantly, why—our brain is typically unlikely to match the animal with the parking lot.
Context is crucially important when it comes to all sorts of creative processes. For instance, in writing, contextual information provides the reader with all the necessary information for them to perceive the plot and the characters the way the writer intended them to.
According to MasterClass, in addition to providing meaning and clarity to the conveyed message, it helps to piece together the backstory of a character, which might be important for their behavior or personality.
MasterClass suggested that there are four types of context in writing: historical, physical, cultural, and situational. Historical context refers to the general environment and relevant events of a certain period. It can be represented in the way subjects in their pieces talk or interact or the way they dress, among other things.
Physical context helps to describe the setting of where the action is taking place or portray the physical elements of character development. This type of contextual information is important as it can completely change the reader’s perception of the situation—people are likely to imagine the same events differently if they take place in a forest or on top of the Eiffel Tower.
Cultural context relates to certain customs or aspects characteristic of a particular culture. A piece about a person’s interactions with someone from a different culture might be difficult to understand if the reader is unfamiliar with the given culture and is not presented with additional information about it.
Lastly, there’s situational context, which emphasizes the importance of information regarding a specific situation or event. According to MasterClass, it is details about something that’s happening based on the event itself. Situational context allows the reader to understand how certain circumstances affected the subjects involved. Coming back to the example of the horse in a parking lot—characters would react (and act) differently to it galloping in such a setting, compared to it being on a farm.
Context affects not only the way we imagine things but also the way we view and interpret them. In an article for Psychology Today, researchers Ryan Daley, Jaclyn Ford, and Elizabeth Kensinger expanded on how and why that is. They pointed out that the way we perceive things can differ from the way we see them, as our brain is constantly making shortcuts—taking guesses about our surroundings.
As an example, they took the renowned gold and white/blue and black dress that sparked one of the hottest debates online back in 2015. According to the researchers, the reason that split internet users into two camps was the way their brain perceived the lighting in the picture. Team ‘black and blue’ were the winners in this case, as that was the actual color of the dress, because their brain understood the picture as a washed-out image. Those on the opposing team imagined it in a different lighting, which is why their brain interpreted the same wavelengths as white and gold.
Another visual representation of how context affects perception is the Ebbinghaus illusion, also known as Titchener circles. It refers to two flower-like figures, each with same-sized circles in the middle. Both centerpieces are surrounded by a ring of circles, which differ in size between the two variants. The first one is encircled by six circles larger than the one in the center, while the other one—by eight smaller ones.
Even though the central part of each of the figures is exactly the same, because of what’s around it—visual context, if you will—our brain interprets the center of the first figure as smaller than the second one.