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Previous research has pointed out that feminist humor or subversive humor against sexism is an important precursor to collective action for gender equality. This effect has been found contrasting subversive humor with neutral humor, however, to date, no study has explored the impact of the message format. Thus, we conducted two experiments to analyze the effect of exposure to a subversive humorous vignette against sexism (vs. subversive serious information against sexism and neutral humorous vignette) on involvement in collective action for gender equality, considering participants' feminist identification. In Study 1 (n = 135 men and n = 198 women), participants with lower feminist identification reported a greater proclivity toward collective action after being exposure to both a subversive humorous vignette and subversive serious vignette (vs. neutral humorous vignette). In Study 2 (n = 157 men and 188 women), we replaced the subversive serious vignette with a subversive serious discourse. The results revealed that exposure to a subversive humorous vignette (vs. subversive serious discourse and neutral humorous vignette) increased participants' collective action proclivity, but only in participants with weaker feminist identification. Both studies highlight a new pathway to motivate collective action for gender equality, as well as the potential effect of humor to promote a change in attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through its many faces, humor may perpetuate inequalities and intergroup differences (disparagement humor) or, on the contrary, it may question such inequalities and differences and try to subvert hierarchies and social asymmetries (subversive humor). This research focuses on the kind of subversive humor that questions and confronts sexist ideology and behaviors and has come to be called subversive humor against sexism or feminist humor. Despite repeated allusions to the subversive function of this type of humor, no empirical evidence shows that subversive humor against sexism constitutes an empirical entity independent from other types of humor. After conceptually defining subversive humor against sexism, in Study 1, five experts analyzed the content validity of a pool of subversive humorous stimuli compared to stimuli from other humor categories (i.e., man disparagement humor and neutral humor). In Study 2 (n = 203), exploratory factor analysis (EFA) empirically isolated three related factors identified as subversive humor against sexism, man disparagement humor and neutral humor. Study 3 (n = 229) replicated these results through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and provided evidence on the specific relationships among this type of humor, feminist identity and collective actions for gender equality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this experimental study was to clarify whether affective states with different arousal and valence levels influence the perceived funniness and aversiveness shown as a response to humor stimuli. We used the International Affective Picture System, IAPS (Lang, Peter J., Margaret M. Bradley & Bruce N. Cuthbert. 1999. International Affective Picture System (IAPS): Technical manual and affective ratings. Gainesville, FL: The Center for Research in Psychophysiology, University of Florida) and followed a mixed factorial design. Affective state differed between four groups: 1) neutral group; 2) negative valence-moderate arousal group; 3) positive valence-moderate arousal group; and 4) negative valence-high arousal group. We measured pre- and post-perceived funniness and aversiveness in response to humorous material. Participants were 80 psychology students who were randomly assigned to one of four induction conditions. The results showed that, regardless of the type of valence, affective states with moderate arousal levels did not affect humor appreciation. However, the perceived funniness response was significantly lower in the negative valence-high arousal group. Perceived aversiveness responses were not affected by valence or arousal level. Results are discussed in relation to several current theories on the role of affective state in humor appreciation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing psychological research has long considered humor as a useful strategy for individuals in coping with adverse circumstances and life stressors. However, empirical studies are called for to better understand the role of humor in facing the COVID-19 pandemic. In a community sample of 527 Spanish adults, we investigated the associations between humor styles, perceived threat from COVID-19, funniness of COVID-19 memes, and individuals' affective mood. Data were collected during the third week of lockdown in Spain (from 26 to 31 March 2020). Our results suggest that intrapsychic humor styles were associated with better coping with the COVID-19 pandemic. Structural equation modelling showed that self-enhancing and aggressive humor styles were related to perceiving COVID-19 as less psychologically threatening, which, in turn, was associated with a greater perceived funniness of COVID-19 memes, thus predicting higher levels of happiness. Interestingly, the opposite pattern of connections was found for self-defeating humor. These findings suggest that humor styles aimed at boosting one's own self, irrespective of their potentially lighter or darker nature, may contribute to alleviating adverse psychological consequences arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exposure to sexist humor creates a context in which some men feel comfortable expressing aggressive tendencies toward women (i.e., self-reported rape proclivity). This is in part because this type of humor makes it easier for men who have antagonistic attitudes toward women to express their prejudice without fear of social reprisal. Besides, previous research has demonstrated the influence of motivational variables such as autonomy (initiation or regulation of intentional behavior based on free choice) and control (acting under external pressure) on aggression. We conducted two experiments to explore the hypothetical influence of priming autonomy and control motivations on the relation between sexist humor and the expression of sexually aggressive tendencies toward women. Study 1 (N = 108) revealed that control-primed men with high (vs. low) scores in hostile sexism reported a higher rape proclivity when exposed to sexist (vs. neutral) humor. These results were partially replicated in Study 2 (N = 132), assessing the accessibility of aggressive sexual thoughts. This research contributes to our understanding of the influence of sexist humor and motivational orientations in sexist men on the expression of aggressive sexual behaviors directed against women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subversive humor has historically been considered a way of protesting, raising awareness, and seeking change. However, to date, no known empirical research has explored the consequences of exposure to humor that criticizes, confronts, and questions sexism (i.e., subversive humor against sexism or feminist humor). In the present research, we conducted two experiments to analyze the impact of exposure to subversive humor against sexism (vs. neutral humor) on the degree of involvement in collective action for gender equality, taking into account the feminist identity of participants. The results of Study 1 (n = 135) revealed that Spanish women and men with weaker feminist identification showed a higher proclivity to participate in collective action for gender equality after being exposed to subversive humor against sexism (vs. neutral humor). Study 2 (n = 134 Spanish women and men) replicated these results and expanded them to behavioral intentions to participate in this type of collective action. Our findings show the potential implications of using this type of humor for collective action for gender equality. Overall, subversive humor against sexism may function as a supportive tool to combat sexist attitudes, discrimination against women, and gender inequality by raising awareness in people with lower feminist identity to get them more involved in collective action. This approach would facilitate recruiting activists, getting more media coverage, and building a collective identity supporting mobilization against sexism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Benevolent and corrective humor are two comic styles that have been related to virtue, morality, and character strengths. A previous study also supported the viability of measuring these two styles with the BenCor in 22 countries. The present study extends the previous one by including further countries (a total of 25 countries in 29 samples with N = 7813), by testing the revised BenCor (BenCor-R), and by adding two criterion measures to assess life satisfaction and four broad humor dimensions (social fun/entertaining humor, mockery, humor ineptness, and cognitive/reflective humor). As expected, the BenCor-R showed mostly promising psychometric properties (internal consistency and factorial validity). Consistent with previous studies, benevolent humor correlated positively with life satisfaction in most countries, while corrective humor was uncorrelated with life satisfaction. These relationships were only slightly changed when controlling for social fun/entertaining humor and mockery, respectively. Benevolent humor was mostly positively associated with cognitive/reflective humor, followed by social fun/entertaining humor and mockery. Corrective humor was mostly positively associated with mockery, followed by cognitive/reflective and social fun/entertaining humor, although these relationships differed between the countries. Overall, the present study supports the viability of benevolent and corrective humor, which has yet received insufficient attention in psychology, for cross-cultural investigations and applications of humor, well-being, and morality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Prior research has underlined the meaningful function of humour in nursing settings. Nonetheless, most of the empirical evidence on humour and nursing derives from approaches that mainly considered the potential beneficial effects of humour, neglecting potential detrimental effects of the dark side of humour. Moreover, little is known about whether the specific repercussions of humour on healthcare professionals' well‐being would go beyond empathy—a construct robustly related to psychological well‐being. Aims: To examine whether distinctive humour styles (affiliative, self‐enhancing, aggressive and self‐defeating) are differentially associated with the psychological well‐being of nursing professionals. Importantly, we also analysed whether these potential humour effects go over and above the influence of empathy‐related traits (perspective‐taking and personal distress). Method: A cross‐sectional, descriptive correlational design was used. A convenience sample of 104 nursing professionals with a minimum work experience of one year was recruited. Results: Our results revealed that a greater inclination to affiliative and self‐enhancing humour styles was strongly related to higher scores on happiness, sociability, hope and life satisfaction among nursing professionals. Concerning maladaptive humour styles, aggressive humour was related to low life satisfaction and high nursing stress. By contrast, self‐defeating humour—a theoretically detrimental humour style—was related to higher scores on health among these professionals. These effects emerged even after controlling for the influence of demographics (i.e., gender, age and years of experience), perspective‐taking and personal distress. Conclusions: Our results suggest that adaptive humour styles may promote positive indicators of well‐being, but they might not protect against negative indicators. Moreover, differential effects of maladaptive humour styles emerged. Whereas aggressive humoristic expressions can be interpreted as a sign of a poor psychological functioning, self‐defeating humour may boost positive psychological outcomes among nursing professionals. These data can help to design more efficient humour‐based intervention programmes aimed at minimising potential negative consequences of nursing activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The State-Trait Model of Cheerfulness assesses the temperamental basis of the sense of humor with the traits and respective states of cheerfulness, seriousness, and bad mood. Cheerfulness is a dominant factor in current measures of the sense of humor and explains both, the disposition to engaging in smiling and laughter, as well as humor behaviors, and trait seriousness and bad mood are antagonistic to the elicitation of amusement (albeit for different reasons). Several studies have shown the validity and reliability of the STCI questionnaire in German and other language versions (i.e., Spanish). In this study, the English language version with 106 items (STCI-T <106>) was translated, checked for its item and scale characteristics, and tested with a confirmatory factor analysis approach (N = 1101) to investigate the factorial validity of the STCI-T <106> scale. Results show good psychometric characteristics, good internal consistencies, and a fit to the postulated underlying structure of the STCI-T. Then, the standard form with 60 items (STCI-T <60>) was developed and the psychometric characteristics initially tested. In an independent sample (N = 169), the characteristics of the standard form were compared to the parent form and German equivalent. It showed good psychometric characteristics, internal consistencies, as well as a good self- and peer-report congruence. To conclude, the STCI-T <106> is the measure of choice for the assessment of the temperamental basis of the sense of humor and the separate facets of the traits, while the standard form (60 items) allows of an economic assessment of cheerfulness, seriousness, and bad mood, free of context-saturated items and humor preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We tested the hypothesis that group norms would have an effect on humor appreciation, specifically on ingroup disparaging humor. In this study (N=195), participants were exposed to two humor conditions (neutral or ingroup disparaging humor) and to two group norms regarding humor appreciation (favoring or rejecting). Favoring group norm had a direct effect on the funniness scores. Moreover, an interaction effect of group norm and type of humor was found on the humor appreciation. When the group norm was rejecting, appreciation of the two different types of humor was different, whereas in the favoring group norm, no statistically significant differences were observed. Additionally, for the disparaging humor exposure, a favoring group norm promoted a greater acceptation of the stereotypical characteristics presented in the disparaging humor as realistic and representative of the ingroup. These results suggest that group norms act as important contextual information that influences disparaging humor appreciation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In three studies, we examined whether ingroup disparaging humor leads to greater stereotyping of the ingroup. First, in Study 1, (N = 101) university students were exposed to (a) ingroup disparaging humor, (b) neutral humor, or (c) ingroup disparaging nonhumorous text. Participants exposed to disparaging humor reported more stereotypic evaluations than those in the neutral humor or disparaging text condition. Study 2 (N = 167) replicated these findings with humor conditions (disparaging vs. neutral) and showed that ingroup identification moderated the effects of the type of humor. Low identifiers exposed to ingroup disparaging humor (vs. those in the control condition) reported a greater frequency of stereotypic evaluations, whereas the manipulation did not affect high identifiers. Finally, Study 3 (N = 153) also manipulated the source of the jokes. As in Study 2, we found an interaction effect showing that high identifiers were not affected by the manipulation, whereas for low identifiers disparaging humor increased stereotyping and led to more negative emotions toward the ingroup. No significant effects were found for source of the jokes. We discuss findings in terms of how the traditional pattern of humor facilitating outgroup stereotyping also seems to apply to ingroup stereotyping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three experiments examined the effect of sexist humor on men’s self-reported rape proclivity (RP). Pilot study demonstrated that people differentiate the five rape scenarios of Bohner et al.’s. RP Scale based on the degree of physical violence perpetrated against the victim. Experiment 1 demonstrated that men higher in hostile sexism report greater RP upon exposure to sexist jokes when a woman (vs. a man) delivers them, and that this effect is limited to rape scenarios depicting a moderate versus a high level of physical violence. Experiment 2 further demonstrated that the relationship between hostile sexism and rape proclivity in response to a moderately violent rape scenario after exposure to sexist humor generalizes beyond women in the immediate humor context to women as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The influence of a cheerful mood on disease activity levels in rheumatoid arthritis is investigated in this cross-sectional study. Method: State cheerfulness (i.e., how individuals feel at the time of the assessment) and trait cheerfulness (i.e., how individuals usually feel) were assessed at the same time as the clinical indicators of disease activity and just before measuring patient-reported disease activity with the Disease Activity Score-28 (DAS-28). Results: State cheerfulness contributed significantly to the variance in the DAS-28 scores that was not accounted for by trait cheerfulness or demographic or clinical variables. Higher state cheerfulness was associated with lower values of self-reported disease activity and C-reactive protein. The patient-reported disease activity was not uniquely caused by the clinical indicators of disease, but it also depended on patients' cheerful mood at the moment of assessment. Conclusion: The findings suggest interesting possibilities for the diagnosis and monitoring of disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Temperamental basis of sense of humor were assessed on Spanish population. [•] Satisfactory psychometric properties were found for the Spanish version of STCI-T. [•] Increments in seriousness scores were observed among older participants. [•] Relationships between STCI-T scores and personality and well-being were replicated. [•] Validity evidence was provided for using the Spanish version of the STCI-T. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We conducted two studies to investigate whether the degree to which people identify with women as a social category affects amusement with sexist humor (humor that disparages women) apart from their affective dispositions toward women. Both studies supported our hypothesis showing that male and female participants were more amused by sexist humor the less they identified with -- the more they felt psychologically distant from -- women as a social category. Study 2 further demonstrated that empathy with women as a social category was not related to amusement with sexist humor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In two studies, we analyzed the differences in the appreciation (i.e., funniness and aversiveness) and interpretation (i.e., criticism of sexism and woman and man disparagement) of subversive humor against sexism compared to sexist humor. In Study 1 (n = 202), we used a confirmatory factor analysis to verify the independence of subversive humor and sexist humor. The pattern of relations between feminist identity and the appreciation and interpretation of subversive humor against sexism was the opposite to that found between feminist identity and the appreciation and interpretation of sexist humor. The same happened with the relations between hostile sexism and subversive humor vs. sexist humor. In Study 2 (n = 169), we experimentally manipulated the type of humor. The pattern of interactions between type of humor and feminist identity was the opposite to that found between type of humor and hostile sexism. Both studies revealed that the appreciation of subversive humor was higher in more feminist participants but the appreciation of sexist humor was higher in more sexist participants. Participants with the highest levels of feminist identity and the lowest levels of hostile sexism perceived the greatest criticism of sexism in subversive humor and the highest woman disparagement in sexist humor. • CFA verified the factorial independence of feminist humor and sexist humor. • The appreciation of feminist humor was higher in more feminist participants. • The appreciation of sexist humor was higher in more sexist participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individual differences in the use of humor are a growing topic in personality research. This paper presents the psychometric analysis of the Spanish version of the Humor Styles Questionnaire (HSQ; Martin, Puhlik-Doris, Larsen, Gray, & Weir, 2003). A total of 1068 adults whose ages ranged from 18 to 65 years participated in five different studies. First, we tested the dimensionality and internal consistency of the instrument; we also replicated previous relationships between humor styles and well-being and personality (Big Five and HEXACO models). Second, we obtained new external validity evidence regarding the role of humor styles in anger management. Our results showed that self-enhancing humor was associated with a higher ability to reduce angry feelings and to avoid the external expression of anger. Higher scores on maladaptive humor styles, such as aggressive and self-defeating humor, were correlated with a greater inclination to express anger toward other people and with an increased tendency to engage in anger suppression, respectively. Results suggest that the HSQ is a reliable and valid option for measuring humor styles in the Spanish population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies of the traits of the Dark Tetrad (i.e., narcissism, psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and everyday sadism) have emphasized the need to elucidate their unique associations with other external criteria as a way of reinforcing their independent empirical entity. Using two independent samples (N = 406), we sought to empirically differentiate the traits of the Dark Tetrad in their relationships to three humor-related personality systems: the Humor Styles Model, the Disposition toward Ridicule and Laughter, and the Comic Style Markers. Hierarchical regression and relative weight analyses revealed that narcissism was the strongest positive predictor of "lighter" forms of humor such as adaptive humor styles, dispositional joy in being laughed at (gelotophilia), and a funny-witty comic style. Psychopathy outperformed other dark personalities in predicting amplified levels of aggressive humor, dispositional joy in laughing at others (katagelasticism), and sarcasm. Machiavellianism primarily predicted an increased ironic-satiric comic style and an elevated dispositional fear of being laughed at (gelotophobia). Finally, while everyday sadism was positively related to most of the "darker" humor-related dimensions such as aggressive humor and sarcasm, this construct uniquely predicted (but reflecting a small effect size) greater levels of katagelasticism after controlling for its shared variance with the remaining traits of the Dark Tetrad. • The Dark Tetrad traits differed in their relations to three humor-related systems. • Narcissism was linked to lighter forms of humor (e.g., fun and wit). • Psychopathy best predicted the darkest humor-related traits (e.g., sarcasm). • Machiavellianism best predicted an ironic-satiric comic style. • Everyday sadism incrementally predicted the joy in laughing at others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research has aimed to test whether "darker" humor-related dispositions can contribute to the prediction of online trolling over and above the influence of dark personality traits. A total of 201 participants (50.7% women) gave responses to dark personality, humor, and online trolling measures. Our results corroborated the one-factor structure of the Spanish version of the Global Assessment of Internet Trolling (S-GAIT) and replicated online trolling's robust associations with increased psychopathy, sadism, and Machiavellianism. Online trolling also correlated with an elevated use of aggressive and self-defeating humor styles, as well as with heightened expressions of the joy in laughing at others (i.e. katagelasticism) and the joy of being laughed at (i.e., gelotophilia). When applying hierarchical regressions to eliminate the redundancy among these traits, we found that katagelasticism incrementally explained variance (Δ R 2 = 10.2%) in online trolling even after accounting for gender and the Dark Tetrad (i.e., male gender and high psychopathy as main predictors: Δ R 2 = 27.3%). A subsequent moderation analysis indicated that higher levels of psychopathy was related to a greater engagement in trolling behavior among those high in katagelasticism. This research provides empirical evidence that contributes to elucidate the "dark" humorous nature of this pervasive antisocial online behavior. • The role of humor-related traits in online trolling was analyzed. • Trolls tend to score higher on joy in laughing at others and aggressive humor. • Katagelasticism incrementally predicts online trolling beyond the Dark Tetrad. • Only among high scorers in katagelasticism does psychopathy relate to greater online trolling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research indicates that individuals' social class (SC) is connected to a wide range of psychological outcomes. Nonetheless, the question of how SC is related to people's uses of humor during social interactions remains unexplored. Consequently, in this research, we tested whether a person's SC, as measured by both objective indices of material wealth (i.e., income and educational attainment) and subjective perceptions of one' SC standing, is differentially related to affiliative and aggressive forms of humor. Study 1 (N = 156; 52.6% females) showed that there were no class-based differences in the use of affiliative humor, but provided preliminary support for a positive association between income and aggressive humor – even after controlling for age and gender. Study 2 (N = 201; 54.2% females) widely replicated these findings and revealed that the income-aggressive humor relationship was mediated by empathic concern. Overall, our results suggest that higher-income individuals, relative to their lower-income counterparts, tend to use aggressive humor more often because of their reduced others-oriented feelings of sympathy and compassion. To our knowledge, this research contains the first empirical evidence on the association of SC and the way in which individuals habitually use humor in their day-to-day lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]