A Pilot Study of the Relation between Humor Styles and the Past-Positive and Past-Negative Time Perspectives

Abstract

Those who use self-enhancing and affiliative humor styles tend to recall positive experiences with their parents and primary caretakers, whereas those who use the self-defeating humor style tend to recall negative experiences with them. Considering the importance of experiences with parents and primary caretakers for life satisfaction and happiness, it was hypothesized that the affiliative and self-enhancing humor styles would be positively correlated with past-positive experiences and negatively correlated with past-negative experiences, and that the self-defeating humor style would be positively correlated with past-negative experiences and negatively correlated with past-positive experiences. The Humor Styles Questionnaire and the Past-Positive and Past-Negative subscales of the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory were administered to 114 undergraduates. The hypotheses were partially supported despite the retrospective nature of the Past-Positive and Past-Negative Subscales and the correlational nature of the study, indicating further research is needed.

Positive Psychology in Times of Pandemic—Time Perspective as a Moderator of the Relationship between Resilience and Meaning in Life

“…Resilience and its dimensions were found to be related to time perspective [10,13,14]. For example, optimism was positively linked with Past Positive, Present Positive, and Future Positive time perspectives and inversely related to Past Negative, Present Negative, and Future Negative time perspectives [12].…”

“…However, previous research found associations between time perspective and resilience [10] and some factors describing resilience [12][13][14] and meaning in life [15,16]. More positive temporal orientations, namely Past Positive, Present Hedonistic, and Future, enhanced both resilience and MIL; more negative temporal perspectives, namely Past Negative and Present Fatalistic, led to low intensity of MIL [16], resilience [10], and optimism [12].…”

“…PN is a maladaptive time orientation. PN is positively related to pessimism [47] and various negative aspects of health and coping, such as pain sensitivity and pain catastrophizing [48], catastrophizing as a coping mechanism [49], self-defeating humor [14], and mental health problems [50] and has an inverse relationship with resilience [10], openness to experience [51], positive affect, and sense of meaning in life [52]. Past Positive (PP) is a positive, glowing, and nostalgic construction of the past.…”

“…Past Positive (PP) is a positive, glowing, and nostalgic construction of the past. PP was positively associated with well-being [52,53], affiliative humor, and self-enhancing humor [14] and was linked to spiritual growth, health-promoting lifestyle profile, and health responsibility in cardiac patients [54]. Present Fatalistic (PF) involves a fatalistic, helpless, and hopeless attitude to life and the future.…”

“…Some researchers indicate that temporal references are activated during the coping process, such as consideration of past time [8] or present time [9]. Additionally, previous research showed that temporal orientation is linked to resilience [10,11] and some factors defining resilience [1], such as optimism [12], coping [13], or sense of humor [14]. Previous studies also found a relationship between time perspective and meaning in life [15,16].…”