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How virtuous is humor? What we can learn from current instruments


Beermann, Ursula; Ruch, Willibald (2009). How virtuous is humor? What we can learn from current instruments. Journal of Positive Psychology, 4(6):528-539.

Abstract

Despite the diverse philosophical accounts of the relation of humor to virtue or vice, this ethical dimension has not been included explicitly in psychological humor instruments. Yet, behavior described in humor
questionnaires covering a broad variety of components can be used to study an implicit relation of humor to vices and virtues. The main aim of the present paper was (1) to find humorous behavior and attitudes representing virtues and vices within an item pool of 12 popular humor questionnaires; and (2) to investigate the nature of the virtues represented by their item contents. A comprehensive measure of humor covered the entire range from virtue to vice, with the majority of items evaluated as neutral. Humanity and wisdom were most strongly represented, but the items cover all six core virtues (Dahlsgaard, 2004) to varying degrees. Further research can now investigate the relationship of humor and individual virtues more closely.

Abstract

Despite the diverse philosophical accounts of the relation of humor to virtue or vice, this ethical dimension has not been included explicitly in psychological humor instruments. Yet, behavior described in humor
questionnaires covering a broad variety of components can be used to study an implicit relation of humor to vices and virtues. The main aim of the present paper was (1) to find humorous behavior and attitudes representing virtues and vices within an item pool of 12 popular humor questionnaires; and (2) to investigate the nature of the virtues represented by their item contents. A comprehensive measure of humor covered the entire range from virtue to vice, with the majority of items evaluated as neutral. Humanity and wisdom were most strongly represented, but the items cover all six core virtues (Dahlsgaard, 2004) to varying degrees. Further research can now investigate the relationship of humor and individual virtues more closely.

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Additional indexing

Item Type:Journal Article, refereed, original work
Communities & Collections:06 Faculty of Arts > Institute of Psychology
Dewey Decimal Classification:150 Psychology
Scopus Subject Areas:Social Sciences & Humanities > General Psychology
Language:English
Date:November 2009
Deposited On:25 Nov 2009 06:52
Last Modified:03 Nov 2023 03:08
Publisher:Taylor & Francis
ISSN:1743-9760
Additional Information:This is an electronic version of an article published in Journal of Positive Psychology, 4(6):528-539. The Journal of Positive Psychology is available online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17439760903262859
OA Status:Closed
Publisher DOI:https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760903262859
Related URLs:http://www.researchportal.ch/unizh/p9530.htm