Abstract
The temperamental basis of the sense of humor involves high cheerfulness, low seriousness, and low bad mood that would contribute to exhilaration and enjoyment of humor. In a sample of undergraduate participants (N = 946), the present study investigated whether (1) use of humor under stress (HUS) mediates the association between cheerfulness and depression and (2) seriousness moderates the cheerfulness and HUS association. HUS had an indirect effect on the negative association between cheerfulness and depression. Moreover, seriousness moderated the cheerfulness and HUS correlation. For individuals with high cheerfulness, HUS scores were comparable across seriousness scores (Mean ± 1 SD). For those with low cheerfulness, individuals with low seriousness reported greater use of HUS. Hence, low seriousness may only predict greater use of humor during stressful situations in individuals with low cheerfulness. This study informs the theoretical conceptualization of temperamental traits in predicting humor-related variables and psychological distress.
About the authors
Chloe Lau is a PhD Candidate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Western Ontario.
Francesca Chiesi is an Associate Professor at the University of Florence. Her research focuses on educational psychology, personality, and psychological assessment.
Donald H. Saklofske is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Western Ontario.
Acknowledgement
The authors would like to thank Meaghan Mosier-Farquharson for proofreading this article.
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Research funding: The authors have no funding to disclose.
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Compliance with ethical standards: All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the [University of Western Ontario Research Ethics Board] and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
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Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained from all individual adult participants included in the study.
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Conflicts of interest: The authors declare they have no conflict of interest.
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