GETTING THE
PUNCH LINE
Anjali Dhar
The Relationships between Humor
Styles, Attachment Styles, and Humor
Preference
1. Background on attachment
2. Background on humor
3. Relationship between humor and
attachment
4. Previous Research on Humor Preference
5. Our Current Study
Introduction Outline
Background: Attachment
• Attachment: a bond between two people
that involves desire for regular contact
with that person and the experience of
distress during separation from that
person (Bowlby, 1978; Ainsworth at al.,
1978)
Measured by Strange Situation test in infancy
Adult Attachment Styles(Bartholemew & Horowitz, 1991)
Background: Humor(Owren & Bachorowski, 2001)
• Laughter/humor has many uses:
– Evolutionary
– Positive emotions
– Negative emotions
– Beneficial to parent-child relations as
well
Humor Styles(Martin & Puhlik-Doris, 2003)
Self-Defeating Self-Enhancing
Aggressive Affiliative
Negative Positive
Self-Directed
Other-Directed
Relationships between Humor Style and Attachment Style
(Cann et al., 2008)
Attachment Style Humor Style
Anxious Attachment Positive: Self-Defeating
Negative: Self-Enhancing
Avoidant Attachment Positive: Aggressive
Negative: Affiliative
Humor Preference(Lynch, 2010)
• Students watched 30-minute standup
routine while being videotaped
• Compared facial expressions (FACS) with
the Implicit Association Test
• Participants had more positive response
to jokes that reflected implicit
preferences
• We laugh at certain things because we
feel they are true!
Humor Preference, Attachment Style, Humor Style
• Research is lacking in this area• We wanted to find out if preference
for affiliative and aggressive humor were related to attachment style
• We also wanted to find out if certain humor styles corresponded with certain attachment styles in a
stronger way than has been found in the past
Affiliative Humor
Concern for Others
Secure Attachment
Focus on Affiliative Humor
Aggressive Humor
Less concern
for others
Dismissive Attachment
Focus on Aggressive Humor
Attachment and Humor Preference
Hypothesis 1
Attachment Security
Preference for Affiliative
Humor
Attachment Dismissal
Preference for Aggressive
Humor
Hypothesis 2
Attachment and Humor Style
Secure Attachment
Affiliative Humor
Self-Defeating Humor
Security
Dismissive Attachment
Aggressive Humor
Affiliative Humor
Dismissal
Fearful Attachment
Self-Enhancing Humor
Methods
• Participants
– Claremont College students– Ages 18-22– 28 females and 12 males– 62.5% Caucasian, 12.5% Asian, 10%
African American, 7.5% Latino/a, 7.5% Other
Procedure
• 3 short standup clips
– 2 video clips (aggressive and affiliative)
– Participant chooses third video clip (implicit humor
preference)
• Relationships Scales Questionnaire (Adult Attachment)
• Humor Styles Questionnaire (Humor Style)
• Self-report questionnaire on political beliefs
(Distractor)
Attachment and Humor Preference
Hypothesis 1 Results
Attachment Security
Preference for Affiliative
Humor
Attachment Security and Video Choice- Frequencies
Affiliative Aggressive0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
Low SecureHigh Secure
Attachment Dismissal
Preference for Aggressive
Humor
Frequencies: Attachment Dismissal and Video Choice
Affiliative Aggressive0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
Low DismissalHigh Dismissal
Hypothesis 2Results
Attachment and Humor Style
Secure Attachment
Affiliative Humor
Self-Defeating Humor
Security
Dismissive Attachment
Aggressive Humor
Affiliative Humor
Dismissal
Fearful Attachment
Self-Enhancing Humor
Summary
• Dismissive attachment is associated with
preference for aggressive humor
• Secure attachment is associated with
affiliative humor usage, negatively with
self-defeating humor usage
• Fearful attachment negatively correlated
with self-enhancing humor usage
Discussion
• Aggressive humor preference =
lowered concern for others
• Secure attachment = preference for
humor content rather than style
• Fearful attachment = lower regard for
self, thus self-defeating humor usage
Limitations
• Small, specific sample
• Limited humor types and content
• Self-report nature of surveys
Conclusions
• Attachment styles, humor styles, and
humor preferences seem to be
significantly related
• Can help understanding of relationships,
enhance social awareness
• Area is promising
Acknowledgements
• Jessie Borelli• Mike Grier
• My Participants• Wanda Sykes
• Dr. Rod Martin (HSQ) • Dr. Kim Bartholomew and Dr. Dale
Griffin (RSQ)
