I got this academic research from Pratt library website. (full text also in comments section) (http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.pratt.edu:2048/ehost/pdf?vid=6&hid=104&sid=32fbeb26-ef83-482e-9a42-0a6c5bb4745a%40sessionmgr7)
The article was written about how a humorous male can attract females as well as his social relationship with others. Many researchers have found out that a man with a good sense of humor is selected more often by women as her spouse because he is more attractive than those who don’t have a sense of humor. “A good sense of humor may be valued so highly because it implies the presence of other positive traits” (Cann & Calhoun, 2001, p. 118). Maybe, a humorous person can easily make people open their mind and when they expose themselves to him it would be much easier for him to get closer to them. Once, they build up close friendship they respect each other. That’s how the sense of humor helps one’s overall personal traits to be valued highly.
However, a trait of humor is not always concerned as attractive personality because sometimes the person doesn’t seem to be serious to take care of issues such as child care after he gets married. In addition, “Individuals may often use humor as a defense tactic to distance themselves from feeling or avoid intimacy. For example, Martin, Puhlik- Doris, Larsen, Gray, and Weir (2003) have suggested that individuals who display higher levels of self- defeating humor may use this defense tactic to hide underlying negative feelings or avoid dealing with a problem constructively.”
The author’s experiment proved the fact that a humorous male can be attractive to his spouse than the one without the humor. However, as the author stated “Nonetheless, although these results suggest that a good sense of humor in a potentially desirable mate is preferred to no sense of humor, this does not imply that individuals will act according to these preferences. These preferences may reflect the norms and stereotypes of the culture. Actual mating behavior may be affected by many variables: some personal, some situational (Buss & Barnes, 1986). Choosing a spouse is more complicated issue so considering only a part of one’s personality is not enough to evaluate him. However, a trait of humor definitely can be advantageous.
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Full text article from Sung Kyeol (David):
How humor as a personality can affect interpersonal attraction and mate selection.
They have conducted much research to examine humor as a personal characteristic that has many personal and social benefits. For example, researchers have shown that humor helps individuals to avoid stress and depression and to facilitate recovery (e.g., Dixon, 1980; Goldstein,1987). However, much of the existing research on mate selection has failed to fully acknowledge the importance of the interpersonal benefits of possessing a sense of humor and, in particular, the influence humor may have in selecting a mate. Humor is a highly valued trait in many cultures (D. M. Buss, 1988). Also, studies on social
desirability have found sense of humor to be among the most favorably evaluated
personality traits (e.g., Anderson, 1968; Craik, Lampert, & Nelson, 1996). A good
sense of humor is considered socially desirable; individuals have claimed that they
possess this quality in numbers that exceed the possible truth. In two different selfassessment samples, more than 90% of the respondents considered themselves to
have an average to above-average sense of humor (Lefcourt & Martin, 1986).
Thus, it seems evident that individuals highly value having a sense of humor
in themselves and others. However, when a specific trait has such significance in
judging others, it is often assumed that it covaries with other positive traits. Having
a good sense of humor may be valued so highly “because it implies the presence
of other positive traits” (Cann & Calhoun, 2001, p. 118). These researchers
have found that individuals described as being well above average in sense of
humor were perceived as lower in neuroticism and higher in agreeableness than
typical or below average sense of humor others. Also, researchers have found
that higher humor orientation was associated with lower levels of loneliness, and
people perceived as more humorous were also seen as socially attractive (Wanzer,
Booth-Butterfield, & Booth-Butterfield, 1996).
However, could different levels of sense of humor influence judgments on how attractive or suitable a person may be as a long-term partner? In the present study, we aimed to address this question. If humor is a positive attribute, then the more humorous a person
is, the better. However, possession of a good sense of humor may be a negative
concept in interpersonal relationships. For example, a highly humorous person
may not always take other critical issues, such as child care, seriously. Similarly,
individuals may often use humor as a defense tactic to distance themselves
from feelings or avoid intimacy. For example, Martin, Puhlik-Doris, Larsen,
Gray, and Weir (2003) have suggested that individuals who display higher
levels of self-defeating humor may use this defense tactic to hide underlying
negative feelings or avoid dealing with a problem constructively. Therefore, in
the present study, we aimed to examine the effects of various levels of humor
in mate selection.
Consequently, a good sense of humor may also be considered evidence
that partners possess other facilitative qualities. That is, it may make people feel
that their relationships are potentially better or more successful because they
may associate sense of humor in their partner with better mood, less conflict, and
other relationship variables that affect their abilities to realize their goals.
TABLE 1. Means and Standard Deviations of Target Ratings
Suitability Attractiveness
Target and level of humor M SD M SD
James
Good 4.66 1.45 4.53 1.04
Average 3.56 1.63 3.63 1.33
None 3.13 1.62 3.30 1.18
Chloe
Good 4.56 1.28 5.26 1.28
Average 4.16 1.21 4.63 1.03
None 3.44 1.54 4.53 1.38
Nonetheless, although these results suggest that a good sense of humor in a
potentially desirable mate is preferred to no sense of humor, this does not imply that
individuals will act according to these preferences. These preferences may reflect
the norms and stereotypes of the culture. Actual mating behavior may be affected
by many variables: some personal, some situational (Buss & Barnes, 1986). Thus,
to test whether these findings reflect these cultural norms and to make these findings
more robust, future researchers could investigate whether humor plays a significant
role in mate selection across cultures. Furthermore, individuals may not possess the
characteristics (e.g., social skills, physical attractiveness) needed to achieve their
ideal or find an approximation to their ideal choice, so they settle for less.
I think that all of these things are true about humor. Yes, it is a desirable quality in a mte or in anyone. Who doesn't like someone they can laugh with? But at the same time, humor can be used as a defense mechanism against themselves, or sometimes to hide anger. In that case, it makes it harder to get closer to the person because they are possibly a kind of person that may distance themselves. Also, if someone constantly uses humor to pasify someone else or avoid responsibilities that could be rather annoying.
But I think for the most part, yes, a sense of humor is somethng valued in our relationships, whether they are friendships or romantic relationships.
I researched more on Sense of Humor.
THE CORRELATION BETWEEN SENSE OF HUMOR AND MENTAL HEALTH
DAWN M. MILLER
DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY
Missouri Western State University
Link: http://clearinghouse.missouriwestern.edu/
manuscripts/405.php
It seems to me that this article is true. Most women, when looking for a mate, will say that they want someone with a sense of humor. Humor is a pretty subjective though. What makes one person laugh may not make the next person laugh. I wonder if finding a mate with a similar sense of humor to your own may say something about how compatible your personalities are. According to the article, it says that a person with too much of a sense of humor may be less responsible when it comes to things like taking care of a child and self deprecating humor may be a way of covering up insecurities. I wonder if a person's humor and type of humor may be an indicator of other underlying personality flaws.
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