Abstract
The four humour styles identified by Martin et al. (2003) have received much attention in personality and social psychology research, particularly in terms of how they may relate to other individual difference variables, such as perfectionism, loneliness, self-esteem and playfulness. The focus of the research presented in the two articles presented here, is on the role of the humour styles in the relationship between other variables. To this end the first study examined how humour styles as moderators in the relationship between perfectionism and loneliness, whereas the humour styles as mediators in the relationship between self-esteem and playfulness were the focus of the second study.
Humour styles refer to how humour is produced and can have both positive and negative effects on inter- and intra-personal functioning. Two humour styles are considered to be beneficial, i.e., affiliative humour which is used to facilitate social relationships, and self-enhancing humour which is used when coping with stressful circumstances. The detrimental humour styles are aggressive humour where others are belittled to enhance the self, and self-defeating humour where fun is made of the self in order to fit in with the group.
The role of the humour styles were investigated in two studies. The first study focused on their role within a context which is usually associated with negative outcomes, namely the humour styles as moderators in the relationship between perfectionism and loneliness. Perfectionism refers to a tendency to be overly critical of one’s self and to set extremely high standards which can result in self-esteem being dependent on the attainment of these high standards (Arslan et al., 2010). Slaney et al. (2001) conceptualised perfectionism in terms of two potentially beneficial aspects, namely high standards and orderliness, and a detrimental aspect, called discrepancy. High standards refer to the striving for excellence and the expectation of something being of outstanding quality. Order or orderliness involves the preference for being well organised and conscientious. Discrepancy refers to the difference between one’s own standards and one’s actual performance and can be a significant source of stress.
Studies have consistently found a link between loneliness and perfectionism, suggesting that this relationship is due to social factors, such as expectations of negative outcomes in social interactions (Harper et al., 2020). Humour is intrinsically social by nature and it is possible that the style of humour used during social interactions could change the relationship between perfectionism and loneliness. Results were indicative of statistically significant interactions between aggressive humour style, perfectionism standards, and social loneliness, as well as between self-enhancing humour style, perfectionism order, and social loneliness, and self-enhancing humour style, perfectionism discrepancy, and social loneliness. Aggressive humour was associated with a decrease in the experience of social loneliness, whilst self-enhancing humour was related to increased social loneliness in perfectionism order and decreased social loneliness in perfectionism discrepancy. The study suggests that use of a specific humour style can have important implications for the experience of loneliness within perfectionistic individuals.
The second study examined the role of the humour styles within a context which is usually associated with positive outcomes, namely their role as mediators in the relationship between self-esteem and playfulness. Self-esteem is an evaluation about one’s own worth and value (Hiranandani & Yue, 2014). Individuals with a high self-esteem appear confident in themselves, their abilities and are positive about their future, whereas those with a low self-esteem tend to be more pessimistic, anxious, and wary of their abilities (Aune & Wong, 2002). Studies have consistently found that high self-esteem correlates positively with the beneficial humour styles and negatively with the detrimental humour styles (Majeed & Khan, 2016). Adult playfulness is associated with spontaneity, creativity, curiosity, pleasure, silliness, and fun (Leung, 2014), and playfulness can be considered the foundation on which a sense of humour is built (Ruch, 2008). Studies have found that playfulness was positively correlated with affiliative and self-enhancing humour (Leung, 2014; Yue, Leung & Hiranandani; 2016). Humour thus has links with both variables and may therefore play a role in the relationship between self-esteem and playfulness. Findings revealed that the beneficial humour styles increased playfulness whereas the detrimental humour styles decreased playfulness. Results are discussed in terms of the dissonance between playfulness as a positive construct and the humour styles as constructs with both positive and negative characteristics.
The literature reviewed throughout this project supported the social nature of the four humour styles, as well as the notion of adaptive and maladaptive styles of humour. In the first study, the humour styles interacted with perfectionism in an unexpected way, with a potential explanation for this rooted within the subjective evaluation and perception of an individual’s social interactions. The second study highlighted that humour styles could play a role when considering the effect of self-esteem on playfulness, supporting a suggestion for future research.