A type of humor I am sure many have come across is the one people use to establish a sense of status. This type of humor is associated with the Superiority Theory. A theory through which humor can be seen or used in situations or interactions where people feel the need to joke or laugh because they feel like they are better than others. However, it can also be seen when people win or achieve something that others do not.
In the clip below of "The Summer I Turned Pretty" the characters Belly and Conrad are playing a competitive game of basketball. As they play, they make use of the Superiority Theory of humor by making short comments to each other suggesting that they think they are better than the other. In addition to this Belly makes exaggerated and joyful facial expressions after she makes her shots. While Conrad does movements like looking away from the net to make a shot and then giggling when he makes it. Then when Conrad misses his shot, and the others are cheering Belly on Conrad jokingly uses the Superiority Theory to try to discourage her from making the final shot in a way that implies that she is not good enough to make it. However, Belly again uses this theory when she wins the game because she starts jumping around and laughing while she looks at Conrad. The clip lastly shows the use of this theory when one of the other characters makes a joke towards Conrad for losing as a way to suggest that he is not as good of a player as Belly is.
In looking at the whole interaction of the scene it can ultimately be seen that the Superiority Theory can positively be used to have fun with others. However, it is also important to know that this may not always be the case since some people may not find any humor in feeling like they are less.
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