Social Consequences of Disparagement Humor: A Prejudiced Norm Theory

Abstract

In this article we introduce a "prejudiced norm theory" that specifies the social-psychological processes by which exposure to disparagement humor uniquely affects tolerance of discrimination against members of groups targeted by the humor. Our theory posits that a norm of tolerance of discrimination implied by disparagement humor functions as a source of self-regulation for people high in prejudice. For people high in prejudice, this norm regulates the effect of exposure to disparagement humor on tolerance of subsequently encountered discriminatory events. Our theory contributes to the literature on prejudice and discrimination by delineating the processes by which disparagement humor creates a normative climate of tolerance of discrimination, as well as variables that accentuate and attenuate its effects.

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

“…The above findings also support the idea of disparagement humour as a 'releaser' of prejudice (Ford and Ferguson 2004;Woodzicka and Ford 2010). This 'releaser' function of sexist humour converges with Martineau's (1972) model and social identity theory:…”

“…In line with Martineau's (1972) model on the social functions of humour and the social identity approach (Tajfel andTurner 2004 [1986]), we demonstrated that sexist humour can function to not only belittle or denigrate the outgroup but also as a tool for social control via self-reported inclinations to commit sexual violence against the outgroup. This latter interpretation of the literature extends Martineau's model as well as the idea of disparagement humour as a 'releaser' of prejudice (Ford and Ferguson 2004;Woodzicka and Ford 2010): Pre-existing prejudice in combination with hostile humour can conspire to have maximum negative impact on women as the disparaged outgroup.…”

“…Several studies demonstrate that individuals high in hostile sexism enjoy sexist humour significantly more than individuals low in hostile sexism (Greenwood and Isbell 2002;LaFrance andWoodzicka 1998, Thomae andViki 2013) and are more willing to repeat female-disparaging jokes to friends (Thomas and Esses 2004). These findings comfortably fit with Ford and Ferguson's (2004) and Woodzicka and Ford's (2010) conceptualisation of sexist humour as a 'releaser' of prejudice.…”

“…This mechanism is called depersonalisation and drives ingroup cohesion, conformity to ingroup norms, deindividuation and outgroup stereotyping. Disparagement humour from an SCT perspective facilitates the communication of group norms (see Ford and Ferguson 2004) and reveals information about the prototypical group member (see also Hogg and Reid 2006). Martineau's (1972) introduces or fosters a hostile disposition towards the outgroup.…”

Studying the Relationship between Humor and Organizational Citizenship Behavior

“…In the 1980s, researchers began to explore the possibility that sense of humor may also contribute to workplace effectiveness (Decker, 1987;Parsons, 1988;Remington, 1985). The subject of humor has been used in a range of literatures like applied psychology (Cooper, 2005;Ford and Ferguson, 2004) (Ekvall, 1996).…”