What is the temperamental basis of humour like in China? A cross‐national examination and validation of the standard version of the state–trait cheerfulness inventory

Abstract

The State–Trait Cheerfulness Inventory–trait version (STCI‐T60) consists of three dimensions of cheerfulness, seriousness, and bad mood integrated to measure the temperamental basis of the sense of humour. The present study replicated the three‐dimensional factor structure of the STCI in China using 60 items consistent with other standard trait versions (e.g., English, Chilean‐Spanish). Closer examination of associations between traits suggested bad mood showed curvilinear associations with both cheerfulness and seriousness, such that cheerfulness and bad mood were negatively associated for those low and average in trait bad mood but not for those with high trait bad mood. Seriousness was positively associated with bad mood at high levels of trait bad mood, but not at average or low levels of bad mood. Associations between the STCI traits and major personality dimensions, humour styles, and well‐being were further examined. Cheerfulness and seriousness showed positive associations with satisfaction with life and emotional well‐being (EWB) while bad mood showed a curvilinear association with EWB. Using multi‐group confirmatory factor analyses, partial metric invariance was found between English and Chinese versions of the STCI‐T60, but structural invariance was not observed. Implications based on the empirical literature in dialecticism and cross‐cultural assessment were thoroughly discussed.

Trait cheerfulness, seriousness, and bad mood outperform personality traits of the five-factor model in explaining variance in humor behaviors and well-being among adolescents

“…The trait of cheerfulness is primarily predicted by high extraversion, emotional stability, and agreeableness. While these results are generally in line with our expectations and the results of previous studies (Carretero-Dios et al, 2014;Lau, Chiesi, Saklofske, & Yan, 2019;Ruch & Köhler, 1998;Wrench & McCroskey, 2001), it was not predicted that the correlation of cheerfulness with agreeableness would be of the same size as that with extraversion. However, "socially warm humor," as measured by the HBQD (Craik, Lampert, & Nelson, 1996), and "affiliative humor," as measured by the HSQ (Martin, Puhlik-Doris, Larsen, Gray, & Weir, 2003), are typical of cheerful individuals (Martin et al, 2003;Ruch et al, 2011) and these dimensions overlap with agreeableness (e.g., Mendiburo-Seguel, Páez, & Martínez-Sánchez, 2015), which makes a strong link between cheerfulness and agreeableness plausible.…”

“…Given that the traits of cheerfulness, seriousness, and bad mood represent narrowly defined individual differences, they can be located in the nomological network of broader personality traits. The results of several previous studies (Carretero-Dios, Benítez, Delgado-Rico, Ruch, & López-Benítez, 2014;Lau, Chiesi, Saklofske, & Yan, 2019;Ruch & Köhler, 1998;Wrench & McCroskey, 2001), using different measures of personality and diverse samples, all converge fairly well: cheerfulness is consistently associated with high extraversion, low neuroticism/high emotional stability, and high agreeableness. This pattern of correlations is reversed for bad mood (low extraversion, low emotional stability, low agreeableness), with a trend towards a stronger contribution of neuroticism.…”

The Italian Version of the State-Trait Cheerfulness Inventory Trait Form: Psychometric Validation and Evaluation of Measurement Invariance

“…In the present sample, trait seriousness was positively associated with resilience. When examining correlates of well-being closely in the Chinese adaptation of the STCI, a positive correlation between seriousness and emotional well-being was found (Lau, Chiesi, Saklofske, & Yan, 2019). Future research should investigate the role of seriousness in psychological well-being and whether it may interact with other personality traits to produce differential outcomes (e.g., Lau, Chiesi, & Saklofske, 2019).…”

The state-trait model of cheerfulness: Tests of measurement invariance and latent mean differences in European and Chinese Canadian students

“…Most recently, numerous studies in Chinese cultures attempted to replicate findings in Western cultures showing that possessing a benign and positive sense of humor enhances psychological well-being (for a review, see Yue, 2017 ). Whereas Lau, Chiesi, Saklofske, and Yan (2020) have conducted invariance studies using the STCI Chinese version, the English version of the scale could be used with Chinese participants who reside in Western cultures (e.g., Asian Americans). As such, it is important to provide evidence of the comparability of the three-factor model for European White and Asian individuals completing the measures in English.…”

“…The Chinese version of the STCI trait form has been translated and the three-factor structure has been validated with participants residing in Mainland China ( Chen, Ruch, & Li, 2017 ). In addition, partial metric invariance for the three-factor model was found between participants residing in Canada completing the English version and participants residing in China completing the Chinese version ( Lau et al, 2020 ).…”