Humor Styles Questionnaire (Martin et al., 2003)

Individual Differences in Humor and Psychological Well-Being

Development of the Humor Styles Questionnaire

Authors: Rod A. Martin, Patricia Puhlik-Doris, Gwen Larsen, Jeanette Gray, Kelly WeirDepartment of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, Canada
Abstract: This study describes the development and initial validation of the Humor Styles Questionnaire (HSQ) measuring four humor styles:
- Self-enhancing humor: Benign humor used to enhance self.
- Affiliative humor: Humor that enhances relationships with others.
- Aggressive humor: Humor that enhances oneself at the expense of others.
- Self-defeating humor: Humor used to enhance relationships at the expense of self.
Validation Data: The four humor styles relate to various psychological constructs, including mood, self-esteem, and well-being. The HSQ is anticipated to aid research on the effects of humor on psychological health.

Introduction

Interest in Humor Research: Psychologists have long been interested in individual differences in humor and their potential benefits for health and well-being.
Positive Psychology: Research on humor is gaining traction in the context of positive psychology, focusing on aspects such as optimism and coping strategies.
Sense of Humor: Defined as a multi-faceted construct that can be assessed through cognitive abilities, emotional responses, habitual behaviors, and coping mechanisms.

Dimensions of Humor

Cognitive Ability: Understanding and creating jokes.
Aesthetic Response: Enjoyment of humorous material.
Habitual Behavior: Tendency to laugh and create humor.
Emotional Temperament: Cheerfulness and a humorous disposition.
Attitude: Positive outlook towards humor and the world.
Coping Strategy: Using humor to manage stress and adversity.

Existing Humor Measures

Past measures: Include the Situational Humor Response Questionnaire (SHRQ), Coping Humor Scale (CHS), and Sense of Humor Questionnaire (SHQ-6).
Limitations: Previous humor measures have been criticized for weak correlations with psychological health outcomes.
Need for New Measures: A call for new tools that distinguish between adaptive and maladaptive uses of humor.

Humor Styles Questionnaire (HSQ)

Purpose: HSQ aims to categorize humor into beneficial and detrimental uses, focusing on daily functionality rather than assessing humor ability solely.
Conceptual Framework: The HSQ distinguishes between enhancing oneself or relationships and assesses both benevolent and potentially harmful humor.

Four Dimensions of Humor in HSQ

Affiliative Humor: Non-hostile, facilitating relationships and reducing interpersonal tensions.
- Related to social skills, extraversion, and relationship satisfaction.
Self-enhancing Humor: Maintaining a humorous outlook, coping with adversity, and subjective amusement.
- Associated with emotional resilience and positive well-being.
Aggressive Humor: Uses humor to ridicule or criticize others, potentially harmful to relationships.
- Linked to neuroticism and lower agreeableness.
Self-defeating Humor: Excessively self-disparaging humor to gain social acceptance, potentially harmful to self-esteem.
- Related to negative emotions and lower psychological well-being.

Item Generation and Scale Development

Item Development: Utilized a construct-based scale construction approach to create 111 items, refined to 32 items based on studies with a diverse participant pool.
Reliability Statistics: Cronbach's alpha ranging from .77 to .81, indicating good internal consistency across dimensions.

Validation and Correlation Studies

Test-Retest Reliability: Established reliabilities with a high degree of correlation across time.
Peer Ratings: Significant correlations between HSQ scores and peer ratings affirming the validity of humor styles.
Construct Validity: Correlations with established psychological measures (e.g., depression, self-esteem, etc.).

Gender and Age Differences in Humor Styles

Gender Differences: Males typically score higher on aggressive and self-defeating humor styles.
Age Variance: Younger participants tend to exhibit more aggressive humor styles compared to older adults.

Implications of Humor Styles

Psychological Well-being: Affiliative and self-enhancing humor are positively correlated with well-being, while aggressive and self-defeating humor have negative associations.
Future Research: Further exploration of humor's role in adaptive resources for psychological health and how it impacts relationships.

Four Dimensions of Humor in HSQ

Affiliative Humor:
- Non-hostile humor that facilitates relationships and reduces interpersonal tension.
- Associated with social skills, extraversion, and relationship satisfaction.
Self-enhancing Humor:
- Maintains a humorous outlook, helping individuals cope with adversity while enjoying subjective amusement.
- Linked to emotional resilience and positive well-being.
Aggressive Humor:
- Involves using humor to ridicule or criticize others, which can be harmful to relationships.
- Correlated with neuroticism and lower agreeableness.
Self-defeating Humor:
- Characterized by excessive self-disparagement in humor to gain social acceptance, which may negatively impact self-esteem.
- Often related to negative emotions and lower psychological well-being.

Aggressive humor in the Humor Styles Questionnaire (HSQ) is measured through items that assess the tendency to use humor in a way that ridicules or criticizes others. The scale was developed using a construct-based item generation approach, where 111 items were initially created and then refined to 32 relevant items based on studies with diverse participants. Each item is designed to evaluate how often individuals engage in aggressive humor, such as making jokes at the expense of others or using sarcasm to mock those around them. The measurement seeks to capture the frequency and context of utilizing aggressive humor in social interactions, with higher scores indicating a greater propensity to engage in this humor style.

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