Beyond being timid, witty, and cynical: big five personality characteristics of gelotophobes, gelotophiles, and katagelasticists

Abstract

The study examines the personality correlates of gelotophobia (fear of being laughed at), gelotophilia (joy of being laughed at), and katagelasticism (joy of laughing at others) in the framework of the five - factor model.
In a sample of 1,774 adults, gelotophobes were introverted neurotics with lower inclinations of openness. Furthermore, adjectives like shy, inhibited, and insecure were indicative for gelotophobia. Gelotophilia related to extraversion, low neuroticism and low conscientiousness. Gelotophiles could be well described by adjectives like cheerful, talkative, original, witty, and uninhibited. Katagelasticists were found to be younger males with low scores inagreeableness and conscientiousness. Adjectives like cynical and vengeful correlated robustly with katagelasticism. Results are discussed with respect to the current literature. Suggestions for future research are given.