Perspective-Taking Humor: Accounting for Stress Moderation

Lefcourt, Herbert M.; Davidson, Karina W.; Shepherd, Robert; Phillips, Margory; Prkachin, Ken; Mills, David E.

doi:10.1521/jscp.1995.14.4.373

Cited by 72 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Our results are consistent with the idea that positive humour leads to a reinterpretation of a negative event in line with Lefcourt et al (1995) or Vaillant (2000). We cannot exclude the possibility that using humour requires attentional resources, which distracts people from a negative event (e.g., Strick et al, 2009).…”

Section: Humour As An Emotion-regulation Strategysupporting

confidence: 85%

“…A related possibility is that the change of perspective associated with humour permits distancing from negative situations (Keltner & Bonnano, 1997;Martin & Lefcourt, 1983). Another variant on this same idea is that the negative event gets reappraised from a less threatening point of view (Lefcourt et al, 1995), which is in line with the view that humour allows people to look directly at what is painful but*by reappraising the situation*in a less harmful way (Vaillant, 2000).…”

Section: Humour As Emotion Regulationmentioning

confidence: 88%

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Humour as emotion regulation: The differential consequences of negative versus positive humour

Samson

Gross

2012

Cognition & Emotion

195

130

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Humour is often seen as an adaptive coping strategy; however, the empirical literature is inconclusive. One possible explanation is that different types of humour have different adaptive consequences. In the present research, we predicted that positive (good-natured) humour would be more effective at regulating negative emotions than negative (mean-spirited) humour. In Study 1, participants were shown negative pictures two times. First, they simply viewed the pictures and rated their levels of positive and negative emotions. Second, they were instructed to: (a) view; (b) use positive humour; or (c) use negative humour, and then rate their reactions. Compared to negative humour, positive humour was more successful at down-regulating negative and up-regulating positive emotion. In Study 2, we replicated these findings and showed that these effects cannot be explained by differences in difficulty between the two humour conditions, participants' expectations, or social desirability. Taken together, these findings suggest that positive (but not negative) humour may be an effective form of emotion regulation.

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Section: Humour As An Emotion-regulation Strategysupporting

confidence: 85%

Section: Humour As Emotion Regulationmentioning

confidence: 88%

Humour as emotion regulation: The differential consequences of negative versus positive humour

Samson

Gross

2012

Cognition & Emotion

195

130

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Several investigators have reported that those who are able to engage in coping styles marked by the use of humor are better able to distance themselves from stressful events (e.g., Kuiper, Martin, & Dance, 1992;Kuiper, Martin, & Olinger, 1993;Lefcourt et al, 1995). Ong, Bergeman, and Bisconti (2004), for example, reported that widows who used humor as a means of coping with loss were able to maintain and even increase their levels of positive affect throughout the bereavement process.…”

Section: The Need For Individual Difference Predictors Of Daily Stresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resilience and adaptation to stress in later life: Empirical perspectives and conceptual implications

Ong

Bergeman

2004

Ageing Int.

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As it has become more widely recognized that increasing numbers of people are living to progressively older ages, it is important to understand the nature of individual traits that promote resilience and welt-being in later life, to describe how these traits develop, to identify the factors that threaten and undermine their maintenance, and to elucidate the mechanisms that support and promote their growth. To have a knowledge base upon which to build intervention programs to improve and maintain well-being in later life, it is necessary to build understanding of what the multiple pathways are that lead to resilience, how these pathways may change, and what can be done to stop or forestall maladjustment and decline. Progress on these issues requires a greater understanding of process. In this article, we highlight theoretical areas of research on resilience and well-being that have received relatively little attention in previous work with older adults. We also identify unresolved methodological challenges associated with the measurement and analysis of within-person phenomena and elaborate on the implications of these challenges for process research in aging populations. Finally, we discuss future intervention directions to advance knowledge of resilience and positive health in later adulthood.

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“…Humor reduces stress (Bizi, Keinan, & Beit-Hallahmi, 1988;Dixon, 1976Dixon, , 1980Labott & Martin, 1987;Lefcourt, Davidson-Katz, Shepherd, & Phillips, 1995;Lefcourt & Martin, 1986;Lefcourt & Thomas, 1998;Martin, Kuiper, Olinger, & Dance, 1993;Martin & Lefcourt, 1983;Nezu et al, 1988;Prerost, 1988;Rosenberg, 1991;White & Camarena, 1989;Wooten, 1996). 4.…”

Section: Psychological Benefitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Active Ingredients in Humor: Psychophysiological Benefits and Risks for Older Adults

Berk¹

2001

Educational Gerontology

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Humor produces psychological and physiological effects on our body that are similar to the health bene ts of aerobic exercise. These bene ts are some of the best kept secrets from those persons who probably have the most to gain from that information-older adults. Many of them who must live with chronic pain, arthritis, rheumatism, emphysema, memory loss, depression, and stress may be able to cope better with their conditions or nd temporary relief by using humor. This article presents an up-to-date, comprehensive synthesis of 30 years of research evidence on 15 psychophysiologica l bene ts of humor and laughter with their implications for older adults. The speci c risks for this growing segment of the population also are identi ed. Strategies for communicating this information through publications and formal presentation s by health educators working in gerontology are suggested. A curriculum outline is provided for use in developing short, feature presentations or integrating the content into existing exercise and health-related courses and programs. If these efforts are effective, eventually the health bene ts of humor and laughter will be as familiar to our senior citizens as the risk factors associated with heart disease and smoking.Physicians, nurses, psychologists, occupational therapists, and other healthcare professionals are increasingly recognizing the therapeutic value of humor (

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Perspective-Taking Humor: Accounting for Stress Moderation

Cited by 72 publications

References 8 publications

Humour as emotion regulation: The differential consequences of negative versus positive humour

Humour as emotion regulation: The differential consequences of negative versus positive humour

Resilience and adaptation to stress in later life: Empirical perspectives and conceptual implications

The Active Ingredients in Humor: Psychophysiological Benefits and Risks for Older Adults

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