Sigma Xi Conference Oral Presentation
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Transcript of Sigma Xi Conference Oral Presentation
Humor Reduces Stress in a Challenging Task
Samantha Bates and Breanna WilliamsPenn State Erie, the Behrend College
Theories of Humor
Relief TheoryShurcliff, 1968Smuts, 2009
Incongruity TheoryShultz, 1974
Past ResearchMcCrae, 1984Found humor as a response to a challenge
Martin et. al, 2003 Identified 4 dimensions of humor and
created the Humor Style QuestionnaireAbel & Maxwell, 2002Experimental research that found videos
inducing laughter decreased anxiety.
The Gap
Our research aims to bridge the gap between humor and the effects it has on an individual after completing
a challenge.
Methods Participants
64 Females and 37 Males Age Range: 18-29 Introductory psychology classes at Penn State Behrend Participants treated according to the ethical standards of the
American Psychological Association Stimuli and Materials
Humor Styles Questionnaire (HSQ), (Martin & Doris, 2003) Feelings Questionnaire Modular Arithmetic (MA), (Bogomolny, 1996) Videos
Stimuli and MaterialsHumor Style Questionnaire Feelings Questionnaire
1=Totally Disagree 7=Totally Agree
1. I usually don’t laugh or joke around much with other people.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
2. If I am feeling depressed, I can usually cheer myself up with humor.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
0=Not at all, 4=ExtremelyMood=9Tense 0 1 2 3 4 Unhappy 0 1 2 3 4Lively 0 1 2 3 4
Anxiety=6Strained 0 1 2 3 4Relaxed 0 1 2 3 4 Worried 0 1 2 3 4
Stimuli and Materials Modular Arithmetic (MA)
The object is to judge whether the answer was a whole number or not.
Easy Task Examples: 7 = 2 (mod 5) – True 7 = 2 (mod4) – False
Hard Task Examples: 51 = 19 (mod4) – True 51 = 19 (mod3) – False
Stimuli and Materials•Videos
▫Positive Humorous Whose Line is it Anyway?
▫Positive Non-humorous Documentary on Celine Dion
▫Neutral “How to draw a man sitting in a chair”
Easy Task
Informed Consent
Feelings Questionnaire
Hard Task
Feelings Questionnaire
Positive Humorous
Positive Non-
HumorousNeutral
Feelings Questionnaire, HSQ, Demographic
Hypotheses Hypothesis 1: Viewing the positive humorous video will
lead to more positive mood, lower worry, and lower strained scores compared to the other two videos.
Hypothesis 2: Completing the hard task will lead to an increase in negative mood compared to those who completed the least difficult task.
Hypothesis 3: Women would have a higher affiliative and self-enhancing humor score, whereas, men would have a higher aggressive and self-defeating score.
Effects of a Video on Mood
Humor Non-Humor Neutral0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Before After Task After Video
Video
Mea
n M
ood
Scor
eF (4,178) = 6.56, p < 0.001
Effects of Task on Mood
Easy Task Hard Task0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Before After Task After Video
Time Scale
Mea
n M
ood
Scor
eF (2,178) = 3.12, p < 0.001
Effects of Humor on Strained Mood Score
Humor Non-Humor Neutral0
0.20.40.60.8
11.21.41.61.8
Before After Task After Video
Video
Mea
n M
ood
Scor
eF (4,178) = 2.98, p = 0.02
Discussion Hypothesis 1: Viewing the positive humorous video will
lead to more positive mood, lower worry, and lower strained scores compared to the other two videos. PARTIAL YES!
Hypothesis 2: Completing the hard task will lead to an increase in negative mood compared to those who completed the least difficult task. YES!
Hypothesis 3: Women would have a higher affiliative and self-enhancing humor score, whereas, men would have a higher aggressive and self-defeating score. NO!
Limitation ImplicationsUnequal number of
females and malesGeneralized to
college studentsLaboratory settingCompleted in
groups rather than individually
Humorous videos are effective at relieving stress.
Future Research
•Personality Differences•Different stressor: loss or threat•Other humor differences among genders
other than the HSQ
Resources Bogomolny, A. (1996). Modular arithmetic. Retrieved May 3, 2011, from http://www.cut-the-
knot.com/blue/Modulo.shtml Martin, R., Puhlik-Dors., Larsen, G., Gray, J., & Weir, K. (2003). Individual differences in
uses of humor and their relation to psychological well-being: Development of the humor styles questionnaire. Journal of Research in Personality, 37, 48-75.
Shurcliff, A. (1968). Judged humor, arousal, and the relief theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 8(4), 360-363. doi: 10.1037/h0025493
Smuts, A. (2009). Humor. In Internet encyclopedia of philosophy Retrieved from http://www.iep.utm.edu/humor/
Shultz, T. R., (1974). Order of cognitive processing in humour appreciation. Canadian Journal of Psychology, 4, 409-420.
McCrae, R.R. (1984). Situational determinants of coping responses: Loss, threat, and challenge. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 48-75.
Abel, M. H., & Maxwell, D. (2002). Humor and effective consequences of a stressful task. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 21(2), 165-190. doi: 10.152/jscp.21.2.165.22516
Acknowledgements We would like to thank Dr. Dawn Blasko for all her
time, effort, and valuable input throughout our project. We would also like to thank Dr. Rod. A. Martin, creator of the HSQ questionnaire, for providing us with a copy of the questionnaire for our experiment. Lastly, we would like to thank the Undergraduate Research Office grant program at Behrend College for providing us with a grant to fund our research project.