Humor as aggression: effects of motivation on hostility expressed in humor appreciation

In 4 studies, the authors examined the hypothesis that relative to primed autonomy motivation, primed control would increase enjoyment of hostile (compared with nonhostile) humor as assessed by self-reported enjoyment and aversiveness and by nonverbal behavior. Results confirmed the hypothesis. Furthermore, initial state hostility moderated the effect such that high-hostility participants who were primed with control motivation especially enjoyed hostile humor. The 2 final studies showed that the effect was mediated by implicit aggression such that the combination of high initial state hostility and control priming led to implicit aggression, which in turn resulted in hostile humor enjoyment. Results are interpreted in terms of the effects of autonomy versus control motivation on intrapersonal self-regulatory processes, which influence interpersonal functioning.