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Does humor moderate the effects of experimentally-induced stress?

M G Newman1, A A Stone

  • 1State University of New York at Stony Brook, USA.

Annals of Behavioral Medicine : a Publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine
|November 9, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Humor production effectively reduces stress responses, lowering negative affect and tension. This coping strategy benefits individuals regardless of their natural inclination to use humor.

Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Stress Management
  • Coping Mechanisms

Background:

  • Trait humor influences how individuals respond to stressful situations.
  • Understanding humor's role in stress moderation is crucial for developing effective coping strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if humor production moderates mood and physiological stress responses.
  • To compare the effects of humor production versus serious monologue generation on stress.
  • To examine these effects in individuals with high and low trait humor.

Main Methods:

  • Forty subjects high and 40 subjects low in trait humor were selected.
  • Participants were randomly assigned to generate either a humorous or serious monologue during a stressful film.
  • Physiological measures (heart rate, skin conductance, skin temperature) and mood/tension ratings were recorded.

Main Results:

  • Humor production significantly lowered negative affect and tension compared to serious monologue production.
  • Both high and low trait-humor groups showed reduced psychophysiological reactivity when producing humor.
  • Humor production acted as an effective stress-coping mechanism across different trait humor levels.

Conclusions:

  • Humor production is a potent coping strategy for managing stress.
  • The benefits of humor production extend to individuals who do not habitually use humor.
  • This suggests broader applications of humor-based interventions in stress reduction.

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