Humor in intimate relationships: Ties among sense of humor, similarity in humor and relationship quality

Barelds, Dick P. H.; Barelds-Dijkstra, Pieternel

doi:10.1515/humr.2010.021

Cited by 34 publications

(35 citation statements)

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“…Taking just a few examples, Edwards and Martin19 reported that the ability to produce humor (add witty captions to cartoons) did not predict who would score higher on well-being measures, whereas sense of humor scores did. On the other hand, sense of humor did not predict relationship quality, but ability to produce humor did, at least for women 20. A personal liking for humor, a subscale of Thorson and Powell’s Multidimensional Sense of Humor Scale, has been negatively associated with wellbeing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Differential effects of self-esteem and interpersonal competence on humor styles

McCosker¹,

Morán²

2012

PRBM

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BackgroundIn contrast with an early implicit “facilitative hypothesis” of humor, a revised specificity hypothesis predicts that the benefits of humor depend on the specific style of humor used. Information on predictors of these humor styles in turn enhances the ability to predict the effect on well-being.MethodsWe examined the relationships between interpersonal competence, self-esteem, and different styles of humor, while also examining the contributions of age and gender. Participants (n = 201) aged 18–63 years completed the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Inventory, the Interpersonal Competence Questionnaire, and the Humor Styles Questionnaire, and gave demographic information.ResultsHigh self-esteem was associated with higher use of affiliative, aggressive, and self-enhancing humor styles, but lower use of self-defeating humor. High interpersonal competence predicted greater use of affiliative humor, whereas low interpersonal competence predicted greater use of aggressive humor. Further analyses showed that initiation competence predicted affiliative humor (positively) but both initiation competence (positively) and conflict management competence (negatively) predicted aggressive humor.ConclusionThe findings that both self-esteem and initiation competence contribute to use of aggressive humor add to knowledge of who is likely to use this potentially harmful humor style. We conclude that a readiness to initiate humorous interactions is not on its own a general and positive attribute contributing to “good” humor.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Differential effects of self-esteem and interpersonal competence on humor styles

McCosker¹,

Morán²

2012

PRBM

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“…Beyond initial attraction, sharing humourous experiences and laughing together also increases feelings of closeness ( Fraley & Aron, 2004 ). More specifically, romantic partners who share similarities in what they find to be humourous tend to see their partners in a more favourable light and have greater optimism for the future of their relationship ( Barelds & Barelds-Dijkstra, 2010 ; Murstein & Brust, 1985 ). This may be the case because similarities in humour may be representative of similarities in personal values, needs, and preferred methods of communication, factors that have been demonstrated as important in mate selection (e.g., Abel, 2002 ; Driver & Gottman, 2004 ; Kelly, 2002 ).…”

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confidence: 99%

Birds of a feather laugh together: An investigation of humour style similarity in married couples

Hahn

Campbell

2016

Eur. J. Psychol.

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The present research investigated the degree of similarity in humour styles between spouses as assessed with the Humour Styles Questionnaire (HSQ). Furthermore, self-esteem was investigated as a potential moderator of partner humour style similarity. A sample of 116 heterosexual, married couples independently completed questionnaires assessing self-reported humour styles across the 32 item HSQ, as well as global self-esteem. Results indicated that there is significant positive association between the humour styles of married partners. This association was moderated by individual self-esteem. Specifically, participants with high self-esteem were found to have greater humour style similarity with their partners. Similarity was also greater for positive compared to negative types of humour. Implications for the use of dyadic data in investigating the roles of humour within couples are discussed.

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“…Through bonding, workers realize a common set of values that can be beneficial to the firm and its output. Absenteeism and shirking can be avoided as a workforce is cemented together (Barelds and Barelds-Dijkstra, 2010) That is, the "bonding aspect of humor may have a significant impact on workplace productivity and employee levels of satisfaction" (Vinton, 1989). Workers who can socialize effectively in the workplace are less likely to avoid it.…”

Section: Humor As Communicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does Humor Matter? From Organization Management Perspective

Huang¹

2011

Journal of Social Sciences

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Problem statement: This study is to provide an overview discussion on the issue of humor management of within organizations. Although there are limits to which a work environment can be relaxed through humor or any other device, bonding through humor can be an important device within an organization whereby unity and common purpose are realized. Types of humor in the workplace can include puns, slapstick, jokes and anecdotes and teasing. Humor is also an important device for dealing with change. Approach: The literature review and arguments were conducted to identify the function, importance and influence of humor within organizations. Results: By observing humor and by being sensitive to its implications, rather than dismissing it simply as frivolity, managers can implement changes based on their interpretations of workplace humor. Negatively, humor can be an important device for protecting self-image and ones social peers within an organization; where managers observe such socialization, they can move to improve staff relations. Spontaneous humor is also a useful training device, for evaluating how well new ideas have been communicated. Humor then can be a spur to initiative and to spontaneous responses. Where a manager wants to engage in pleasantries with employees then, it seems that industrially democratic humor is an important component of such interaction. Humor can be an important factor in industrial democracy and increased productivity. Conclusion: Humor can be an important device for building a tram spirit and for forming a cohesive unit, unanimously concerned with its own survival and profitability

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Humor in intimate relationships: Ties among sense of humor, similarity in humor and relationship quality

Cited by 34 publications

References 50 publications

Differential effects of self-esteem and interpersonal competence on humor styles

Differential effects of self-esteem and interpersonal competence on humor styles

Birds of a feather laugh together: An investigation of humour style similarity in married couples

Does Humor Matter? From Organization Management Perspective

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