The article that I chose for this week’s writing assignment is a study that seeks to understand how humor styles and well-being are related while also tying in the importance of social relationships and gender. Research has shown that humor in individuals may be linked to a greater resistance to stress and depression as well as better mood and self-esteem. “Studies have also found that humor may be associated with greater physical well-being, including better immune functioning and pain tolerance” (Dyck & Holtzman, 2013). Not all humor has these benefits however, which can be explained by variations in humor styles among individuals. This study seeks to uncover the styles of humor that are most advantageous, the passageways through which humor
…show more content…
They were given several different self-report questionnaires and tests. First they took the Humor Styles Questionnaire which had 32 questions to evaluate the four different types of humor using a seven point scale (1= completely disagree, 7= completely agree). Next they took the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List which is used to gauge social support. The Interpersonal Support Evaluation List consisted of 12 questions which were answered using a 4 point scale (1= definitely false, 4= definitely true). Next they took the Beck Depression Inventory which is a 21 question assessment of depressive symptoms. Responses ranged from 0-4 where 0 is never and 4 is often/always. Lastly they took the Satisfaction with Life Scale which was used to gauge life satisfaction using a 7 point scale with 1= strongly disagree and 7= strongly agree (Dyck & Holtzman, …show more content…
Interestingly enough, there was no direct effect of aggressive humor on perceived social support, depressive symptoms or life satisfaction (Dyck & Holtzman, 2013). It is important to note however that in males, aggressive humor relates to high levels of social support while in women aggressive humor relates to low levels of social support. This is likely due to the fact that for a female aggressive humor may be seen as unfriendly and revealing of a lack of trust or closeness in the relationship whereas in males it is more normative (Dyck & Holtzman, 2013). Participating in self-defeating humor may provoke negative responses from others and thus may lead to poor well-being, whereas someone who engages in affiliative or self-enhancing humor will more than likely invite supportive responses from others and thus create friendships which would lead to a good sense of
They were given several different self-report questionnaires and tests. First they took the Humor Styles Questionnaire which had 32 questions to evaluate the four different types of humor using a seven point scale (1= completely disagree, 7= completely agree). Next they took the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List which is used to gauge social support. The Interpersonal Support Evaluation List consisted of 12 questions which were answered using a 4 point scale (1= definitely false, 4= definitely true). Next they took the Beck Depression Inventory which is a 21 question assessment of depressive symptoms. Responses ranged from 0-4 where 0 is never and 4 is often/always. Lastly they took the Satisfaction with Life Scale which was used to gauge life satisfaction using a 7 point scale with 1= strongly disagree and 7= strongly agree (Dyck & Holtzman, …show more content…
Interestingly enough, there was no direct effect of aggressive humor on perceived social support, depressive symptoms or life satisfaction (Dyck & Holtzman, 2013). It is important to note however that in males, aggressive humor relates to high levels of social support while in women aggressive humor relates to low levels of social support. This is likely due to the fact that for a female aggressive humor may be seen as unfriendly and revealing of a lack of trust or closeness in the relationship whereas in males it is more normative (Dyck & Holtzman, 2013). Participating in self-defeating humor may provoke negative responses from others and thus may lead to poor well-being, whereas someone who engages in affiliative or self-enhancing humor will more than likely invite supportive responses from others and thus create friendships which would lead to a good sense of