Addiction Counselors Can Benefit From Appropriate Humor in the Work Setting

Using humor in therapy has been controversial. However, recent studies indicate that addiction counselors use humor effectively in therapeutic approaches. Given the high rate of stress-related turnover in the addiction field, counselors need to learn ways to manage their personal and professional stress. Integrating humor in daily work activities reduces stress and increases the ability to have fun at work.     

Humor and Marital Satisfaction

Abstract

Fifty married Israeli couples were administered a humor test measuring humor creation and humor appreciation, as well as a questionnaire measuring marital satisfaction. Each spouse completed the measurement for self and for his or her partner. Results obtained showed that marital satisfaction was related to perception of the partner's humor more than the spouse's own humor. There was a significant relation for husbands between their scores on humor appreciation and their marital satisfaction. No relation was found for wives between their humor scores and their marital satisfaction. Multiple stepwise regressions on humor scores showed that complementarity between spouses' perceptions of partners' humor explains most of the variance of marital satisfaction.     

Sex of subject and gender identity as factors in humor appreciation

Appreciation of cartoon humor was examined in male and female college students who had been categorized into one of four gender identity groups (masculine, feminine, androgynous, undifferentiated) on the basis of Bem's Sex Role Inventory. Results indicated that males preferred sexual humor more than absurd humor, while females showed the reverse pattern. Furthermore, gender identity was related to humor appreciation only for females. While feminine females preferred absurd humor more than sexual humor, masculine and androgynous females were more appreciative of sexual humor. Finally, masculine, feminine, and undifferentiated males, as well as masculine and androgynous females, showed greater appreciation of sexual humor which portrayed females, as opposed to males, as the sex object or brunt of the joke.     

Do I amuse you? Asymmetric predictors for humor appreciation and humor production

A “sense of humor” can be fractionated into appreciation (enjoying jokes), production fluency (making jokes), and production success (making funny jokes). There is scant research on how appreciation and production relate, and their relation to individual differences. Participants (N = 159) rated the humor of captioned cartoons and created captions for different cartoons. People who wrote funnier captions were less amused by the professionally-captioned cartoons. Production fluency, in contrast, was not related to appreciation. Personality predicted humor appreciation, but not production success. Demographics predicted production success, but not appreciation. Appreciation and production success appear to rely on separable mechanisms and motivations. Our results were also inconsistent with the idea that humor creators are motivated by dominance and humor appreciators by affiliation.     

Locus of control and the aggression inhibiting effects of aggressive humor appreciation

Empirical investigation into the theoretical connection between humor appreciation and aggression has provided a continued series of equivocal results. This experiment examined the proposition that previous inconsistencies were due to the lack of concern for individual locus of control. Female subjects, differentiated as internals and externals, received either an aggression arousal induction procedure or a neutral nonarousal procedure. Subjects were presented three stimulus situations: neutral humor, aggressive humor, or nonhumorous material, and assessed for mood state. Locus of control was found to be a significant variable in the effectiveness of aggressive humor to reduce aggressive mood. Internals were able to reduce aggressive mood through appreciation of aggressive humor and demonstrated preference for this humor type. Importance of internals' cognitive style interacting with humor content was found significant in relationship between humor and aggressive reduction.     

Dimensional proposal to assess humor appreciation

The aim of this work is to carry out a dimensional proposal for the assessment of humor appreciation. First, theoretical frames on sense of humor and particularly on humor appreciation are presented. These theoretical frames are related to the methodological characteristics of studies centered to assess humor appreciation. Then, it is justified the creation of a new scale, and it is specified the aim of assessment and the target population which this new scale is focused on. Finally, a dimensional proposal it is concretized and analyzed by a group of experts. Their judgments are presented and they are analyzed considering reviewed empirical and theoretical works. The results support some theoretical validity evidences of this dimensional proposal about humor appreciation.     

Influence of trait anxiety on perception of humor

Previous research and theory suggest that a person's anxiety level plays a functional role in determining his responsiveness to and appreciation of humor. Based upon the theoretical view that humor serves to dissipate anxiety, it was proposed that highly anxious individuals would respond more favourably to a therapist's use of humor than low trait-anxiety individuals. To test the hypothesis 87 undergraduate students in psychology were classified according to their measured level of trait anxiety (high or low, on the Spielberger Trait-Anxiety Inventory). Subjects evaluated a therapist who used humor in a written therapist-client dialogue. Results were contrary to prediction; an inverse relation between anxiety and appreciation of humor obtained.     

Humor and Counseling: Close Encounters of Another Kind

The basic premise of this article is that humor has a place in counseling. The paper touches on some of the more prominent theoretical explanations of humor, presents assumptions that seem pertinent to any rationale for using humor in counseling, points out the reasons counselors may have overlooked its value, and considers the uses and abuses of humor. Finally, the implications of using humor, both in terms of training and research, are considered, and a five-point scale for assessing its effectiveness in counseling is presented.     

Age differences in the enjoyment of incongruity-resolution and nonsense humor during adulthood

This study tested a model of the development of incongruity-resolution and nonsense humor during adulthood. Subjects were 4,292 14- to 66-year-old Germans. Twenty jokes and cartoons representing structure-based humor categories of incongruity resolution and nonsense were rated for funniness and aversiveness. Humor structure preferences were also assessed with a direct comparison task. The results generally confirmed the hypotheses. Incongruity-resolution humor increased in funniness and nonsense humor decreased in funniness among progressively older subjects after the late teens. Aversiveness of both forms of humor generally decreased over the ages sampled. Age differences in humor appreciation were strongly correlated with age differences in conservatism. An especially strong parallel was found between age differences in appreciation of incongruity-resolution humor and age differences in conservatism.     

Humiliate My Enemies or Mock My Friends? Applying Disposition Theory of Humor to the Study of Political Parody Appreciation and Attitudes Toward Candidates

The research examines politically entertaining media through a mass communication lens, applying the disposition theory of humor toward the study of political parody appreciation and the effects of exposure to varied humor types on political attitudes. The analyses rely on experimental data (N = 269) collected in 2013. The results of the first analysis suggest that the interaction of disposition and exposure to different types of humor significantly influences variation in political parody appreciation. The findings from the second analysis show that negative affect toward the opposing candidate, or the presumed victor of a humorous situation, can dampen attitudes toward the victim given exposure to critical humor. The strategic implications for campaigns looking to engage with humor are discussed.     

Effects of sex and type of humor on humor appreciation

Examined humor appreciation of cartoons as a function of sex of subject and type of humor. Four broad types of humor were presented: sexual-exploitative, sexual-nonexploitative, nonsexual-hostile, and nonsexual-nonhostile. Sexual-nonexploitative humor was rated as funnier than the other three types but nonsexual-nonhostile humor was given a more positive overall rating than the other types. Relative to males, females gave greater ratings of hostility to the cartoons and rated them less positively. Correlational analyses further suggested that females were not as affected as males by variations in sexuality, exploitation, and hostility. For males, greater ratings of sexuality were associated with greater funniness ratings while the reverse was true for greater ratings of hostility. Possible interpretations of these data were discussed.     

Humor in romantic contexts: do men participate and women evaluate?

Several lines of research illustrate that humor plays a pivotal role in relationship initiation. The current article applies sexual selection theory to argue that humor production is a fitness indicator, allowing men to transmit information tacitly about their underlying qualities. And whereas prior research has emphasized women's appreciation of humor as a signal of interest, the focus here is on how women evaluate prospective suitors' humorous offerings. Two studies, including an ecologically valid study of online dating advertisements, provided evidence for men's production and women's evaluation of humor in romantic contexts. A third study revealed that women's evaluations of potential mates' humor are predictive of their romantic interest. Moreover, this article shows that preferences for and perceptions of humor are associated with preferences for and perceptions of intelligence and warmth, consistent with the argument that one function of humor is as a fitness indicator that provides information about underlying mate quality.     

Validity of the Personality Assessment Inventory Aggression Scales and Violence Potential Index in Veterans With PTSD

Examined humor appreciation of cartoons as a function of sex of subject and type of humor. Four broad types of humor were presented: sexual-exploitative, sexual-nonexploitative, nonsexual-hostile, and nonsexual-nonhostile. Sexual-nonexploitative humor was rated as funnier than the other three types but nonsexual-nonhostile humor was given a more positive overall rating than the other types. Relative to males, females gave greater ratings of hostility to the cartoons and rated them less positively. Correlational analyses further suggested that females were not as affected as males by variations in sexuality, exploitation, and hostility. For males, greater ratings of sexuality were associated with greater funniness ratings while the reverse was true for greater ratings of hostility. Possible interpretations of these data were discussed.     

Language ability and sex affect humor appreciation.

Subjects (63 men and 63 women) completed a humor appreciation scale and 20 trials on a word-recognition task using a divided visual field. Factor analysis extracted eight factors from the humor scale most of which differentiated subjects on the basis of liking for various humorous contents including disparagement and non-sense humor. Subsequent analyses showed that greater liking for specific types of humor was associated with basic language abilities. The results also support sex differences in humor preferences and Freud's tripartite taxonomy of humor contents.     

Humor Reconsidered: The Cultivation of “Accurate Perception” as a Contribution to the Care of Souls

Cultivating a sense of humor that has redemptive possibilities for the soul in a post-Christendom era is an important but nonetheless risky act of pastoral ministry. Humor, like the soul, involves ambiguity, incongruity and paradox. Insufficient appreciation of the paradoxical nature of humor contributes to views that are both overly suspicious as well as insufficiently cautious where humor is concerned. A redemptive sense of humor is explored as a virtue analogous to the Greek virtue of eutrapelia in tension with bomocholia (buffoonery/flippancy) and agroikia (boorishness/excessive seriousness). The work of Erik and Joan Erikson on the needed tension between the syntonic and dystonic further clarifies how humor best serves the soul. I conclude that the willingness to cultivate a sense of humor is an act of faith.     

Substance Abuse Prevention and Intervention: An Expanded Perspective for Counselors

A successful “war” on alcohol and other drug abuse must include the cooperative efforts of counselors and other helping professionals. Such cooperation begins first among the professional counselors themselves. What is required is an expanded view of the roles that counselors have in targeting this social issue and an appreciation of the many services necessary to win the war.     

Humor and the coronary-prone behavior pattern

The belief is widely held that humor is related to recovery from, and perhaps an increased resistance to, coronary and other stress-related diseases. Such generalizations do not typically distinguish between benign and hostile humor. In the present research, the relationship between a measure of proneness to coronary heart disease (CHD) and appreciation of hostile and nonhostile humor is examined. In two studies, one with college students and one with patients suffering from CHD, the relationship between humor preferences and the coronary-prone (Type A) behavior pattern was examined. Each subject was given the Jenkins Activity Survey as a measure of the coronary-prone personality type, and aggressive and nonaggressive jokes to rate for funniness. Hostile humor was preferred to nonhostile humor by all groups, but among those suffering from CHD, those who could be classified as “Type B’s” preferred nonhostile humor. The results indicate that those less prone to CHD appreciate both hostile and nonhostile humor, while Type A’s seem to enjoy hostile humor only.     

The immunoenhancing effects of humor on secretory IgA and resistance to respiratory infections

Abstract

In three different studies involving exposun to two differcot humorous and comparison videotapes, it was demonstrated that humor arousal signiticantly increases S-IgA in college students. Furthermore significantly more of the subjects exposed to the humor films showed an increese in S-IgA than the subjects exposed to the comparison films. A good sense of humor, measured as a trait, was associated with higher baseline concentrations of S-IgA and with greater increases in S-IgA in response to a humor arousing film. Higher bascline kvels and gains in S-IgA in respoase to humor were associated with lower reported severity of colds in the past twelve months and in the three months following assessment. However, a good sense of humor was related to lesser cold incidence and severity only if it involved appreciation rather than production of humor. While those who actively tell jokes also show higher S-IgA levels, they show greater susceptibility to colds than those who only appreciate humor probably because they sodalize more often under conditions that expose them more to cold infections.     

Humor and Its Contributions to Mental Health

Self control assistance includes steady doses of humorous comment and reflection. Getting past the perfect person syndrome en route to an emotionally healthier existence can be done by the appreciation of use of humor. Distinguishing between commercialized and rational humor allows for more permanent long range happiness and survival. To be able to laugh and learn at the same time are two bull's-eyes that promote more optimal emotional well-being. Humor ignites thirty-seven listed provisions in the service of emotional health. Fifteen precise dimensions of mental health that humor can pave the way toward are reviewed. Twenty-nine irrational beliefs about humor are fleshed out followed by nine types of rational humor. Stories and stormy anecdotes from the wiles of the author's practice of psychotherapy and parenting misdemeanors further document the topic under consideration.