Is humor temperament associated with being creative, original, and funny? A tale of three studies.

Abstract

Although humor production and creativity may be interrelated, no study has examined whether the temperamental basis of humor promotes creativity. The present study investigates whether humor temperament is associated with creativity. Study 1 (N = 620) investigates the associations between humor temperament (i.e., cheerfulness, seriousness, bad mood), self-report creativity, and judges’ ratings of verbal creativity (i.e., wit, originality, humor). Self-report findings revealed cheerfulness (r = .49, Bayes factor [BF]10 > 100) and seriousness (r = .24, BF10 > 100) were positively associated with self/everyday creativity, whereas bad mood (r = –.36, BF10 > 100) was negatively associated with self/everyday creativity. Cheerfulness, seriousness, and bad mood were not associated with judges’ ratings of originality, wit, and humor in verbal creativity. Study 2 (N = 439) evaluated the associations between humor temperament and judges’ ratings of how well individuals coped with daily stressors. Cheerfulness was associated with judges’ ratings of effective stress management (r = .23, BF10 > 100) and conflict management (r = .19, BF10 >100), whereas bad mood was negatively associated with effective stress management (r = –.29, BF10 >100). Study 3 (N = 234) examined the associations between humor temperament, comic styles (e.g., fun, nonsense, satire), and judges’ ratings of creativity (i.e., originality, wit, humor) in a humor production task. Whereas humor temperament traits were not associated with creativity, comic styles “humor” and “nonsense” were associated with creativity. Results inform the impact of cheerfulness on increasing cognitive flexibility in generating innovation in everyday creativity.

Humor in professional coaching: a literature review and research agenda

“…We supplement this by proposing that a cheerful atmosphere could bolster creativity by fostering uninhibited thinking, thereby extending the resources available for different solutions. The effect of a cheerful temperament on creativity is reported by other authors (e.g., Lau et al, 2022 ) and applicable in coaching. Wheeler (2020) elucidates in her research on coaching and playfulness that a positive playful atmosphere encourages a more relaxed mindset, fostering clients’ innovative thinking and willingness to explore new ideas.…”

Weird reactions to weird Twitter: How expectation and intention relate to appreciation for absurd humor.

“…The popularity of such absurd humor may seem surprising, but it is nonetheless gaining attention in both mainstream and academic circles (Aroesti, 2019; Bruenig, 2017; Lau et al, 2022; Wu & Chen, 2019). Absurd jokes flout traditional norms of meaning and represent a clear violation to expectations of sensible communication (Grice, 2002).…”