Humor and anxiety.

Psychoanalytic literature, recognizing a relationship between humor and anxiety and emphasizing the aggressive and sexual, as well as the nonsensical, aspects of humor, led to the experimental question whether Ss differentiated on the basis of a self-rated anxiety scale respond differently to humorous stimuli. Based upon a general anxiety questionnaire, extreme groups of 28 high anxiety and 28 low anxiety Ss containing equal numbers of men and women were selected. Cartoons selected from the Mirth Response Test were presented to each S one at a time in a standardized order that intermingled the various content categories of aggression, sex, and nonsense. There was a relationship found between S's rating of his susceptibility to anxiety and his preference for cartoons of aggressive content, and this relationship was seen to depend upon the social context of the humor stimuli. To a lesser extent there was also a relationship between anxiety, preference, and social context in the case of nonsensical cartoons. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Humour appreciation as a function of canned laughter, a mirthful companion, and field dependence: Facilitation and inhibitory effects.

187 undergraduate females who had been administered the portable rod-and-frame test were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 conditions defined by the presence or absence of canned laughter and presence or absence of a mirthful confederate. As Ss rated the funniness of single-frame cartoons characterized by aggressive/humor content, their behavior was videotaped and subsequently scored for frequency and duration of laughter and smiling. Results support the prediction that the mirthful confederate would enhance measures of humor appreciation. However, no support was obtained for a similar prediction concerning canned laughter. Rather, the canned laughter and confederate manipulations interacted significantly: Ss accompanied by the confederate, but not Ss alone, laughed less frequently when canned laughter was present than when it was absent. Of 3 predictions involving cognitive style, only 1 received partial support: The enhancement of laughter by the confederate was greater for field-dependent than for field-independent Ss. Results are interpreted in terms of social facilitation and psychological reactance. (French abstract) (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

More aggressive cartoons are funnier.

Independent rankings of humor and aggressiveness were obtained for sets of cartoons drawn randomly from 2 magazines. The correlation of median humor and median aggressiveness rankings ranged from .49 to .90 in 6 studies involving 6 sets of cartoons and 6 different groups of Ss, including children and adults, high and low SES individuals, and native- and foreign-born Ss. It was found that this correlation was consistent with Freudian, arousal, and superiority theories of humor. Another prediction of Freudian theory, that high-SES Ss should be more appreciative of aggressive humor than low-SES Ss, was not supported. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Persuasibility in young children as a function of aggressive motivation and aggression conflict.

This study investigating the dynamic bases of the reported negative relationship of overt aggression to persuasibility postulated that low persuasibility is associated with an overtly aggressive orientation, high persuasibility with a defensive need to inhibit strong aggressive motivation, and medium presuasibility with a relative absence of aggressive motivation and inhibitions against aggression. 3 groups of 15 were selected from an initial sample of 169 1st-grade boys for high, medium, and low presuasibility, and were compared on aggressive motivation and an aggression conflict ratio. The results are that High and Low persuasible (P) Ss have more aggressive motivation than Medium P Ss; High P Ss have a smaller aggression conflict ratio than Low P Ss. The results thus support the initial postulates. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The feature-positive effect in the self-perception process: Does not doing matter as much as doing?

Tested the hypothesis that individuals would infer less extreme attitudes from the nonoccurrence of a behavior than from the occurrence of a behavior. 52 Ss rated cartoons for humor or lack of humor under 4 conditions: 2 similar responses, 2 different types of response, response to humorous cartoon, and response to nonhumorous cartoon. Results confirm the prediction. Relevant investigations from the self-perception literature are discussed in light of this feature-positive effect. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attribution and alcohol-mediated aggression.

48 males participated in an aggression task after receiving either alcoholic or placebo beverages and after being told that they had received either a high or a low dose of alcohol. All Ss in the alcohol group actually received the same dose. Measures of aggression were the intensity and duration of shock given to a bogus partner in a RT-pain perception task and a score on a posttask attitude questionnaire. Blood alcohol readings were taken 3 times during the session, and a locus of control scale was administered before and after drinking. For Ss in the alcohol conditions, blood alcohol levels averaged .079% before the task and .085% afterwards. Alcohol resulted in higher aggression scores only on the questionnaire measure, and an interaction between drug and attribution was found for the measure of shock duration. Attribution alone resulted in greater aggression on the measure of shock intensity. Ss in groups where the attribution was discrepant with the drug condition were the most aggressive on the measures of shock intensity and duration. These Ss became more external, reflecting a high correlation between their aggression and a stimulus tone. Results suggest that a person's increased aggressiveness when intoxicated results from an interaction between alcohol and an altered responsivity to provoking stimuli. (37 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Maternal permissiveness toward aggression and subsequent TAT aggression.

To test the hypothesis that the effect of permissiveness towards the expression of aggression in childhood extends into adulthood, 2 groups of Ss (100 college girls), distinguished by the degree of maternal permissiveness towards the expression of aggression (derived from questionnaires answered by the mothers), were placed in an aggression-arousing situation (inducted by making highly insulting and deprecating comments to them). Subsequently, Ss were asked to respond to TAT cards (selected on the basis of being high or low in aggressiveness and presented on a screen for 20 sec.). Ss reared under conditions of high maternal permissiveness responded more frequently with aggressive responses to the "aggressive" cards than did the low permissive group. The low permissive group felt more uncomfortable and dysphoric than Ss reared under conditions of greater permissiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of alcohol and behavior contingencies on human aggression.

Determined the mediating effects of alcohol and behavior contingencies on aggression in male social drinkers. 72 18–35 yr old Ss were randomly assigned to 1 of 6 groups in a 3?×?2 factorial design. To control for alcohol and expectation effects, one third of the Ss received alcoholic beverages, one third received placebo drinks, and another third was not administered any beverages. Aggression was assessed by the intensity and duration of shocks administered to a bogus partner in a modification of the Buss aggression procedure. Half of the Ss were exposed to aversive contingencies correlated with their aggressive responses, and half received random aversive contingencies. The inebriated Ss were significantly more aggressive than the sober Ss. The former Ss displayed an equally aggressive pattern under both contingency conditions, whereas the nonintoxicated Ss displayed a differential response pattern affected by the contingency type. These findings are attributed to the disrupting effect of alcohol on information processing and to the mediating effect of contingencies on the nonintoxicated individuals' aggressive behavior. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aggression-inhibiting influence of sexual humor.

48 undergraduate males participated in an experiment designed to investigate the hypothesis that prior exposure to sexual humor would reduce the level of aggression directed by angry individuals against the person who had previously provoked them. Ss were first angered or not angered by a male confederate; next, exposed to either neutral, nonhumorous pictures or to 1 of 2 types of sexual humor (nonexploitative, exploitative); and finally, provided with an opportunity to aggress against this individual by means of electric shock. Results indicate that exposure to exploitative sexual humor, but not exposure to nonexploitative sexual humor, significantly reduced the strength of Ss' later attacks against the victim. Findings are discussed in terms of the results of a follow-up study in which 2 groups of male Ss examined the exploitative or nonexploitative sexual cartoons and rated the extent to which they would fantasize about these stimuli, following their removal. Results of this study suggest that individuals are more likely to think or fantasize about exploitative than nonexploitative sexual humor following the removal of such stimuli. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An investigation of the frustration-aggression relation in children.

Describes an experiment with males in Grades 1-3 (N = 80) involving variations in level of frustration, type of model behavior, and model's outcomes. Neither initial level of frustration nor the female model's outcome had a significant effect on level of post-modeling aggression, although the model-behavior variable did have a significant impact. Ss rated by teachers as high in aggressive tendencies showed significantly greater increases in aggression in response to an aggressive model than Ss rated low in aggressive tendencies. (French summary) (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sensing humor: Latency and amplitude of response related to MMPI profiles.

48 male high school graduates responded to cartoons by (1) sorting 1 set into 4 equal piles ranging from most funny to least funny, and (2) reacting immediately to each cartoon of another set by manipulating a knob. The Ss were divided, according to their MMPI profiles, into PPd (highest score on the Psychopathic Deviate scale), and NPPd (highest score on some other scale). Consistent with expectations, PPd Ss preferred sexual (and hostile) humor more than NPPd Ss, preferred sexual and hostile humor more than nonsense humor, and responded to all cartoons more quickly than NPPd Ss. The immediate reaction measures of latency and amplitude appear to hold promise for future research on humor. (23 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of instructions on free associative sexual responses of subjects varying in need for approval.

Administered a double entendre word association test to Ss high and low in need for approval (as measured by the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability scale). Ss were then told that many of the words had sexual meanings and were asked to identify them. Ss subsequently completed the test again. Under standard instructions, the low need for approval Ss had significantly higher sexual responsivity scores (p     

Concomitants of social support: Social skills, physical attractiveness, and gender.

Investigated the naturally occurring relations among self-reported social support and social skills, on the one hand, and behavioral measures and rated physical attractiveness on the other, using 84 male and 84 female undergraduates who were selected on the basis of high- and low-number scores on the Social Support Questionnaire. Ss were videotaped in 2 dyadic situations with a same-sex partner. Ss also completed the UCLA Loneliness Questionnaire, a social competence questionnaire, a story completion task, and self and partner evaluations. The videotaped behavior was rated qualitatively and quantitatively. Results show significant differences in the social skills of Ss who were high and low in social support; Ss high in social support were more favorably evaluated. Women also were found to be significantly more socially skilled and were rated as being more physically attractive than men. The various self-report and behavioral measures of social skills were significantly interrelated. Results indicate the dimensions of social support by demonstrating the relation between social support and social skills. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of alcohol and expectancies on verbal aggression in men and women.

In Exp I, 48 male and 48 female heavy social-drinking undergraduates were assigned to beverage (vodka [.75 ml/kg] and tonic or only tonic) and beverage-expectancy (alcohol or tonic) conditions. Ss were provoked by a confederate's unfavorable evaluation and allowed to retaliate. In Exp II, Exp I was repeated using 44 males and 45 females and higher doses of ethanol (1.12 and 1.10 ml/kg, respectively, for males and females). In Exp III, an experimenter criticized 62 male drinkers (.9 ml/kg ethanol) who later evaluated the experimenter's job performance on a questionnaire for his employer. Results show that for Ss at higher doses and males at the lower dose, those expecting alcohol were significantly less aggressive and at higher doses felt happier than did Ss expecting only tonic. Actual alcohol consumption increased aggression only for females at the lower doses. It is concluded that alcohol by its pharmacologic action alone does not necessarily increase aggression at either a low or a moderately high dose. It is suggested that many of the reinforcements of alcohol use are due to the drinkers' cognition rather than the pharmacologic action of alcohol itself. (43 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conditioning of verbal behavior as a function of awareness, need for social approval, and motivation to receive reinforcement.

This investigation evaluated the effects of awareness, need for social approval, and motivation to receive reinforcement on verbal conditioning. 61 male college students were reinforced with "good" for constructing sentences beginning with "I" or "we." Awareness and reinforcement motivation were assessed by an intensive postconditioning interview; need for social approval was measured by the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability scale. Ss aware of a correct response-reinforcement contingency gave more "I" and "we" sentences than Unaware Ss, who showed no evidence of learning. Aware Ss motivated to receive reinforcement gave more "I" and "we" sentences than unmotivated Aware Ss. Contrary to expectation, need for approval was not related to Ss' reinforcement motivation or performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relation between barrier scores and aggressive behavior.

A study by Fisher and Cleveland (1958) indicated that high barrier Ss express anger outwardly, yet other investigations have indicated low barrier Ss are more impulsive and aggressive. A study of barrier scores in a sample of 75 juvenile delinquents indicated that the delinquents had barrier scores significantly lower than nondelinquent adolescents; moreover the more seriously delinquent Ss had barrier scores significantly lower than the less seriously delinquent Ss. Correlational data also indicated some association between low barrier scores and aggressiveness. Adaptiveness of aggression in various situations and on the interpretation of the barrier score as an index of ego identity as opposed to ego diffusion are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of affective assessment in modeling aggressive behavior.

Examined the role of affective assessment, a self-generated influence in learning acquisition, in the A. Bandura et al (1963) modeling-of-aggression procedure. 32 1st- and 2nd-grade children rated toys and televised acts of aggression against an inflated doll according to their personal affective preference. A matched control group of 32 children was yoked to the affective preferences of the experimental Ss. Control Ss were not shown the televised aggression. All Ss were then introduced to a free-play situation in which toys and an inflated doll were present. In line with the Bandura et al findings, it was predicted that observational learning would be demonstrated across conditions. However, in line with logical learning theory, it was predicted that Ss would model affectively preferred aggressive acts and toys more readily than affectively dispreferred acts and toys. Boys and girls differed significantly only in their imitation of positively rated aggressive actions, not in their imitation of negatively rated actions. Ramifications for the TV violence/aggression issue are discussed. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differences in alcohol expectancy between aggressive and nonaggressive social drinkers

Previous reports have shown that drinkers with aggressive personalities not only hold the strongest beliefs that alcohol facilitates aggressive behavior, but they also display the greatest increases in laboratory aggression after receiving alcohol. Given that several studies have demonstrated that a portion of the behavioral and subjective effects of alcohol are due to psychological expectancy, this study explored whether aggressive drinkers have elevated intoxication expectancies from laboratory beverages with unknown alcohol content. The rates of aggressive responses emitted in a money subtraction aggression model under baseline conditions were used to select an aggressive group and a nonaggressive group, each with five male and five female participants. Subjects then ingested and rated each of three placebo (1 ml alcohol) beverages administered hourly during a subsequent laboratory visit, and rated a series of three 0.35 g/kg of alcohol beverages the following day. Whereas nonaggressive subjects clearly discriminated the relative alcohol content of alcohol and placebo drinks, aggressive subjects gave progressively elevated shot equivalent ratings to placebo drinks, similar to their ratings of alcohol doses. However, despite similar self-reported drinking histories, aggressive subjects reported anticipating only half the intoxication from the alcohol doses (and in fact achieved a lower peak breath alcohol concentration) than was expected by nonaggressive subjects.     

Coping humour, stress, and cognitive appraisals.

Investigated relationships between sense of humor and cognitive appraisals (CAs) and reappraisals of a potentially stressful event. CAs by 44 female university students for an academic examination were obtained at several points in time. Ss with high scores on the Coping Humor scale by R. A. Martin and H. M. Lefcourt (see record 1984-15058-001) appraised the exam as more of a positive challenge. In their reappraisals, high humor Ss' ratings of importance and positive challenge were positively related to performance on the exam, whereas for low humor Ss this relationship was negative. High humor Ss adjusted their expectations on the next exam on the basis of performance on the previous exam, whereas low humor Ss did not. Sense of humor was negatively related to both perceived stress and dysfunctional standards for self-evaluation. Results support the proposal that a sense of humor may facilitate coping and adjustment. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)