Empirical investigation into the theoretical connection between humor appreciation and aggression has provided a continued series of equivocal results. This experiment examined the proposition that previous inconsistencies were due to the lack of concern for individual locus of control. Female subjects, differentiated as internals and externals, received either an aggression arousal induction procedure or a neutral nonarousal procedure. Subjects were presented three stimulus situations: neutral humor, aggressive humor, or nonhumorous material, and assessed for mood state. Locus of control was found to be a significant variable in the effectiveness of aggressive humor to reduce aggressive mood. Internals were able to reduce aggressive mood through appreciation of aggressive humor and demonstrated preference for this humor type. Importance of internals' cognitive style interacting with humor content was found significant in relationship between humor and aggressive reduction.
Adolescents often experience psychological difficulties associated with the demands and changes of puberty. Humor can be an effective response to express troublesome emotions associated with aggression. Self‐descriptions of an adolescent client demonstrate the value of a controlled use of humor in individual psychotherapy for certain persons in this developmental age period.
Freudian theory and subsequent research indicate a connection between sexual and aggressive motivation. The present study investigated this proposed connection by examining humor preferences during an induced aggressive mood. Appreciation of neutral, sexual, and aggressive humor was examined under conditions of aggression arousal. A total of 90 male and 90 female university students participated in one of two 2 X 3 factorial designs that crossed arousal with humor type. Ss in arousal conditions rated all humor as funnier than Ss in neutral conditions, and sexual humor was rated as being funniest. Males and females showed complex significant differences in humor preferences.
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