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Fearing humor? Gelotophobia: The fear of being laughed at Introduction and overview
... There is theoretical and (indirect) empirical support for a positive connection between gelotophobia and EC aversion. From an interpersonal perspective, those high in gelotophobia (or gelotophobes) can be described as socially anxious and avoidant individuals who dread appearing ridiculous and being laughed at (Ruch 2009). Gelotophobes tend to scrutinize their environment for signs of laughter and ridicule (i.e., anticipation of social rejection) and to attribute negative mental states (i.e., shame/contempt) to positively connoted laughter and humor (Hofmann et al. 2015;Platt 2008;Ruch et al. 2009). ...
... Gelotophobes tend to scrutinize their environment for signs of laughter and ridicule (i.e., anticipation of social rejection) and to attribute negative mental states (i.e., shame/contempt) to positively connoted laughter and humor (Hofmann et al. 2015;Platt 2008;Ruch et al. 2009). This biased perception leads them to experience others' ambiguous laughs as socially threatening and directed toward them regardless of their real meaning or target, and to avoid social situations where they may be laughed at (Ruch andProyer 2009a, 2009b). ...
... In the light of the above, one could argue that gelotophobes may experience more fear and may avert mutual gaze when interacting with others' people due to their tendency to anticipate others' social rejection (i.e., mockeries and derision: Ruch et al. 2014). Mutual gaze can be seen as a positive signal for initiating a social intercourse (Kleinke 1986); gelotophobes might intentionally break EC to interrupt these possible interactions, especially in those situations that are more socially threatening because there could be a higher likelihood of being ridiculed by others (Ruch 2009). Furthermore, the gelotophobia-EC aversion connection would be consistent with their common positive correlates with global personality domains such as introversion and neuroticism (Domes et al. 2016;Ďurka and Ruch 2015;Ruch and Proyer 2009b), and with lower-order traits such as shyness, fear of negative evaluation, trait-anxiety, subclinical autistics traits, and social anxiety (Domes et al. 2016;Iizuka 1994;Schneier et al. 2011;Torres-Marín et al. 2019a). ...
This investigation examines the associations of three dispositions toward ridicule and being laughed at with individuals’ self-reported aversion to making eye contact (EC) across different interpersonal scenarios. Data were obtained in a sample of 226 adults (53.5% women). Our results showed that the fear of being laughed at (gelotophobia) and the joy in laughing at others (katagelasticism) were positively associated with the presence of subjective experiences of EC aversion in both routine (RS) and socially threatening situations (STS). By contrast, the joy in being laughed at (gelotophilia) was unrelated to these mutual gaze-related behaviors. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that gelotophobia gave the best prediction of EC aversion regardless of the type of interpersonal situation (9–23% explained variance) after controlling for the influence of sociodemographics (effect sizes for STS > RS). Katagelasticism did not yield incremental variance in the prediction of any of these EC-related dimensions (<1%), which suggests that its prior correlations emerged due to overlapping variance with gelotophobia. Complementary further analyses revealed a significant interaction between gelotophobia (as a group factor) and the type of interpersonal situation on EC aversion. This revealed that whereas EC aversion in STS would increase as gelotophobia increases, solely gelotophobes—but not medium or lower scorers in gelotophobia—showed difficulties in maintaining EC effectively in RS. Implications of these findings are discussed in relation to the previous literature on EC, social behaviors, and laughter-related dispositions.
... This difficulty in judging whether laughter contains positive or negative emotions tends to cause further anxiety, and may lead to a rigid, stone-faced or "Sphinx-like" facial expression conveying indifference (Ruch 2009;Titze 1996Titze , 2009. Gelotophobes share characteristics with individuals with social anxiety disorders, such as low self-esteem and low social competence. ...
... Gelotophobes share characteristics with individuals with social anxiety disorders, such as low self-esteem and low social competence. These symptoms may be related to negative experiences in infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood (Ruch 2009). Consequently, gelotophobes tend to feel estranged and often fail to establish interpersonal bridges (Ruch 2009). ...
... These symptoms may be related to negative experiences in infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood (Ruch 2009). Consequently, gelotophobes tend to feel estranged and often fail to establish interpersonal bridges (Ruch 2009). ...
Gelotophobes are typically characterized by the fear of laughter, social withdrawal, and humorlessness, possibly related to negative experiences of being laughed at in the past. The present study seeks to expand our understanding of gelotophobia through a relatively novel approach: using eye-tracking to investigate the attentional bias of gelotophobes and non-gelotophobes towards negative emotion words that do and do not contain the Chinese character for “laugh,” by comparing responses to negative ridicule words (RID), negative contempt words (CONT), positive pleasure words (PLE) and neutral words (NEU). Results of the start time of the first run of fixations showed that gelotophobes and non-gelotophobes both focused on negative words before other words. Gelotophobes’ attentional bias towards RID and CONT was greater than that of non-gelotophobes in first gaze duration, percentage of total viewing duration, total fixation count, and run count, suggesting that gelotophobes had greater difficulty in disengaging their attention from negative to neutral words. Non-gelotophobes’ attentional bias, however, towards negative ridicule neutral words (RID-NEU) and negative contempt neutral words (CONT-NEU) was greater than that of gelotophobes, suggesting that non-gelotophobes were more able to shift attention from negative to neutral words. Moreover, gelotophobes paid significantly more attention to RID than CONT, suggesting that gelotophobes displayed a longer and stronger attentional bias towards RID (containing the “laugh” character). Interestingly, there was no difference for PLE between gelotophobes and non-gelotophobes. The present study contributes to our understanding of the attentional bias of gelotophobes and non-gelotophobes towards emotion words.
... For instance, some individuals have difficulties in discriminating accurately between good-natured teasing and malicious forms of ridicule (Platt 2008). By contrast, other individuals are not concerned with ridiculing themselves as a way of entertaining others and actively seek or even establish situations in which others can laugh at them (Ruch 2009). This emerging evidence propitiated the description and study of three intercorrelated but distinct laughterrelated dispositions in the subclinical range (for an overview, see Ruch et al. 2014); namely, gelotophobia (i.e., the fear of being laughed at), gelotophilia (i.e., the joy in being laughed at) and katagelasticism (i.e., the joy in laughing at others). ...
... Importantly, a similar pattern of results has been found for Asperger's syndrome (Samson et al. 2011). Furthermore, it has been argued that gelotophobes are prone to anxious symptomatology (Ruch 2009;Ruch et al. 2014). Indeed, this laughter-related trait has been positively associated with social anxiety and fear of negative evaluation (Carretero-Dios et al. 2010b). ...
... Ridicule is an inherently social phenomenon that can be used to convey negative mental states as contempt or superiority and to exercise control over other individuals (Billing 2005;Davies 2009;Ruch 2009). This manifestation, however, does not affect people in the same manner. ...
The PhoPhiKat-45 assesses individual differences in the way people deal with ridicule and being laughed at. This instrument
encompasses three intercorrelated—but independent—laughter-related traits: the fear of (gelotophobia) and the joy in
(gelotophilia) being laughed at, and the joy in laughing at others (katagelasticism). This research tested the psychometric
properties of the Spanish form of the PhoPhiKat-45. A total of 636 individuals whose ages ranged from 18 to 70 years
participated in three different studies. Our data indicated good reliability coefficients and an adequate-to-good fit for the expected
three-factor structure across all samples. As indicators of external validity, prior associations among these three laughter-related
traits and diverse research variables were examined. Gelotophobia correlated with low self-enhancing humor; gelotophilia
correlated with a high use of all humor styles, especially affiliative and self-defeating humor; and katagelasticism correlated
with high aggressive and high self-defeating humor. Moreover, gelotophobia correlated with high subclinical autistic traits and
high trait anxiety; gelotophilia correlated with low trait anxiety; and katagelasticism existed independently from both subclinical
constructs. Finally, we replicated the location of the three dispositions in the Five-Factor Model (FFM) assessed by NEO-FFI.
Additionally, curvilinear relationships among the traits of the FFM and gelotophobia, gelotophilia and katagelasticism were
explored. Inverted U-shaped curvilinear relationships between agreeableness-gelotophobia and neuroticism-katagelasticism
emerged. Our results suggest that the Spanish form of the PhoPhiKat-45 can be considered a promising instrument for the study
of these dimensions in Spain.
... In this respect, there is mixed evidence for a relation between gelotophobia and honesty-humility. For example, gelotophobes seem to mistrust others (paranoid/ suspiciousness tendency) and to regulate their behavior to avoid being ridiculed (Ruch, 2009). One may assume that this notion is inconsistent with an inclination to be genuine in social interactions. ...
... It would relate and could be seen as a consequence of their near-paranoid sensitivity to laughter by others . Further, the association with low honesty-humility fits well with findings of the tendency of gelotophobes toward manipulative behaviors (Proyer et al., 2012a) and their suspicious perceptions of others (Ruch, 2009). At the same time, this negative association between gelotophobia and honesty-humility does not assert that gelotophobes are characterized by high ...
... This may indicate that the honestyhumility dimension cannot adequately distinguish between dishonest and modest tendencies. Also, an alternative explanation of this association is that gelotophobes underestimate their honestyhumility due to their negative beliefs about themselves (Ruch, 2009). Gelotophobes have already been shown to underestimate their virtuousness, relative to ratings from knowledgeable others . ...
We aimed to extend research on dispositions toward ridicule and being laughed at by testing the localization of the fear of (gelotophobia) and the joy in (gelotophilia) being laughed at, and the joy in laughing at others (katagelasticism) in the HEXACO model and the Dark Triad traits (both have not been examined so far). Study 1 (HEXACO model: N = 216) showed that gelotophobia was related to low extraversion, high emotionality, and low honesty-humility; gelotophilia to high extraversion and high openness to experience; and katagelasticism to low agreeableness and low honesty-humility. These results were similar to prior findings based on the Five-Factor model, and supported the notion that the honesty-humility trait contributes to the prediction of individual differences in gelotophobia and katagelasticism. Study 2 (Dark Triad: N = 204) showed that gelotophobia was related to high Machiavellianism and low narcissism; gelotophilia to high narcissism; and katagelasticism to high psychopathy and high Machiavellianism. These data helped to clarify our findings on the honesty-humility trait, showing that gelotophobes and katagelasticists differ in their socially aversive characteristics. Overall, this research provides empirical evidence that dark (but subclinical) traits can be seen as relevant personality predictors of how people deal with laughter and ridicule.
... The fear of being laughed at or gelotophobia (gelos = laughter in Greek) has been conceptualized as an individual difference variable that refers to the disposition/degree with which one person feels the fear of being ridiculed by others' laughter (Ruch & Proyer, 2008). Individuals with higher scores on trait gelotophobia tend to anticipate derision situations and overreact to them (Ruch, 2009). This misinterpretation of humoristic interactions may trigger a set of potentially harmful attributions, emotions, and behaviors among gelotophobes. ...
... To evaluate body image, we included five different dimensions that have been widely used in specialized literature: (a) body appreciation, (b) body dissatisfaction, (c) body surveillance, (d) body shame, and (e) appearance control beliefs. Taking into account that teasing experiences have been associated with more negative body evaluations (Kostanski & Gullone, 2007) and that gelotophobes exhibit greater sensitivity to derision situations (Ruch, 2009;Titze, 2009), it was hypothesized that gelotophobia would predict negative outcomes concerning body image; that is, higher scores on body surveillance, body shame, and body dissatisfaction, and lower scores on appearance control beliefs and body appreciation. Finally, we expected that gelotophobia accounted for an incremental variance in body imagerelated measures beyond the influence of the Big Five personality traits. ...
... Gelotophobia was associated with a lower body appreciation, which might imply that gelotophobes do not display favorable opinions and respectful attitudes about their bodies. This supports other studies, which have demonstrated that gelotophobes show low self-esteem and greater feelings of inferiority (Ruch, 2009;Ruch et al., 2014). Furthermore, gelotophobia was also associated with higher body surveillance. ...
Gelotophobia has been conceptualized as an individual difference variable concerned with the fear of being ridiculed by others' laughter. Individuals high in gelotophobia are more prone to anticipate and overreact to teasing interactions. It has been suggested that certain personal features susceptible to ridicule, such as physical appearance, could be differentially exhibited among gelotophobes. This study (N = 163; 50.3% females) examined the associations between gelotophobia and body image-related measures controlling for Big Five personality traits. The results revealed that gelotophobia correlated to lower body appreciation and appearance control beliefs and higher body surveillance and body shame. Hierarchical regression analyses predicting these body image-related criteria showed that gelotophobia explained body shame and appearance control beliefs scores, even beyond the influence of gender, age, and Big Five personality traits. To our knowledge, this study contains the first empirical evidence of the relationship between the fear of being laughed at and body image. Further studies should be conducted to explore whether gelotophobia could be related to deficits in the perception of physical appearance.
... The main characteristic of gelotophobia is the misinterpretation of laughing or smiling of an interaction partner as a personally aversive, deprecatory and denunciating act. In the place of what may have been intended as playful teasing or joking, the individual perceives the laughter and smiling of another as a personal vendetta aimed at putting them down (Ruch 2009). Gelotophobia is not a pathology, but is experienced in the typically developing population also (Ruch et al. 2014). ...
... Gelotophobia is an inter-individual difference variable. It can be assessed in normal population, and at its extreme end, it might lead to a pathological fear, but only in rare cases of extreme gelotophobia (Ruch andProyer 2008a, 2008b). It has been suggested that this fear and shame-bound anxiety is a long-term consequence of intense, repeated and traumatic personal experiences of having been laughed at in the past, having been the target of mockery and not being taken seriously by others (Titze 1996). ...
... Additional studies have reported that gelotophobes become very vigilant upon encountering episodes of laughter from others, in an almost paranoid tendency (Platt 2008;Titze 1996). They become easily suspicious, as they are of the assumption that any ambiguous laughter is directed at them in a threatening, intimidating manner (Ruch 2009). They are of the opinion that people they engage with are constantly screening them for potential evidence of ridiculousness and silliness which can provide for them a source of laughter at their involuntary expense (Titze 2009). ...
Gelotophobia can be defined as the fear of being laughed at or ridiculed. The aim of the current literature review is to present a synthesis of the literature on gelotophobia and the link between
high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (hfASD) and gelotophobia. It will also give an overview of the literature regarding the variables hypothesised to be affected by the presence of gelotophobic symptoms in individuals with hfASD; namely social functioning, perceived social support and overall quality of life. Topics explored are defining the characteristics of gelotophobia, conceptualisation and measurement implications of gelotophobia, the etiology and consequences of gelotophobia, analysing the social competence of gelotophobes, and assessing the literature on the presence of gelotophobia in a hfASD sample. The characteristics of hfASD will be discussed. Research on hfASD and its relationship with other variables is also investigated, including comorbid psychopathology, perceived social support, social functioning, shame-bound emotions and overall quality of life. The current review will place an emphasis on research conducted on an adult population of individuals with hfASD. Given the limited research in the area, more research is needed to better understand the relationship between gelotophobia and bullying, social functioning, perceived social support, comorbid psychopathology and quality of life in individuals with hfASD. In conclusion, experts in the
area of gelotophobia need to expand their research to include individuals with hfASD, and autism researchers need to be aware of gelotophobia and to incorporate gelotophobia as a potential comorbidity into their research.
... The scale demonstrated excellent internal consistency (α = .93). A cut-off score of 2.5 was set by empirical data on clinical and healthy samples (Ruch, 2009). Mean scores ranging from 2.5 to 3.0 indicate slight fear of being laughed at, from 3.0 to 3.5 -pronounced level, and mean scores higher than 3.5 indicate extreme gelotophobia (Ruch & Proyer, 2008b). ...
... In order to compare gelotophobia in adolescents with adults we analyzed its distribution in our samples along with the same data reported in other countries (Table 9). Standard cut-off points were used to define slight, pronounced and extreme levels of the fear of being laughed at in each sample (Ruch, 2009). A necessity for altering the cut-off scores for the shortened scale and a particular sample such as adolescents, based on empirical data, is debatable (e.g. ...
Gelotophobia, or the fear of being laughed at, is the inability to enjoy positive aspects of humor and laughter. Most studies have been carried out on adults, but recently research on gelotophobia has turned to adolescents. The present cross-cultural study aimed to get the first comparative data on Italian (N = 1098, 13–20 y.o.) and Russian (N = 388, 12–17 y.o.) youths utilizing the GELOPH<15> questionnaire. The results supported a one-factor structure of the gelotophobia scale for both the Italian and Russian samples, and its cross-cultural invariance in terms of structure and factor loadings. The scale showed good reliability in both the Italian (α = 0.79) and Russian samples (α = 0.78). The results revealed differences in agreement to specific items, which are more or less central to the description of gelotophobia in each country. Nonetheless, more similarities than differences emerged between Italian and Russian adolescents, in line with previous studies. A complicated interaction was shown for gelotophobia, age and gender factors, which could have higher impact than the possible cross-cultural differences. Nonetheless, in general, the fear of being laughed at showed higher levels during childhood, begin decreasing with age during the period of adolescence and it becomes lower in adults. Negative correlation between gelotophobia and humor coping was found in the Italian sample, which showed significant results in girls and in 18-age-years-old boys. It could be hypothesized that gelotophobia is inherent for the period of adolescence, when it has a universal pattern. The present findings have implications for identifying adolescents who need special attention.
... Despite its relevance, there is a lack of research exploring the conditions that might affect the influence of humor on workers' well-being. For instance, gelotophobia, defined as the fear of being laughed at [3], may influence the relationship between humor events and subsequent affective reactions. This effect may occur because gelotophobes may perceive humor events in an idiosyncratic manner. ...
... This is consistent with the humor-health hypothesis, which states that humor has beneficial effects for individual's optimal functioning [6]. Humor is globally recognized to be an indicator of positive mental health [7] and has been found to be related to both physical and psychological well-being [3]. However, this study goes further and specifies some conditions that may affect that relation. ...
This study aims to: (1) analyze the relationship between humor-daily events and well-being; (2) test the mediating role of positive affect in this relationship; (3) analyze the moderating role of gelotophobia between humor-daily events and positive affect, and; (4) explore the moderating role of psychological climate between positive affect and well-being. To test these goals, we conducted a quasi-experimental study with 93 participants. We used regressions and bootstrapping analyses to test the moderated mediation model. The relationship between the humor-daily events and well-being was mediated by positive affect and this relation was moderated by psychological work, such that this relationship was stronger when a positive psychological work climate was identified. Gelotophobia did not moderate the relationship between humor daily-events and positive affect, however, it significantly and negatively predicted positive affect. This paper adds considerable evidence of the relationship between humor-related daily events and its impact on well-being. Psychological work climate strengthens the association between positive affect and well-being, after humor daily events.
... An evident conceptual overlap exists between gelotophobia and social anxiety (Ruch, 2009). Both constructs share certain underlying characteristics such as the fear of negative evaluation, shyness, increased attention to social threats, and social withdrawal (Mattick & Clarke, 1998;Ruch et al., 2014). ...
... Assuming that these rater groups have different kinds of access to a target's behavior and feelings, one may expect different convergent validities. Finally, to strengthen the empirical independence of gelotophobia construct versus social anxiety and paranoid ideation, future research should incorporate alternative designs in which testing whether these dispositions differ in terms of causal structure or in the presence of differential biological correlates when people facing ridicule and being laughed at (Ruch, 2009;Ruch et al., 2014). ...
The GELOPH-15 is a self-report measure that assesses individual differences in the fear of being laughed at (i.e., gelotophobia), a relatively understudied but important trait that is closely related to social anxiety. Using a multitrait–multimethod (MTMM) approach, the convergent and discriminant validity of the GELOPH-15 scale was examined based on 217 self- and 651 peer ratings (of three close acquaintances per target) of the traits gelotophobia, social anxiety, and paranoid ideation. Participants completed the Spanish versions of the GELOPH-15, the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale, and the Paranoia Scale. Applying MTMM models of multilevel confirmatory factor analyses (ML-CFA-MTMM) revealed relatively high associations between the self- and peer ratings, supporting the convergent validity of the GELOPH-15. Discriminant validity analyses confirmed the expected relationship patterns of gelotophobia with social anxiety and paranoid ideation (i.e., strong, but not perfect associations). The results showed that the ML-CFA-MTMM models might be a useful tool for analyzing the convergent and discriminant validity based on self- and peer ratings.
... Of the original English-speaking sample of 622 adults (Platt et al., 2012, Sample I), a sub-sample of 113 participants reported extreme fear of being laughed at (M ≥ 3.5; Ruch, 2009;Ruch et al., 2014). Interview data were available for 102 of these participants (63 men, 39 women; mainly from United States, United Kingdom, Australia, India, and Canada; age varied between 18 and 63 years, M = 26.70, ...
... Besides demographics (gender, age, and civil status), selfreports of body weight and height were assessed. Of this sample, 63% (n = 22) reported at least substantial fear of being laughed at (M > 2.5; slight fear [M between 2.5 and 3.0], n = 13; marked fear [M between 3.0 and 3.5, n = 8; extreme fear [M ≥ 3.5], n = 1; for criteria see Ruch, 2009). Data of these 22 participants (10 men, 12 women; 21 Germans, 1 Italian) were used for further analyses. ...
Weight bias toward obese youths is often accompanied by the experience of psychological stress in those affected. Therefore, the fear of being laughed at (i.e., gelotophobia) in overweight children and adolescents can be rather serious. In four explorative studies, the importance of relative weight, self-awareness of weight (incl. satisfaction with weight), experiences of teasing and ridicule, as well as the role of social-evaluative situations in school were analyzed with regard to gelotophobia. In two online interviews of adults with pronounced gelotophobia (Study I: 102 English-speaking participants, Study II: 22 German-speaking participants) relating to reasons they assumed for their development of gelotophobia, there was evidence of injurious appearance-related experiences during childhood and adolescence. In Study III (75 Swiss adolescents) associations between the experience of weight-related teasing and mockery with overweight, self-perceptions of weight, and gelotophobia were analyzed. Especially in girls, overweight was associated with the experience of weight-related teasing and ridicule, which in turn was accompanied by gelotophobia. Study IV included 178 German adolescents who were asked to report their body image (“Do you think you are… too thin, just the right weight, or too fat?”). In addition, gelotophobia, teasing, BMI based on self-reports, and joy at school were measured. In particular, girls who felt too fat and boys who felt too thin reported teasing. Teasing was related to diminished joy at school and to gelotophobia. Among boys, underweight mediated by weight-related teasing contributed to gelotophobia. The results suggest that more research should be devoted to gelotophobia and the experience of weight-related teasing and mocking to better understand factors contributing to the well-being of children and adolescents with weight problems.
... Next, following the negative perception mechanism, individuals with high gelotophobia scores might have a lowered threshold for interpreting behaviors as harassing/bullying, especially behaviors related to humor. Moreover, the perceived bullying could constitute a "false alarm, " or in reality, there is a lack of objective proof for it (Platt et al., 2009;Ruch, 2009;Hofmann et al., 2017). In other words, gelotophobes might misinterpret the good-humored teasing from their colleagues, superiors, or subordinates, as being ridiculed/bullied (Platt, 2008). ...
The role of Big Five personality traits in exposure to workplace bullying has been a focus of numerous studies. Yet less is known about the incremental validity of narrower personality constructs. The aim of the present study was to investigate the incremental effect of gelotophobia (the fear of being laughed at) in predicting exposure to workplace bullying beyond the Big Five personality domains. The sample comprised 328 employees (77% females) from different regions of the Czech Republic. Correlational analysis showed that negative emotionality and gelotophobia were related to workplace bullying in theoretically expected ways. Results from a multiple regression indicated that gelotophobia had an incremental effect in predicting exposure to workplace bullying over and above the personality domains. Overall, this study provides new insights and extends previous investigations concerning the role of gelotophobia in workplace bullying. We also discuss the limitations of our study and provide suggestions for future research.
... The next wide-ranging impact Willibald made in humor research was in proposing the concepts of dispositions towards laughter and being laughed at, starting with gelotophobia (the fear of being laughed at; Ruch 2004; Ruch and Proyer 2008), gelotophilia (the joy of being laughed at) and katagelasticism (the joy of laughing at others; Ruch and Proyer 2009). The most researched concept among the three is gelotophobia, which has received extensive theoretical attention (for an overview see Ruch et al. 2014), a 2009 HUMOR double special issue (Ruch 2009), a 2010 two-part special issue in Psychological Test and Assessment Modeling (Proyer and Ruch 2010) and numerous studies to better understand the fear of being laughed at as an individual differences variable and from a clinical perspective (e.g., Brauer et al. 2022;Edwards et al. 2010;Papousek et al. 2009;Platt 2021;Platt et al. 2012;Proyer et al. 2012;Ruch and Stahlmann 2020;Samson et al. 2011;Wu et al. 2015). This differentiated view (i.e., not all laughter and-laughter-related cues are necessarily perceived as something positive by everyone) has helped shaping new research on humor and laughter-and has proven an important control variable when conducting (experimental) research on laughter (see Platt et al. 2012). ...
This introduction to the “Festschrift for Willibald Ruch” outlines his impressive achievements in humor research, especially in the areas of measurement, individual differences as well as models and theories. Though mostly focusing on the psychology of humor and the sense of humor, Willibald also pioneered interdisciplinary and cross-cultural humor studies. This Festschrift comprises seven invited commentaries and eight articles, which expand areas of research that Willibald significantly shaped and advanced, including humor appreciation, comprehension and production, cheerfulness, dispositions towards laughter and being laughed at, as well as comic styles and humor dimensions.
... Humor and embarrassment have a deep connection in research (Keltner & Buswell, 1997); however, much of this focuses on how humor for one individual may result in embarrassment for others (Ruch, 2009), as opposed to the influence humor might have on embarrassing product purchases. For instance, humor may embarrass consumers when it is inconsistent with the way said consumers wish to be perceived (Puntoni et al., 2015). ...
Humorous messages can influence consumers differently based on the type of product and context; this research seeks to determine how humorous versus informative messages differentially impact consumer's responses to embarrassing products versus nonembarrassing products in retail. This paper proposes that humorous messaging may be used to counteract negative responses to embarrassing products as opposed to much of the research on consumer embarrassment which focuses on coping mechanisms and reducing the noticeability of a product in retail settings. Specifically, marketers may use benign humor to increase excitement and ultimately increase purchase likelihood of a product. The researchers examine the process through which consumers view humorous marketing of embarrassing products. Three studies, including a behavioral lab experiment utilizing a 360° video choice experiment as well as a Facebook ads behavioral experiment, are used to assess the proposed relationship. The findings indicate that for embarrassing products, humorous messaging is more effective than informative messaging at increasing purchase likelihood due to an increase in excitement. These results hold across a variety of marketing mediums. This research suggests that practitioners should use humorous marketing communications rather than informative marketing communications for embarrassing products in retail.
... 9 Using this first version of the questionnaire they empirically separated a group of clinically-diagnosed gelotophobic patients (provided by M. Titze) from the groups of shame-based and nonshame-based "depressed neurotics", as defined by Nathanson, 10 and normal controls. 11 Subsequently, the gelotophobia scale has been revised several times, 12 and the modern instrument, the PhoPhiKat<30> includes two additional gelotophobia subscales, such as gelotophilia (the joy of being an object of laughter) and katagelasticism (the joy of laughing at others). 13 From this point, the concept of the fear of being laughed at, became an area of interest, and has been studied in many countries and in many languages. ...
Introduction. Investigating early changes in the emotional sphere within the schizophrenia course is a perspective direction in clinical psychology and psychiatry. Intactness of positive emotions, in particular, humour perception, may be a very important resource for patients. At the same time, humour perception is very sensitive to pathological conditions, such as the fear of being laughed at, known as gelotophobia. Those with gelotophobia perceive laughter as dangerous, rather than pleasant, and they can hardly distinguish between teasing and ridicule. Gelotophobia was confirmed to be expressed among people with mental disorders. Nonetheless, knowledge relating to the fear of being laughed at, was mostly generated among the non-clinical samples.
Objectives. Thus, the aim of the study was to provide more clinical data on gelotophobia manifestations associated with schizophrenia spectrum disorders; the emotional response and facial expression of patients with gelotophobia were studied, in particular, regarding their perception of humour, including during the early stages of disorders, by comparison with healthy individuals.
Methods. n=30 controls and n=32 patients with schizophrenia and with depression with signs of a high clinical risk of psychosis took part. Two short videos, comic and neutral, were shown to the participants, while videotaping their facial expression, followed each by a self-reported measure of emotional responses. Participants also completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the PhoPhiKat30 and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale.
Results. Gelotophobia was significantly higher within the clinical group. It correlated with a lower frequency of grins among the patients during the comic video, while this was not the case in the control group. Gelotophobia was related to state and trait anxiety in both groups, but only in the clinical group did state anxiety increase after watching the comic video. Gelotophobia correlated with alexithymia and was twice higher among the patients compared to the controls.
Conclusion. Thus, gelotophobia has not only quantitative, but also qualitative specifics in patients with schizophrenia, and those with depression with signs of a clinically high risk of psychosis, compared to healthy controls.
... Second, the panel data was based on the working-age population rather than on clinically diagnosed gelotophobes, and it can be assumed that gelotophobia affects their lives less severely. Indeed, the literature suggests that most of the more severe consequences of gelotophobia, such as paranoid tendencies, intense physiological responses, and social withdrawal primarily prevail among individuals with marked and extreme fear of being laughed at Ruch 2009). Therefore, it is unclear whether the results of this study also extend to those more severely affected individuals. ...
Recent theoretical advances have grounded gelotophobia (Greek: gelos = laughter, phobos = fear) in a dynamic framework of causes, moderating factors, and consequences of the fear of being laughed at. This understanding corresponds to that of vulnerability and translates gelotophobia into a distinguishable pattern of lacking resources (i.e., misinterpretation of joy and laughter) that can result in negative consequences (e.g., reduced well-being and performance) if individuals have no access to further resources (e.g., social support) or are exposed to severe stressors (e.g., workplace bullying). Based on the panel data provided by the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research LIVES (N = 2469 across six measurement intervals), this study takes the first step toward empirically testing this model’s assumptions: First, we computed exemplary zero-order correlations and showed that gelotophobia was negatively connected with social support (resource) and life and job satisfaction (consequences) and positively connected with perceived stress, work stress, and workplace bullying (stressors). Second, we used longitudinal cluster analyses (KmL; k-means-longitudinal) and showed that the panel data can be clustered into three stable patterns of life and job satisfaction and that gelotophobia is primarily related to the two clusters marked by lower levels of satisfaction. Third, we computed partial correlations and showed that social support, perceived stress, and work stress (but not workplace bullying) can weaken or completely resolve gelotophobia’s relationships with such diverging trajectories of life and job satisfaction. We concluded that seeing gelotophobia through the lens of vulnerability is useful and that such research warrants further attention using more dedicated, theoretically grounded projects.
This article draws on recent studies on the fear of derisive laughter (or ‘gelotophobia’) in order to relate them to early modern comments on laughter and to the representation of that anxiety in some texts of Restoration prose fiction, and with a particular emphasis on Alexander Oldys’s The Fair Extravagant (1682). Gelotophobia is a variant of shame anxiety and a social phobia defined as the pathological fear of being an object of laughter. Although the fear shown in the texts analysed is not pathological, it certainly reveals the strong pressure of the shame culture and gender politics prevailing in Restoration England.
В данной статье представлен психологический анализ отношения к юмору и смеху с точки зрения как шутника, так и аудитории. Мотивация шутника операционализируется через концепцию стилей юмора, а особенности отношения к смеху со стороны реципиента шутки – с помощью понятий гелотофобии, гелотофилии и катагеластицизма. Разработанные для решения задач психологии индивидуальных различий и психопатологии, эти понятия используются в статье также и для описания социальных и культурных феноменов и особенностей. На материале русской культуры делается предположение о возрастающей роли юмора, смеха и связанных с ним психологических феноменов в современном обществе. На основе серии исследований, выполненных на российской выборке, предлагается дискуссия об особенностях отношения к юмору и смеху в России в контексте культурно-исторической динамики, через призму философских дихотомий «смех–стыд», «смех–страх», «смех–агрессия», «смех–серьёзность». В статье делается попытка применить исследовательский инструментарий психологии к анализу культуры в целом, такой подход может быть достаточно перспективным в том числе и для анализа литературы.
119 Особенности гелотофобии, гелотофилии и катагеластицизма у пациентов с депрессивным синдромом Любавская А.А., младший научный сотрудник, отдел медицинской психологии, ФГБНУ НЦПЗ, Москва, Россия, stesi-94@list.ru Олейчик И.В., доктор медицинских наук, профессор, главный научный сотрудник отдела по изучению эндогенных психических расстройств и аффективных состояний, ФГБНУ НЦПЗ, Москва, Россия, i.oleichik@mail.ru Иванова Е.М., кандидат психологических наук, доцент кафедры клинической психологии ПСФ, ФГБОУ ВО РНИМУ им. Н.И. Пирогова, старший научный сотрудник отдела медицинской психологии, ФГБНУ НЦПЗ, Москва, Россия, ivalenka13@gmail.com В статье приводятся данные исследования гелотофобии (страха насмешки) при депрессии. 32 пациента с депрессивным синдромом и 33 психически здоровых человека были обследованы комплексом методик: клиническая беседа, шкала социальной тревожности Либовица, шкала страха негативной оценки, опросник отношения к юмору и смеху PhoPhiKat<30>, опросник вины и стыда GASP, шкала депрессии Бека, опросник склонности к агрессии Басса-Перри. Результаты исследования пациентов с депрессивным синдромом в сравнении с контрольной группой показали у них повышенный уровень гелотофобии (страха насмешки) и меньшую выраженность гелотофилии (склонности становиться объектом смеха) и катагеластицизма (склонности смеяться над другими). Различий в выраженности гелотофобии при депрессии в рамках шизофрении и аффективных расстройств не обнаружено. Гелотофобия при депрессии тесно связана с социальной тревожностью и страхом негативной оценки, но при этом не связана с агрессией. Несмотря на то что депрессия характеризуется переживанием как вины, так и стыда, гелотофобия характерна только для пациентов, склонных к переживанию стыда. Полученные результаты позволили описать особенности гелотофобии при депрессивном синдроме, что может быть использовано при дифференциальной диагностике и психореабилитации пациентов.
The article presents a study of gelotophobia (the fear of being laughed at) for depression.
32 patients with depressive syndrome and 33 mentally healthy people were examined with
a complex of methods: clinical interview, the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, the Fear of
Negative Evaluation Scale, gelotophobia, gelotophilia and katagelasticism questionnaire the
PhoPhiKat<30>, the Guilt and Shame Proneness scale (GASP), the Beck Depression
Inventory, and the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire. The results showed higher
gelotophobia (the fear of being laughed at) in patients with depressive syndrome in
comparison with the control group, and, on the other hand, lower gelotophilia (the joy of
being a target of laughter) and katagelasticism (the joy of laughing at others). No
differences on gelotophobia were found in the subgroups of patients with depression
within schizophrenia and affective disorders. Gelotophobia under depression was closely
connected with social anxiety and the fear of negative evaluation, but was not associated
with aggression. Although depression includes experiencing both guilt and shame,
gelotophobia characterized only those patients who tended to experience shame. The
results of the study allow to reveal specifics of the fear of being laughed at under
depression, which may be used in clinical diagnostics and psycho-rehabilitation of these
patients.
Gelotophobia (fear of being laughed at) is an under-researched phenomenon in autistic people, yet can have a significant impact on autistic people’s quality of life. A narrative review was undertaken to explore if gelotophobia and being autistic are related and what is currently known in the academic literature regarding gelotophilia (joy of being laughed at) and katagelasticism (excessively enjoying laughing at other) in autistic people. Only five studies were found, and the small evidence base describes autistic people as more likely to be gelotophobes. Most studies used theory of mind as an explanation for gelotophobia in autistic people; however, the lack of focus on other relevant theories is highlighted and discussed, providing additional avenues for future research.
p style="text-align: justify;">Gelotophobia is a fear of ridicule, that manifests both as part of anxiety and depressive disorders, and independently. The study finds out whether some features of recognition and control of expression are limited to the area of positive emotions or manifest themselves in the regulation of other emotions with gelotophobia. The results of self-reporting and test methods for assessing the understanding of emotions, as well as direct and indirect measurements of the ability to control emotions, are compared, and an interference effect of alexithymia is controlled. In total 235 subjects took a part (Mage=17,95, SDage=1,78), among whom 181 female and 54 male students of the humanities answered questionnaires Emotional Intelligence (EI), Ways of coping (WCQ) of Lazarus, Questionnaire of Gelotophobia (GELOPH-15), Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS), attributional style questionnaire of Seligman) and did tests (Video Test of Lysin and Ovsyannikova, timing of emotion naming). Quantitative comparative analysis, correlation, and regression analysis were used. The results indicate that some characteristic properties of recognition and control of emotions associated with gelotophobia extend to some other emotions (sadness, but not fear and anger). The reduction in recognition and control of emotions in gelotophobia manifests only through self-reporting methods, while tests show minimal differences depending on gelotophobia grade and their derived character. The accuracy of recognition decreases with gelotophobia grade only when the recognition time is limited. The reduction of control manifests only in the rarer use of Avoidance coping, which is associated with a lower evaluation of the ability to control achieving success and avoiding failure by the individual. the conviction of the individual.</p
The purpose of the article: The purpose of the article is to determine the lexical and semantic features of the concept of fear. It is essential to identify general and national features in the presentation of this concept by phraseological units of the investigated languages. This article discusses the lexical and semantic features of the concept of fear in the English and Tatar languages. Materials and methods: The comparison of concepts in the world picture of the mentioned languages reveals their national and cultural peculiarities. In the study of this problem, the authors used descriptive-analytical and comparative methods. However, the methods of component, contextual and statistical analysis were applied. To some degree, the authors used the method of phraseological modeling. Results of the research: As a rule, a specific image of animals conveys certain features and characteristics of people; consequently, all the names of animals that are part of phraseological units are mainly used in figurative meaning. As a result, by phraseological means of the English and Tatar languages we could reveal general and national features in the analyzed concepts. About 5 names of animals are used in the Tatar and English phraseological units. The materials of the article can be useful for students, masters who study English and Tatar languages. The results of the study can also be used in the methodology of teaching the investigated languages. Applications: This research can be used for universities, teachers, and students. Novelty/Originality: In this research, the model of National and Cultural Peculiarities of the Concept FEAR is presented in a comprehensive and complete manner.
The Ridicule Teasing Scenario Questionnaire was elaborated by T. Platt as one of instruments to assess gelotophobia. Using the RTSQ it was shown empirically that people with high fear of ridicule at are hardly able to distinguish situations of good-natured teasing and genuine bullying type ridicule. The article presents a Russian adaptation of the Ridicule Teasing Scenario Questionnaire of T. Platt. The results of a study on a group of 271 people confirmed the original data of Platt and showed that people with gelotophobia negatively perceive teasing as well as ridicule, and react to it with a whole range of negative emotions. The Russian version of the Ridicule Teasing Scenario Questionnaire has shown good psychometric properties, reliability and validity of the scales and can be recommended for use in studies of humor and laughter perception.
This article draws on recent studies on the fear of derisive laughter (or 'gelotophobia') in order to relate them to early modern comments on laughter and to the representation of that anxiety in some texts of Restoration prose fiction, and with a particular emphasis on Alexander Oldys's The Fair Extravagant (1682). Gelotophobia is a variant of shame anxiety and a social phobia defined as the pathological fear of being an object of laughter. Although the fear shown in the texts analysed is not pathological, it certainly reveals the strong pressure of the shame culture and gender politics prevailing in Restoration England.
The article presents a study of gelotophobia (the fear of being laughed at) for depression. 32 patients with depressive syndrome and 33 mentally healthy people were examined with a complex of methods: clinical interview, the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, the Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale, gelotophobia, gelotophilia and katagelasticism questionnaire the PhoPhiKat, the Guilt and Shame Proneness scale (GASP), the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire. The results showed higher gelotophobia (the fear of being laughed at) in patients with depressive syndrome in comparison with the control group, and, on the other hand, lower gelotophilia (the joy of being a target of laughter) and katagelasticism (the joy of laughing at others). No differences on gelotophobia were found in the subgroups of patients with depression within schizophrenia and affective disorders. Gelotophobia under depression was closely connected with social anxiety and the fear of negative evaluation, but was not associated with aggression. Although depression includes experiencing both guilt and shame, gelotophobia characterized only those patients who tended to experience shame. The results of the study allow to reveal specifics of the fear of being laughed at under depression, which may be used in clinical diagnostics and psycho-rehabilitation of these patients.
Laughter is a powerful signal to express social acceptance or rejection. Recordings of distinct laughter types (taunting, tickling, joyful) can be identified well above chance level even without any contextual information (Szameitat et al., 2009a, Ritter et al., 2015) and specific patterns of brain activation were identified during processing of distinct laughter types (Szameitat et al., 2010, Wildgruber et al., 2013). Here, we evaluated the effect of perspective taking on laughter processing.
Stimuli comprised 60 videos of laughing faces including three different laughter types (joyful, tickling, taunting). After stimulus presentation participants judged the intention of the laugher on a four-point scale ranging from strongly socially inclusive to strongly socially exclusive. In one session, the participants were asked to imagine they were directly addressed by the laughter (SELF), during the other session they imagined a different person was addressed (OTHER). Sixty participants (30 women) took part in a behavioral study and 26 individuals (13 women) participated in an fMRI-study (3 T, Siemens Prisma).
Joyful laughter was rated as the most inclusive and taunting as the most exclusive type. Under the SELF-condition the difference between both decreased as compared to the OTHER-condition. At the neurobiological level the main effect of task (SELF > OTHER) was linked to stronger activation within the bilateral fronto-temporal social perception network (p < 0.05, uncorrected) presumably reflecting increased attention towards social cues. Moreover, an interaction effect (task × laughter type) with stronger responses during SELF-directed taunting laughter (vs. friendly) as compared to OTHER-directed laughter emerged within the bilateral amygdalae (p < 0.01, uncorrected), whereas stronger responses during OTHER-directed taunting laughter (vs. friendly) as compared to SELF-directed laughter were observed within the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (p < 0.05, corrected).
The observed effects highlight the usefulness of laughter as a highly prevalent social signal for research on the interrelations of social cue perception and perspective taking.
The present study examined the hypothesis that gelotophobia blurs the
emotional responses between ridicule and good-natured teasing. Ridicule
should induce negative feelings and teasing happiness and surprise in individuals
not su¤ering gelotophobia. Gelotophobes will discriminate less between
the two. Their responses to teasing will be similar to ridicule. A sample
of adults (N ¼ 105) specified which emotions they would experience in
nine scenarios of social interactions pre-selected to represent bullying ridicule
or good-natured teasing. Ridicule elicited strong responses of shame,
fear and anger, and other negative emotions but low happiness and surprise.
Responses of gelotophobes and non-gelotophobes were highly parallel,
with the exception that among extreme gelotophobes stronger shame and
fear were displayed than among non-gelotophobes. Good-natured teasing
seemed to elicit happiness and surprise and low levels of negative emotions
among the non-gelotophobes. Among the gelotophobes, however, it was
the negative emotions; primarily shame, fear, and anger that were exhibited
as the emotional response pattern. In fact, the emotion profile to goodhumored
teasing was highly similar to the profile in response to the
bullying-ridiculing situations. Gelotophobes’ perceptions do not discriminate
between playful teasing and good-natured teasing. They do not identify
the safe and non-threatening quality of the teasing situations. Treatment of
gelotophobes should, therefore, involve helping them to identify the playsignals,
i.e., the meta-message that the interaction is playful, for fun and that no harm is intended.
Single case studies led to the discovery and phenomenological description of Gelotophobia anti its definition as the pathological fear of appearing to social partners as a ridiculous object (Titze 1995, 1996, 1997). The aim of the present study is to empirically examine the core assumptions about the fear of being laughed at in a sample comprising a total of 863 clinical and non-clinical participants. Discriminant function analysis yielded that gelotophobes can be separated from other shame-based neurotics, non-shame-based neurotics, anti controls. Separation was best for statements specifically describing the gelotophobic symptomatology and less potent for more general questions describing socially avoidant behaviors. Factor analysis demonstrates that while Gelotophobia is composed of a set of correlated elements in homogenous samples, overall the concept is best conceptualized as unidimensional. Predicted and actual group membership converged well in a cross-classification (approximately 69% of correctly classified cases). Overall, it can be concluded that the fear of being laughed at varies tremendously among adults and might hold a key to understanding certain forms of humorlessness.
Ruch and Proyer (2008) provided preliminary evidence for the validity of gelotophobia (the fear of being laughed at) by showing that a group of individuals diagnosed as gelotophobic could be discriminated from groups of shame-based neurotics, non shame-based neurotics, and normal controls by means of a self-report measure. The present study reanalyzes data aimed at identifying the set of items best suited for measuring gelotophobia and estimates the prevalence of gelotophobia in the four groups (N = 863). The application of several criteria led to a final list of 15 statements. Cut-off points for a slight, pronounced, and extreme expression of gelotophobia were defined. In the group of those clinically assessed as having gelotophobia, the cut-off points were exceeded by approximately 31%, 39%, and 22%, respectively. Only 7.1% did not exceed the cut-off point, suggesting that the self-report measure validly determines the presence of and measures the intensity of gelotophobia. Close to 12% of the normal controls exceeded the cut-off points, suggesting that gelotophobia can be studied as an individual differences variable among normal individuals.
An implicit association test (IAT) measures differential association of 2 target concepts with an attribute. The 2 concepts appear in a 2-choice task (2-choice task (e.g., flower vs. insect names), and the attribute in a 2nd task (e.g., pleasant vs. unpleasant words for an evaluation attribute). When instructions oblige highly associated categories (e.g., flower + pleasant) to share a response key, performance is faster than when less associated categories (e.g., insect & pleasant) share a key. This performance difference implicitly measures differential association of the 2 concepts with the attribute. In 3 experiments, the IAT was sensitive to (a) near-universal evaluative differences (e.g., flower vs. insect), (b) expected individual differences in evaluative associations (Japanese + pleasant vs. Korean + pleasant for Japanese vs. Korean subjects), and (c) consciously disavowed evaluative differences (Black + pleasant vs. White + pleasant for self-described unprejudiced White subjects).
An important early work by the French psychiatrist, Paul Hartenberg, Les Timides et la Timidité, published in 1901, has been overlooked in the English language literature on Social Phobia. Hartenberg's understanding of the phenomenology of social phobia is surprisingly similar to modern conceptualizations of the disorder. His description of the disorder corresponds very closely to the current DSM-IV criteria of social phobia. For example, he recognizes that socially anxious people feel anxious and ashamed in situations where there is no actual danger, and that these emotions occur only in the presence of others. Hartenberg clearly differentiates between social fears and other fears, noting that socially anxious people may be quite courageous in non-social situations. He also describes with considerable accuracy the typical symptoms of rapid onset anxiety. In a number of respects, Hartenberg approaches social phobia from a cognitive behavioral perspective, and describes an approach to treating social fears that is essentially graduated exposure to feared social situations. Hartenberg anticipated many advances in the area of social anxiety, and provided a number of insights that remain valuable.
This article presents a framework for emotional intelligence, a set of skills hypothesized to contribute to the accurate appraisal and expression of emotion in oneself and in others, the effective regulation of emotion in self and others, and the use of feelings to motivate, plan, and achieve in one's life. We start by reviewing the debate about the adaptive versus maladaptive qualities of emotion. We then explore the literature on intelligence, and especially social intelligence, to examine the place of emotion in traditional intelligence conceptions. A framework for integrating the research on emotion-related skills is then described. Next, we review the components of emotional intelligence. To conclude the review, the role of emotional intelligence in mental health is discussed and avenues for further investigation are suggested.
This study systematically examines the relations between the folk concept of ''sense of humor'' and the behavioral domain of everyday humorous conduct. Participants completed our Humorous Behavior e-sort Deck (HBQD) and a set of self-ratings contributing to an overall sense of humor index as well as personality measures including the California Psychological Inventory and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Our analyses revealed that overall sense of humor subsumed only a delimited and specific set of humor-related behaviors, in particular, socially constructive and competent forms of humorous conduct within interpersonal contexts. Results with the HBQD further indicated that overall sense of humor was positively associated with only two dimensions of humorous conduct (Socially Warm Versus Cold humorous style and Competent versus Inept humorous style) and unrelated to three others (Reflective versus Boorish, Earthy versus Repressed and Benign versus Mean-spirited humorous styles). Sense of humor was also found to be linked to socially desirable behaviors, but only those behaviors associated with social warmth and competence and not the entire range of socially desirable forms of humor. Analysis of the concept of ''sense of humor'' among subsamples of extraverts and introverts also revealed that although socially constructive uses of humor were important for both psychological types, humor competence figured more prominently in the introverts' notion of sense of humor. General personality characteristics were only minimally related to overall sense of humor, but revealed substantial and differentiated correlates to the styles of humorous conduct isolated by the HBQD. Overall, our findings argue strongly for a comprehensive approach to the assessment of individuals' understanding of humor and their styles of everyday humorous conduct.
Two experiments examined “jeer pressure,” which is a hypothesized inhibiting effect of observing another person being ridiculed. Jeer pressure was expected to induce conformity to others’ opinions; concern about failing or standing out; and conventional, uncreative thinking. In both experiments, participants observed videotapes containing either other-ridiculing humor, self-ridiculing humor, or nonridiculing or no humor. Participants then completed tasks that assessed conformity, fear of failure, and creativity. Results of both experiments showed that participants who viewed ridicule of others were more conforming and more afraid of failing than were those who viewed self-ridicule or no ridicule. Creativity was not influenced by the humor manipulation. Experiment 2 also included a lexical decision task to assess whether salience of potential rejection mediated the obtained behavioral effects. Salience of rejection mediated the effects of humor on fear of failure but not the effects of humor on conformity.
Reviews the book,
Les Timides et la Timidité by Paul Hartenberg (1901). This is a monograph in scientific psychology; and this is neither more nor less than a study of brain-functions. Timidity is a combination of fear and shame--both groundless--which is felt in the presence of other persons. Its symptoms are, on the organic side, trembling, blushing, disturbances in speech and in the visceral and secretory functions. These are accompanied, on the psychical side, by derangements in the processes of attention, reflection, volition and memory. According to the reviewer, the value of these extracts from various departments of literature lies in the fact that they show the results of introspection and careful analysis. The author deserves credit for having arranged them under suitable heads and using them to illustrate his definition of timidity and his description of its symptoms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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