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A superiority–inferiority hypothesis on disparagement humor: The role of disposition toward ridicule
Abstract
The present paper adopts and substantiates a superiority-inferiority hypothesis on disparagement humor generation and appreciation. Two between-subjects (identification with a character acting as victimizer or victim) experiments address disparaging humorous advertising effectiveness, providing a novel perspective on very old questions. Perceived superiority and inferiority autonomously mediate the relationship between a disparaging advertisement and perceived humorousness. Individuals with high superiority motivation (i.e., high-katagelasticists) experience increased humorousness and an improved attitude toward the brand when they identify with a character acting as victimizer in the disparaging ad. People with a motivation to avoid inferiority (i.e., high-gelotophobes) experience reduced humorousness and lower positive attitudes toward the brand when they identify with a character who is victimized in the disparaging ad. Gelotophiles are not driven by feelings of superiority or inferiority and experience increased humorousness as well as more positive brand attitudes irrespective of the ad’s victimization focus.
... To our knowledge, no study has examined the moderating effects of superiority as an individual characteristic on humor effects. Hatzithomas et al. (2021) found that superiority mediated the relationship between exposure to a disparaging but funny advertisement and subsequent attitudes toward the brand (Hatzithomas et al., 2021). However, superiority was conceptualized as identification with the victimizer in the advertisement rather than as a characteristic of the recipient themselves. ...
... To our knowledge, no study has examined the moderating effects of superiority as an individual characteristic on humor effects. Hatzithomas et al. (2021) found that superiority mediated the relationship between exposure to a disparaging but funny advertisement and subsequent attitudes toward the brand (Hatzithomas et al., 2021). However, superiority was conceptualized as identification with the victimizer in the advertisement rather than as a characteristic of the recipient themselves. ...
This study explores the effects of two humor styles—pure humor and satire—on audiences' Twitter engagement intentions as well as their attitudes towards mRNA Covid-19 vaccines. In an online between-subjects experiment (N = 484), these styles were embedded within a scientist's tweet about the vaccines. The results showed that, compared to a no humor tweet, both pure humor and satire increased audience's expectancy violation, subsequently decreasing both outcomes. Superiority as an individual trait also moderated the relationship between humor styles and both expectancy violation and Twitter engagement. These findings broaden our understanding of different humor styles in science communication on Twitter.
This article proposes a model to predict how the content of short film ads might trigger hedonic and eudaimonic experiences, which then contribute to positive changes in attitudes toward the sponsoring brand, through two processes. In the first process, people seek branded entertainment to break away from their mundane reality. The ultimate purpose is to enjoy hedonic experiences, as might be triggered by a funny plot that induces perceptions of humor, which in turn can evoke positive affect. In the second process, consumers search for meaning through vicarious experiences, which enable them to achieve personal growth. In this process, the purpose is to find meaning or acquire eudaimonic experiences. Because a meaningful story plot explicitly encourages consumers to reflect on their lives, it helps them feel inspired and develop sentimental feelings, thus leading to eudaimonic experiences. The proposed dual process model suggests that gratification derived from viewing short film ads, due to hedonic or eudaimonic experiences, can prompt positive brand attitude changes. Moreover, consumption visions triggered by short films contribute to product changes; they moderate the first process but not the second.
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to understand the effect of increasing the intensity of sexual or violent content on consumer responses to online video advertisements, with a particular emphasis on sharing intentions.
Design/methodology/approach:
The paper uses a between-subjects experimental design across two studies using new to the world online video advertisements as stimuli.
Findings:
Study 1 finds that increasing the intensity of sexual and violent humor improves advertisement effectiveness amongst men but leads to significantly more negative attitudes toward the advertisement and brand amongst women. Study 2 identifies gender and humor type as moderators for sharing intentions in the presence of audience diversity. While men are more likely to publicly share sexual and violent humor advertisements, social anxiety mediates intentions to share sexual humor advertisements in the presence of greater audience diversity.
Practical implications:
The paper offers insights to practitioners regarding the use of risqué forms of humor as part of a digital marketing strategy.
Originality/value:
Drawing on and extending benign violation theory, the paper introduces and verifies a theoretical model for understanding consumer responses to the use of risqué forms of humor in online advertisements. It identifies how audience diversity affects sharing intentions for sexual and violent humor-based advertisements on social media.
There are different concepts of humor: virtuous humor (i.e., benevolent and corrective humor) which represents the morally good, and three dispositions towards ridicule and laughter, namely the fear of being laughed at (gelotophobia), the joy of being laughed at (gelotophilia), and the joy of laughing at others (katagelasticism). In the current study, we aim to investigate the relationship of virtuous humor and dispositions towards ridicule and laughter with happiness. A sample of 229 Spanish undergraduates completed self-reports of the corresponding measures. Regression analyses revealed individual differences in humor predicting happiness. Gelotophobia and corrective humor were negatively associated with happiness, whereas gelotophilia and benevolent humor were positively associated with happiness. The effect of gelotophilia on happiness may be due to the existing relationship between gelotophilia and benevolent humor. Our study extends prior research into the contribution of novel forms of humor to positive outcomes and replicates important findings on the relationship between humor and happiness. In sum, the results demonstrated that virtuous humor and dispositions towards ridicule and laughter can be adequately assessed among Spanish samples, and that it is important to consider novel forms of humor in the study of happiness.
This article responds to calls for further research on ethical issues in advertising. The study examines whether advertising strategies which use female-disparaging themes are perceived as ethical, and what effect this has on ad and brand attitudes. It also examines whether or not humour assuages ethical evaluations of female-disparaging ads. The findings from an experimental research design, which included 336 British respondents, show that non-disparaging and non-humorous ads are considered to be the most ethical, while disparaging ads (regardless of the level of humour) are considered the least ethical. Across the board, female-disparaging ads are not perceived as ethical; however, high benevolent sexists appear to favour them most. Finally, an ad’s perceived ethicality mediates the relationship between ad disparagement and ad attitudes; likewise, an ad’s perceived ethicality and ad attitudes mediate the relationship between an ad’s female disparagement and brand attitudes. Female-disparaging ads should be avoided given that they are perceived as less ethical and given the impact that advertising has on behaviour, as well as on societal and moral values. Advertisers should also avoid using female-disparaging advertising themes, even light-hearted ones, since they constitute a risky strategy for the ad and the brand as they can backfire and alienate consumers.
Schadenfreude is a social emotion that describes one’s happiness at the misfortune of others. Because people experience schadenfreude to different extents, it can also be considered a trait. The present research aimed to develop a trait measure of schadenfreude and investigate the relationship between schadenfreude and political downfalls. We developed an item pool and used exploratory (Study 1) and confirmatory (Study 2) factor analyses to establish a 12-item, two-factor schadenfreude measure: benign and malicious. We also assessed its test–retest reliability (Study 3) and convergent validity with related measures (Study 4). Findings supported a two-factor schadenfreude measure that produced valid and reliable scores (Studies 1–4). In an experiment, we found a positive correlation between episodic—but not trait—schadenfreude on spreading news of a politician’s downfall (Study 5). Using a 3 (Political affiliation: Democrat, Republican, or other) × 3 (Manipulated condition: Democrat, Republican, or CEO) design, we examined the extent to which participants’ schadenfreude predicted their intentions and choices to share an embarrassing news story about a politician or CEO via social media. Schadenfreude can be assessed as a reliable trait—one that may help us predict why some people intend to spread news of embarrassing political failures.
The current paper addresses the measurement of three dispositions towards ridicule and laughter; i.e., gelotophobia (the fear of being laughed at), gelotophilia (the joy of being laughed at), and katagelasticism (the joy of laughing at others). These traits explain inter-individual differences in responses to humor, laughter, and social situations related to humorous encounters. First, an ultra-short form of the PhoPhiKat-45 (Ruch & Proyer, 2009) was adapted in two independent samples (Construction Sample N = 157; Replication Sample N = 1774). Second, we tested the validity of the PhoPhiKat-9 in two further independent samples. Results showed that the psychometric properties of the ultra-short form were acceptable and the proposed factor structure could be replicated. In Validation Sample 1 (N = 246), we investigated the relation of the three traits to responses in a ridicule and teasing scenario questionnaire. The results replicated findings from earlier studies by showing that gelotophobes assigned the same emotions to friendly teasing and malicious ridicule (predominantly low joy, high fear, and shame). Gelotophilia was mainly predicted by relating joy to both, teasing and ridicule scenarios, while katagelasticism was predicted by assigning joy and contempt to ridicule scenarios. In Validation Sample 2 (N = 1248), we investigated whether the fear of being laughed at is a vulnerability at the workplace: If friendly teasing and laughter of co-workers, superiors or customers are misperceived as being malicious, individuals may feel less satisfied and more stressed. The results from a representative sample of Swiss employees showed that individuals with a fear of being laughed at are generally less satisfied with life and work and experience more work stress. Moreover, gelotophilia went along with positive evaluations of one’s life and work, while katagelasticism was negatively related to work satisfaction and positively related to work stress. In order to establish good work practices and build procedures against workplace bullying, one needs to consider that individual differences impact on a person’s perception of being bullied and assessing the three dispositions may give important insights into team processes.
As the use of comedic aggression in advertising has become more frequent, questions about the boundary conditions of its effectiveness become more important. Issues related to the vividness of the aggression, unique audience responses, and legitimacy of the aggression are examined here as potential influences on the impact of comedic advertising aggression. Two experiments are reported that explore how reactions to comedic advertising aggression are influenced by components of vividness (concreteness À aggressive intensity, emotional interest À psychological distance), the audience's gender identity, and whether the aggression was provoked and justified. Feminine identity individuals in close psychological situations react quite negatively to advertising using the highest level of comedic aggression while masculine identity individuals actually prefer the most vivid aggression in some conditions. The response patterns become different for feminine and masculine identity individuals when the aggression is unprovoked and therefore less justified. The results provide guidance about the limits of using comedic advertising aggression.
Gelotophobia may be considered as a specific variant of shame-bound anxiety. It is defined as the pathological fear of being the ridiculous object of laughter. Therefore, an important criterion for the assessment of gelotophobia is the patients' pronounced sensitivity with regard to any kind of humorous remark. Gelotophobia can be traced back to early childhood experiences of intense and repeated exposure to mockery and ridicule in the course of socialization. Gelotophobes constantly fear being screened by others for evidence of ridiculousness. Thus, they carefully avoid situations in which they feel exposed to others. Gelotophobia at its extreme involves a pronounced paranoid tendency, a marked sensitivity to offense, and a resulting social withdrawal. In this chapter, the origins and consequences of gelotophobia are described.
Every year billions of dollars are spent on advertising that uses humor to sell products. How is that spending decision made? Despite much research examining humor effects in advertising, many advertisers make the decision on faith. Many past studies lack a clear conceptual focus to guide the investigation of humor effects in advertising. The authors examine humor effectiveness by using a conceptual framework adapted from Speck along with a product-contingent focus. The resulting approach affords a clearer understanding of the appropriate use of humor through the examination of (1) the humor mechanisms employed, (2) the intentional relatedness of humor to the ad or product, and (3) the type of product advertised. The descriptive results of the study indicate that current practice for many advertisers is to employ incongruity-based humor in a humor-dominant context. That practice is contrasted with others to examine the influence of humor on the effectiveness of print advertisements for different product groups. Study results indicate that current advertising practices may not be the most effective in terms of advertisement performance.
We hypothesized that gelotophobia (the fear of being laughed at), gelotophilia (the joy of being laughed at), and katagelasticism (the joy of laughing at others) relate differently to character strengths. In Study 1 (N = 5,134), self-assessed gelotophobia was primarily negatively related to strengths (especially to lower hope, zest, and love), whereas only modesty yielded positive relations. Gelotophilia demonstrated mainly positive relations with humor, zest, and social intelligence. Katagelasticism existed widely unrelated from character strengths with humor demonstrating the comparatively highest coefficients. Study 2 consisted of N = 249 participants who provided self- and peer-ratings of strengths and self-reports on the three dispositions. The results converged well with those from Study 1. When comparing self- and peer-reports, those higher in gelotophobia under-estimated and those higher in gelotophilia over-estimated their virtuousness, whereas those higher in katagelasticism seemed to have a realistic appraisal of their strengths. Peer-rated (low) hope and modesty contributed to the prediction of gelotophobia beyond self-reports. The same was true for low modesty, creativity, low bravery, and authenticity for gelotophilia and for low love of learning regarding katagelasticism. Results suggest that there is a stable relation between the way people deal with ridicule and laughing and their virtuousness.
Recent academic research has focused on the use of novelty and shock in advertising executions. One manifestation of this approach in American television advertising is the use of aggressive humor; a dramatic change in the way humor has historically been employed. This investigation examines two studies of the responses of men and women to violence in humorous advertising. The results of both studies reveal differences in the responses of men and women suggesting there may be a risk in coupling humor with high physical violence in ads targeted toward female audiences. The second study examines in a path model the role of perceived violations of social norms and perceived humor on the attitudes of men and women toward the ad and the brand. The poor response of women to more violence with humor ads is closely related to their perceived violations of social norms; for men, their more positive response to such ads is related to their perception of humor in the ads with humor and stronger violence.
The use of humor has become common practice in advertising; yet our knowledge about its impact has not been updated since the last major review almost twenty years ago. In the interim, a great deal of humor research has been conducted. The outcome of this research only partially supports earlier conclusions and highlights the need to apply humor with care. Humor is by no means a guarantee of better ads, but its effect can be enhanced with careful consideration of the objectives one seeks to achieve as well as the audience, situation, and type of humor.
The study examines two important variables for advertisers, ethnicity and product involvement. We investigate the effectiveness of Hispanic-targeted advertising by exploring the impact of ad model’s ethnicity on attitudes toward high and low involvement products. The results of our quasi- experiment suggest that appealing to strong Hispanic identifiers may be highly desirable in terms of creating favorable attitudes when advertising low involvement products. For high involvement products, Hispanic-targeted advertising may not be as effective since ethnicity may not be an important cue. Theoretical implications regarding the impact of distinctiveness theory and practical implications for practitioners trying to spend advertising dollars more efficiently are discussed.
Gelotophobia may be considered as a specific variant of shame-bound anxiety. It is defined as the pathological fear of being an object of laughter. This fear can be traced back to early childhood experiences of intense and repeated exposure to «put-down,» mockery and ridicule in the course of socialization. Gelotophobes constantly fear being screened by others for evidence of ridiculousness. Thus, they carefully avoid situations in which they feel exposed to others. Gelotophobia at its extreme, therefore, involves a pronounced paranoid tendency, a marked sensitivity to offense, and a resulting social withdrawal (Titze 1995, 1996). The origins and consequences of gelotophobia are described, and a model of specific treatment is presented.
In Ruch and Proyer (2008a), the fear of being laughed at (gelotophobia) was introduced as a new individual differences phenomenon. In this article, two new laughter-related concepts are presented: gelotophilia (the joy of being laughed at) and katagelasticism (the joy of laughing at others). The main aim of the present article was an empirical verification of these three concepts. Data analyses from a construction (N = 390) and a replication sample (N = 157) led to a three factor solution for the data comprising the three concepts. Intercorrelations among the three groups suggest that there is a negative correlation between gelotophiles and gelotophobes and a positive relation between gelotophiles and katagelasticists. The correlation coefficients, however, indicate that there is a relation but that the concepts are not interchangeable. A reliable and stable standard 45-item questionnaire (PhoPhiKat-45) and an economic short form of 30 items (PhoPhiKat-30) for the assessment of the three concepts are presented. Additionally, it was shown that, contrary to what had to be expected from early literature on gelotophobia, remembered experiences of having been laughed at by parents, (aid peers in childhood and youth cannot be considered as major contributors to the development of gelotophobic symptoms as an adult (the same is true for gelotophilia and katagelasticism). However, gelotophobes tended to remember more events of having been ridiculed by their father. Suggestions for future research and conceptual developments are given.
This research reviews the empirical and theoretical literature on disparagement humor and amusement. In particular, we ask, “Why is disparagement humor funny?” Three theoretical frameworks provide responses to this question: psychoanalytic theory, superiority theories, and social identity theory. Each framework suggests a distinct psychological mechanism that fosters amusement upon exposure to disparagement humor. The review presents the central theoretical propositions from each framework and assesses their empirical support. Based on this review, we suggest that social identity theory offers a promising new avenue for disparagement humor research. The review concludes by offering future research directions.
Mundorf et al. (1988) found a complex pattern of gender differences in humor appreciation. Specifically, males enjoyed sexual humor more than females did regardless of humor-victim gender, but for hostile humor each gender enjoyed humor with an opposite-gender victim more than the other gender did. The present study was a conceptual replication of the Mundorf study with cartoons as stimuli and with an added independent variable: explicitness of the humor stimuli. The results failed to replicate the pattern reported by Mundorf et al. Instead, females liked sexual humor with male victims just as much as males did but strongly disliked both types of humor when they had female victims. High explicitness was generally preferred over low explicitness except when females rated either sexual cartoons or cartoons with female victims or when sexual cartoons had male victims. A coherent account of both studies and of previous research on this topic can be given in terms of the evolution of gender attitudes toward humor, with changes occurring primarily in females as a result of the continued influence of the women's movement.
Humor is an integral part of our everyday reality. It is a source of strength to compete with and face personal and social challenges as well as political disruptions (Berger 2008). Humor is imbedded in every culture (Berger 1987) and an individual’s sense of humor reveals not only aspects of their personality but also their mode of social interaction (Lynch 2002). As such, humor has been extensively researched and discussed in terms of its types, effectiveness, and outcomes (Weinberger and Gulas, 1992, 2013; Eisend 2009). The present study discusses the evolution of humorous commercials and humor styles (types of humor) between 1969 and 2015 under the prism of the social change that shaped American society. Based on the logic and structure of Weinberger, Gulas and Weinberger’s (2015) study of humorous outdoor advertisements, a content analysis of actual Super Bowl advertisements and a review of both the social and micro-industry factors in the USA over a 45-year period provide the empirical underpinnings of the study. This is the first longitudinal, content analysis of TV commercials extending over half a century.
An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of individual differences in need for cognition on humor's influence on persuasion in advertising. Results indicate that the effect of humor in advertising is moderated by levels of audience members' need for cognition. Advertising humor is more effective in influencing audience members' responses to an advertisement when audience members' need for cognition is low rather than high. Results also suggest that the effect of humor on attitude toward the brand can be mediated by attitude toward the ad. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
This study examined gender’s effects on attitudes and tendencies to share online ads containing comedic violence. The results show that males enjoyed comedic violence more than females, when the perpetrator of the comedic violence was male, regardless of the victim’s sex; and, when the perpetrator and victim were both female. When the perpetrator and victim were of different sexes, the impact of attitudes towards comedic violence on sharing the ad varied by gender. However, when the victim and perpetrator were of the same sex, there was no significant gender difference in the effects of attitudes toward sharing the ad.
Purpose
Marketers are increasing their use of digital strategies and prioritizing digital tactics, although the effectiveness digital video advertising (DVA) has not been examined empirically. The purpose of this research is to suggest that it is useful for advertisers to consider theories of the past to understand the link between product, advertising format and message processing.
Design/methodology/approach
To examine DVA effectiveness, this study utilized a 2-product type (utilitarian vs hedonic) × 2-product involvement (low vs high) x 2-platform (laptop vs mobile) mixed-design. Participants were recruited from a research company, who invited members of their panel to participate in an online experiment.
Findings
DVA for hedonic products resulted in stronger attitudes toward the ad and brand, and intentions to purchase. DVA for low involvement products resulted in stronger purchase intentions and likelihood to opt-in for more information. Moreover, there was an interaction between product category and involvement across all five measures of DVA effectiveness.
Research limitations/implications
Like TV commercials, DVA is more effective when used with low involvement, hedonic products than with high involvement, utilitarian products. Additionally, the device on which the advertisement is viewed impacts the effectiveness of DVA.
Practical implications
Companies promoting high-involvement utilitarian products may consider alternative advertising strategies (e.g. MDAs, apps, websites and advergames), as DVA may not be the most effective ad format.
Originality/value
As technology continues to develop and marketers continue to pursue growing numbers of consumers through digital means and on mobile devices, understanding how device type influences advertising effectiveness is important for media strategy, message placement and marketing metrics. This research takes one step in that direction.
Two experimental studies in Poland examined how perceived and manipulated realism of comedic violence may influence consumer responses to brands. Disposition to laughter, measured by katagelasticism (the joy of laughing at others), gelotophilia (the joy of being laughed at), and gelotophobia (the fear of being laughed at), was included as a potentially important factor in driving individual responsiveness to humorous messages. The results reveal that highly violent humor—compared with less violent humor—lowered perceptions of realism and produced negative brand attitudes. Manipulated realism led to less positive attitudes than manipulated unrealism in a high comedic violence condition but had no effect
on brand evaluations when comedic violence was low. In both studies, the effects of realism on brand attitudes grew with increasing levels of katagelasticism and gelotophilia.
The Handbook of Communication Skills is recognised as one of the core texts in the field of communication, offering a state-of-the-art overview of this rapidly evolving field of study. This comprehensively revised and updated fourth edition arrives at a time when the realm of interpersonal communication has attracted immense attention. Recent research showing the potency of communication skills for success in many walks of life has stimulated considerable interest in this area, both from academic researchers, and from practitioners whose day-to-day work is so dependent on effective social skills.
Covering topics such as non-verbal behaviour, listening, negotiation and persuasion, the book situates communication in a range of different contexts, from interacting in groups to the counselling interview. Based on the core tenet that interpersonal communication can be conceptualised as a form of skilled activity, and including new chapters on cognitive behavioural therapy and coaching and mentoring, this new edition also places communication in context with advances in digital technology.
The Handbook of Communication Skills represents the most significant single contribution to the literature in this domain. Providing a rich mine of information for the neophyte and practising professional, it is perfect for use in a variety of contexts, from theoretical mainstream communication modules on degree programmes to vocational courses in health, business and education. With contributions from an internationally renowned range of scholars, this is the definitive text for students, researchers and professionals alike.
Purpose
While the potential benefits of integrating humour into advertisements are widely understood, the reasons why these effects emerge are not. Drawing on literature about the impact of psychological feelings of power, this research aims to examine how power motivation interacts with the presence of disparaging humour in ads to influence ad-related outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
Following the measurement (Study 1) or manipulation (Study 2) of power motivation, participants viewed an ad featuring either disparaging humour or one of the following alternatives: no humour (Study 1) or non-disparaging humour (Study 2). Sense of superiority, brand attitude, ad claim recall and the perceived humorousness of the ad were then assessed.
Findings
Featuring disparaging humour in an ad increased participants’ sense of superiority, but only among those with high power motivation. Among such participants, this heightened sense of superiority increased the perceived humorousness of the disparaging humour (Studies 1 and 2), induced more favourable attitudes towards the brand featured in the ad (Studies 1 and 2) and enhanced ad claim recall (Study 2). These effects did not, however, extend to ads featuring non-disparaging humour (Study 2), indicating that it was the presence of disparaging humour, and not humour per se, that was responsible for these effects.
Originality/value
These findings break open the “black box” of humour by identifying why consumers perceive disparaging humorous content to be funny, when this effect will occur and what impact this will have on advertising-related outcomes.
There has been a remarkable increase in the use of spotlight analysis to examine any interactive effect between an independent variable and a continuous moderator. Most of the spotlight analyses have been conducted at one standard deviation above and below the mean value of the moderator, even when alternate methods are more appropriate. Additionally, many spotlight analyses are not conducted correctly. More importantly, results for spotlight analyses are reported in a manner that makes it virtually impossible for mistakes to be detected. This article focuses on "understanding," "conducting," and "reporting" spotlight analyses. By posing questions for the reader, it highlights some common mistakes made when doing spotlight analysis and explains why confusion often arises. Then it provides an easy to understand way to do spotlight analysis for some popular contexts. Alternatives to spotlight analysis are also briefly discussed. Finally, it suggests how to report results for spotlight analysis and for the alternatives. Pointing out recurrent mistakes should prevent perpetuation of misleading practices. Similarly, reporting essential details of the analyses should prevent mistakes from going undetected.
Much has been said and written about humor that disparages, belittles, debases, demeans, humiliates, or otherwise victimizes. A myriad of observations and opinions on the subject eventually found expression in theoretical proposals, and these proposals have been reviewed in considerable detail (e.g., Berlyne, 1969; Keith-Spiegel, 1972). The research efforts spawned by the proposals, together with theoretical advances and refinements suggested or demanded by the findings, also have been detailed and summarized (e.g., La Fave, 1972; Zillmann & Cantor, 1976). Obviously, there is little merit in restating the various theoretical views and in rehashing research findings that have been reported repeatedly already. This chapter, consequently, traces the evolution of disparagement theory in its essentials only and then focuses on new developments, both theoretical and empirical, that have occurred since the publication of the reviews in the early and mid-seventies. More specifically, extensions of theoretical approaches to disparagement humor are reported and the generality and specificity of these approaches is assessed. Efforts at integrating disparagement theory with other approaches to humor are reported. New findings concerning the ontogeny of mirthful reactions to disparagement are discussed. Finally, the discontent with the “incompleteness” of disparagement-centered theories of humor is detailed, and recent efforts at removing the apparent incompleteness of older models in the construction of more integrative theories are described. Much attention is given to the issue of converting the potential enjoyment of disparagement into amusement.
After 2.5 millennia of philosophical deliberation and psychological experimentation, most scholars have concluded that humor arises from incongruity. We highlight 2 limitations of incongruity theories of humor. First, incongruity is not consistently defined. The literature describes incongruity in at least 4 ways: surprise, juxtaposition, atypicality, and a violation. Second, regardless of definition, incongruity alone does not adequately differentiate humorous from nonhumorous experiences. We suggest revising incongruity theory by proposing that humor arises from a benign violation: something that threatens a person's well-being, identity, or normative belief structure but that simultaneously seems okay. Six studies, which use entertainment, consumer products, and social interaction as stimuli, reveal that the benign violation hypothesis better differentiates humorous from nonhumorous experiences than common conceptualizations of incongruity. A benign violation conceptualization of humor improves accuracy by reducing the likelihood that joyous, amazing, and tragic situations are inaccurately predicted to be humorous. (PsycINFO Database Record
Research on humor is carried out in a number of areas in psychology, including the cognitive (What makes something funny?), developmental (when do we develop a sense of humor?), and social (how is humor used in social interactions?) Although there is enough interest in the area to have spawned several societies, the literature is dispersed in a number of primary journals, with little in the way of integration of the material into a book. Dr. Martin is one of the best known researchers in the area, and his research goes across subdisciplines in psychology to be of wide appeal. This is a singly authored monograph that provides in one source, a summary of information researchers might wish to know about research into the psychology of humor. The material is scholarly, but the presentation of the material is suitable for people unfamiliar with the subject-making the book suitable for use for advanced undergraduate and graduate level courses on the psychology of humor-which have not had a textbook source.
This experiment relied on social identity theory to investigate jokes that express superiority and denigration toward social groups. In particular, the social identity of gender is examined in the context of sexist-nonstereotypical jokes. Results revealed that sexist-nonstereotypical jokes had the greatest impact on women. Specifically, women rated jokes about men funnier than jokes about themselves, and highly identified women found jokes targeting men significantly funnier than jokes targeting women. These results, and others relating to prototypicality, offer insight into how disparaging intergroup jokes function to accentuate and attenuate intergroup relations.
Untersucht wird der Zusammenhang zwischen erinnerten sozialen Unterstützungs- und Belastungsfaktoren in Kindheit und Jugend durch Familie, Lehrer und Gleichaltrige mit der Ausprägung der Angst vor dem Ausgelachtwerden (Gelotophobie), der Freude am Ausgelachtwerden (Gelotophilie), der Freude daran, andere auszulachen (Katagelastizismus) sowie zur Lebenszufriedenheit im Erwachsenenalter (N = 288; die Daten wurden online erhoben). Höhere erinnerte Unterstützung ging mit geringeren Werten in Gelotophobie und höheren in Gelotophilie einher (keine Beziehung zu Katagelastizismus). Ebenso ging höhere erinnerte Unterstützung mit höherer Lebenszufriedenheit einher. Für die Angst vor dem Ausgelachtwerden schien vor allem die Unterstützung durch Gleichaltrige gefolgt von jener durch die Eltern von großer Bedeutung zu sein. Geringere erinnerte Unterstützung durch Lehrer hing nur in geringem Ausmaß mit Gelotophobie zusammen, sodass den Lehrern hier keine zentrale Rolle zuzukommen scheint. Allerdings fand sich, dass Unterstützung durch Lehrer (ebenso wie jene durch Eltern oder Gleichaltrige) mit höherer Lebenszufriedenheit einherging. Die Studie zeigt robuste Zusammenhänge zwischen sozia¬len Unterstützungs- und Belastungsfaktoren und Reaktionen auf den Umgang mit (Aus-)Lachen und Ausgelachtwerden im Erwachsenenalter.
Although society advocates accomplishment, it banishes those deviating from normalcy. Therefore, stigma surrounds exceptionality. The current article explores the stigma of excellence by analyzing open-ended surveys from 169 gifted adolescents age 11–18 years. Findings suggest difference, rather than deficit, contributes to stigma's construction. Gifted adolescents experienced a dialectic of (perceived) superiority and inferiority: They are both stigmatized because peers perceive them as intellectual superiors, and their superiority is discursively reconstituted as inferiority. Additionally, perceived superiority poses relational threats. Peers become jealous or remain uncertain how to interact with individuals profoundly deviating from normalcy. Thus, they reject the gifted as a protective measure. Finally, gifted adolescents might experience several positive outcomes from their stigmatization.
I. Jealous and Envious Thoughts and Feelings 1. The Emotional Experiences of Envy and Jealousy, Parrott 2. The Organization of Jealousy Knowledge: Romantic Jealousy as a Blended Emotion, Sharpsteen 3. A Cognitive Theory of Jealousy, Mathes 4. Envy and the Sense of Injustice, Smith II. The Experience of Jealousy in Close Relationships 5. Psychosocial Aspects of Jealousy: A Transactional Model, Bringle 6. Developmental Correlates of Jealousy, Clanton & Kosins 7. Jealousy in Close Relationships: An Exchange Theoretical Perspective, Buunk 8. Modes of Response to Jealousy-Envoking Situations, Bryson III. Family, Systems, and Culture in Jealousy and Envy 9. Jealousy: Its Conceptualization, Measurement, and Integration with Family Stress Theory, Hansen 10. Self, Relationship, Friends, and Family: Some Applications of Systems Perspectives to Romantic Jealousy, White 11. The Motive for the Arousal of Romantic Jealousy: Its Cultural Origin, Hupka 12. Envy and Jealousy: Self and Society, Salovey & Rothman
The aim of the present study is the location of gelotophobia (fear of being laughed at), gelotophilia (the joy of being laughed at) and katagelasticism (joy of laughing at others) in the five-factor personality model. In the sample of 425 Slovak adults, gelotophobes can be described as introverted neurotics with lower inclination to openness. Personality factors explained 46.7% of the variance in gelotophobia. Gelotophilia is related to extraversion, low neuroticism and low conscientiousness. The personality predictors accounted for 21.3% of the variance in gelotophilia. Katagelasticists could be described by extraversion and low agreeableness and conscientiousness. The explained proportion of the variance in katagelasticism is 37.3%. The explained variance of gelotophobia and gelotophilia is comparable to previous German and Taiwanese findings. However, there is a higher explained variance in katagelasticism in Slovakia than in the samples of Germans and samples of Taiwanese. Suggestions for future research are given.
Humor is often featured in consumer advertisements, yet its effects and the mechanisms by which they operate have not been fully elucidated. Previous studies have shown humor to enhance, inhibit, or have no effect on consumers' responses to advertisements. Clearly, there are boundary conditions governing the operation of humor. The authors report a program of experimentation that examines one such contingency: an individual's"need for humor." Need for humor (NFH) is a trait that refers to a person's tendency to generate and seek out humor.Humor was manipulated in three studies using print ads and NFH was measured. Dependent variables included various measures of advertising effectiveness. Results of Study 1 show the impact of humor on attitude toward the ad to be moderated by NFH, such that humor influences only higher-NFH subjects. Results of Study 2 show a similar moderating effect of NFH, which is further qualified by the need for cognition (NFC), suggesting that the motivation to process may help explain the key finding. Study 3 provides additional evidence of a three-way interaction of humor, NFH, and NFC, and offers a process explanation using path modeling.
An empirical study investigated the effects of humor and need for cognition on an individual's response to print ads about cameras. Results indicate that the effect of humor is moderated by an individual difference factor, a person's need for cognition. Specifically, on measures of attitudes and purchase intention, humor appears more effective in generating favorable responses from persons whose need for cognition is low rather than high. Findings also suggest that the influence of humor on attitude toward the brand is mediated by attitude toward the ad.
Violence in the media has been an issue of research and public debate for many years. An examination of current humorous ads reveals widespread portrayal of men as victims of violence or in denigrating situations that are construed as humorous. This portrayal of men is an unanticipated twist on traditional themes of gender and subordination and suggests a change in what it means to be "male" in contemporary consumer society.
Titze (1996) concluded from individual case studies that gelotophobes do not experience humor and laughter as a shared enjoyment but rather as a threat. Two studies examined whether gelotophobes are less humorous in general or whether this is true only for certain components of humor. In study I, three samples (N = 120 and 70 students; N = 169 adults) filled in the GELOPH3464 along with several humor instruments (i.e., 3 WD, CHS, HBQD, HSQ, HUWO, STCI-T3604). Results showed that gelotophobes are less cheerful and characterize their humor style as inept, socially cold, and mean-spirited. They report less frequent use of humor as a means for coping and indulge less often in self-enhancing and social humor. Appreciation of incongruity-resolution humor and nonsense humor (but not sexual humor) was lower than for non-gelotophobes. Study II (N ¼ 131 adults) focused on the relation between gelotophobia, gelotophilia, and katagelasticism and the ability to create humor (i.e., the CPPT). The ability to create humor is unrelated to gelotophobia, and tends to be positively correlated with gelotophilia and katagelasticism. Future studies should investigate why gelotophobes see their humor style as inept despite not lacking wit, and how their beliefs can be made more consistent with their abilities.
G*Power (Erdfelder, Faul, & Buchner, 1996) was designed as a general stand-alone power analysis program for statistical tests commonly used in social and behavioral research. G*Power 3 is a major extension of, and improvement over, the previous versions. It runs on widely used computer platforms (i.e., Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Mac OS X 10.4) and covers many different statistical tests of the t, F, and chi2 test families. In addition, it includes power analyses for z tests and some exact tests. G*Power 3 provides improved effect size calculators and graphic options, supports both distribution-based and design-based input modes, and offers all types of power analyses in which users might be interested. Like its predecessors, G*Power 3 is free.
Familial aggregation and the effect of parenting styles on three dispositions toward ridicule and being laughed at were tested. Nearly 100 families (parents, their adult children, and their siblings) completed subjective questionnaires to assess the presence of gelotophobia (the fear of being laughed at), gelotophilia (the joy of being laughed at), and katagelasticism (the joy of laughing at others). A positive relationship between fear of being laughed at in children and their parents was found. Results for gelotophilia were similar but numerically lower; if split by gender of the adult child, correlations to the mother’s gelotophilia exceeded those of the father. Katagelasticism arose independently from the scores in the parents but was robustly related to greater katagelasticism in the children’s siblings. Gelotophobes remembered punishment (especially from the mother), lower warmth and higher control from their parents (this was also found in the parents’ recollections of their parenting style). The incidence of gelotophilia was unrelated to specific parenting styles, and katagelasticism exhibited only weak relations with punishment. The study suggests a specific pattern in the relation of the three dispositions within families and argues for a strong impact of parenting styles on gelotophobia but less so for gelotophilia and katagelasticism.
Critics of the experimental method claim that experiments rely too heavily on artificial settings, rely too heavily on college student participants, and do not provide practical solutions to applied problems. Contrary to these claims, I review evidence suggesting that natural research settings are often overrated, artificial research settings are often underrated, college student research participants provide remarkably useful data, and concrete thinking (i.e., focusing on superficial surface details rather than on underlying fundamental abstract principles) impedes learning and problem solving. Moreover, I suggest that much of the confusion concerning the experimental method stems from a preference for different types of information among different groups of individuals. A clearer understanding of this preference difference is needed to facilitate effective intercommunication between scientists and practitioners.
In this article I argue that although the notion of identification with media characters is widely discussed in media research, it has not been carefully conceptualized or rig- orously tested in empirical audience studies. This study presents a theoretical discus- sion of identification, including a definition of identification and a discussion of the consequences of identification with media characters for the development of identity and socialization processes. It is suggested that a useful distinction can be made be- tween identification and other types of reactions that media audiences have to media characters. A critical look at media research involving identification exposes the in- herent conceptual problems in this research and leads to hypotheses regarding the antecedents and consequences of identification with media characters. The impor - tance of a theory of identification to media research and communication research, more broadly, is presented. When reading a novel or watching a film or a television program, audience members often become absorbed in the plot and identify with the characters portrayed. Unlike the more distanced mode of reception—that of spectatorship—identification is a mechanism through which audience members experience reception and interpreta- tion of the text from the inside, as if the events were happening to them. Identification is tied to the social effects of media in general (e.g., Basil, 1996; Maccoby & Wilson, 1957); to the learning of violence from violent films and television, specifically (Huesmann, Lagerspetz, & Eron, 1984); and is a central mechanism for explaining such effects. As Morley (1992) said: "One can hardly imagine any television text having any effect whatever without that identification" (p. 209). The most promi-
This research examines contingencies that shape the effects of humorous appeals on consumers' recall of ads, as well as the processes underlying such effects. Results of experimentation show that ads are more memorable when humor is both strong and related to the message, and this interaction is mediated by attention and mood. Stronger humor appeals also induce higher recall among individuals with a high "need for humor" (NFH).