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Gelotophobia and thinking styles in Sternberg's theory'
1School of Management, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, No. 2 Baiyun Dadao, Guangzhou, 510420 People's Republic of China. mypeer2002@hotmail.com
Psychological Reports
|April 12, 2012
Summary
Gelotophobia, the fear of being laughed at, is linked to how people think. Specifically, it’s less common with Type I thinking styles and more common with Type II thinking styles.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Gelotophobia, the fear of being laughed at, is a recognized social anxiety.
- Sternberg's theory of mental self-government categorizes thinking styles into Type I, Type II, and Type III.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between gelotophobia and Sternberg's thinking styles.
- To determine if specific thinking styles predict gelotophobia levels.
Main Methods:
- 431 university students completed self-report measures for gelotophobia and thinking styles.
- Correlation and regression analyses were used to analyze the data.
Main Results:
- Gelotophobia showed a significant negative relationship with Type I thinking styles (legislative, judicial, liberal, hierarchical) and a Type III style (external).
- A significant positive relationship was found between gelotophobia and a Type II thinking style (conservative).
- Thinking styles explained 18% of the variance in gelotophobia scores.
Conclusions:
- Thinking styles are significantly associated with gelotophobia.
- Understanding an individual's thinking style may offer insights into their gelotophobia.
- Cognitive interventions targeting thinking styles could be beneficial for treating gelotophobia.
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