Author Page of Janet M. Gibson, Ph.D.

 

Professor Emerita of Psychology
Grinnell College
Grinnell, Iowa, 50112 USA
email: gibsonj@grinnell.edu

 

Psychology of Humor

Textbook: Gibson, J. M. (2019). An Introduction to the Psychology of Humor. New York: Routledge.

Kishor, V., Rose, P.,Segrist, D. J., Rousell, M. A., Meyer K., Sultanoff, S., Gibson, J.M., et al. (2021). Teach psychology with a sense of humor: Why (and how to) be a funnier and more effective psychology teacher and laugh all the way to your classroom. Kindle Edition.

Article: Gibson, J.M. (2020). Laughing is good for your mind and your body – here's what the research shows. The Conversation, November 23, 2020. | reprinted in The Washington Post Dec. 3, 2020 | reprinted on CNN Health online, April 1, 2023.

Article: Gibson, J. M. (April, 2019) Academic Minute: Humor and human behavior.

Article: Gibson, J.M. (2016). Getting serious about funny: Psychologists see humor as a character strength. The Conversation, August 24, 2016.

Science Fiction Novel

Jayel: Hands of a Healer
(not yet published)

Synopsis

In the Onus One and Two solar systems, inhabitants enjoy one government and plentiful land and resources. The Endowed use special abilities (including wisdom, strength, and telepathy) to aid the common good.

The story follows medical student Jayel who overhears her father, Governor of the planet Melandan, imply he killed his brother’s wife seventeen years ago. Both brothers are Endowed members. Jayel joins her uncle to uncover the truth and assists his son—who had been presumed dead—on an invention that digitizes and displays thoughts, a device which, among other uses, could help stroke patients communicate. Overcoming attacks and a lover’s betrayal, Jayel obtains needed evidence, and her uncle summons an Elundrite, an Endowed trial by membership, where truth is revealed, and healing begins.

Fans of Star Trek or Star Wars will enjoy this story where characters’ conflicts and relationships are forefront against cultural backgrounds of these fictional planets.

 

 

 

Other Works

Poems

 

Updated September, 2023.