An Intergroup Investigation of Disparaging Humor

Abstract

This article takes an intergroup approach to studying disparaging humor. Specifically, this study tests the in-group favoritism/out-group rejection tenet of social identity theory in the context of disparaging gender-based jokes. The experiment manipulated the number of jokes men and women read about their gender and the opposite gender, and then measured joke funniness, in- and out-group typicality, and collective self-esteem. The findings revealed that both men and women exhibited in-group bias by rating jokes about the opposite gender funnier and more typical than jokes about their own gender, although only the findings for women were significant. Women’s evaluations of male-targeted joke(s) were particularly affected by the number of jokes they read. Explained from a social identity theory perspective, the findings underscore how jokes contribute to intergroup division and the utility of intergroup theory in understanding the social cognitive processes of jokes.

Sexist humor and social identity: the role of sexist humor in men’s in-group cohesion, sexual harassment, rape proclivity, and victim blame

“…In the intergroup context of biological sex, women and men display ingroup favouritism by rating jokes about the other sex as funnier than jokes about their own sex (Abrams and Bippus 2011;Greenwood and Isbell 2002). Moreover, sexist jokes targeting the other sex have been found to serve as an ingroup bonding mechanism in women (e.g., Boxer and Cortés-Conde 1997) and men (e.g., Kehily and Nayak 1997;Lyman 1987).…”

The Effects of Empathy on Disparagement Humor

“…Leach, Spears, Branscombe, and Doosje (2003) showed that Dutch soccer fans, who were induced with the belief that the German soccer team was a threat, expressed greater pleasure when hearing that the Germans lost the World Cup. Similarly, other studies have supported that perceived funniness of disparagement humor is greater when made against an outgroup (Abrams & Bippus, 2011). This suggests that group biases influence the experiences of malicious pleasure.…”

Humor como Estratégia Discursiva na Compreensão da Dinâmica do Espaço Organizacional

“…Pode-se observar, no estudo de Korczynki (2011), que o humor presente na fábrica pesquisada na Grã-Bretanha significava uma forma de resistência, que contribuiu para a criação de uma cultura com atos de resistência coletivos os quais foram motivados pelo processo de trabalho repetitivo a que os funcionários estavam expostos. Assim, as piadas podem funcionar como meio para expressar os sentimentos que, muitas vezes, são difíceis de demonstrar (Abrams & Bippus, 2011).…”

“…Acredita-se que piadas de cunho depreciativo são uma saída para que os indivíduos realcem sua identidade no grupo ao qual pertencem (Abrams & Bippus, 2011). E por isso, a…”