Humor Cascade
A self-reinforcing sequence of humorous reactions across consecutive turns that produces a sense of lightness and can dislodge a cognitive block. Distinguished from a single humorous exchange by its escalating chain of three or more reactions.
Operational Definition
EVENT. One occurrence would be coded when at least three consecutive turns each contain a humorous reaction that builds on the prior one, forming an unbroken chain. The chain is the unit counted; it ends at the first non-humorous turn. (Differs from Reciprocal Humor Escalation by requiring a longer unbroken run.)
Measurement Schema
Proposed measurement protocol (not yet empirically validated): Transcript coding of unbroken humorous chains with a minimum length of three turns; raters record chain length and whether a preceding stall was present, boundary agreement would be assessed via Cohen's kappa. Could be reported as chains per 100 turns and mean chain length.