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These studies examined the effect of degree of similarity between Ss and cartoon characters depicted as victims of an accidental mishap, on appreciation of humor occurring in connection with the mishap. In Study 1, low-income white, black, and Mexican-American boys and girls between 3 and 6 years of age were presented with pairs of drawings differing only in the identification of the victim of the mishap and were asked to choose the funnier of the two. Study 2 followed the same procedure with a middle-income group of 4- to 6-year-old white boys and girls. The pairs of humorous drawings included the following comparisons of victims: boy vs girl, son vs father, son vs mother, daughter vs father, and daughter vs mother. Findings for middle-income children and low-income boys from all three racial-ethnic backgrounds were consistently in the direction predicted by the disposition theory of humor: humor victimizing a parent was funnier than humor victimizing a child, and humor victimizing the opposite sex was funnier than humor victimizing one's own sex. For low-income girls, however, humor victimizing one's own sex was funnier than humor victimizing the opposite sex. Sex-difference data are interpreted in terms of the importance of extent of traditional sex-role development.

The objective of the study was to examine the use of videotape as a modeling and as a feedback device in skills-based interpersonal communication courses. Videotapes were made of students as they demonstrated self-disclosure and empathic listening skills at the begin ning and at the end of a university family relations course. Students in one section were videotaped during the course, allowed to view their own tapes, and received feedback on their use of the skills. Another section viewed videotapes of other students demonstrating the skills, but were not given an opportunity to view themselves on videotape. A third section served as the control group and did not receive any instruction with videotape. Significant increases in skills performance at post-test were observed in all three groups. The treatment group that viewed modeling of communication skills via videotape had higher performance levels on both empathy and self-disclosure than either the control or videofeed back sections. The findings of the study demonstrated the effectiveness of teaching com munication skills and the effectiveness of video modeling of skills as a teaching technique. Factors that might contribute to higher anxiety among students who receive videofeedback are discussed and future research needs are presented.

Social and personality correlates of humour were studied with a college age sample (n = 446) and a small sample of elderly women (n = 27). In the college sample, self-monitoring of expressive behaviour and social assertiveness were more important predictors of humour than were general social self-esteem, machiavellianism, masculinity or femininity for both male and female respondents. These results were partially replicated in the elderly sample.

This study examined the early development of humor depicting victims of other racial-ethnic groups among low-income black, Mexican American, and white children and middle-income white children. Boys and girls between 3 and 6 years of age were presented with pairs of drawings differing only in the identification of the victim of a minor mishap and were asked to choose the funnier of the two. The pairs included the following comparisons: black versus white victim, black versus Mexican American victim, and white versus Mexican American victim. As hypothesized, only white children found it funnier to see a child of another racial-ethnic group victimized in humor than a child of their own group. This occurred for both low- and middle-income children. The lack of significant humor preferences among black and Mexican American children are explained in terms of their greater ambivalence regarding early positive identification with their own racial-ethnic group.