The Experience of Failed Humor: Implications for Interpersonal Affect Regulation

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Organizational Behavior

Background:

• Interpersonal affect regulation often focuses on successful emotion management.
• Fewer studies quantitatively explore persistence in affect regulation after failure.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate failed interpersonal affect regulation using humor.
• Examine individual differences influencing responses to failed humor.
• Assess willingness to persist in regulating positive affect post-humor failure.

Main Methods:

• Utilized autobiographical narrative methods and surveys across two time points.
• Collected data from 127 participants.
• Randomly assigned participants to successful or failed humor narrative conditions at time 2.

Main Results:

• Found significant differences between failed and successful humor conditions.
• Individual differences (gender, affective perspective taking, humor self-efficacy) linked to negative reactions and persistence.
• Affective perspective taking moderated gender's effect in both humor conditions.

Conclusions:

• Failed humor is a significant factor in interpersonal dynamics.
• Understanding persistence in affect regulation after failure has implications for organizational behavior (helping, decision-making, conflict).
• This study is the first quantitative exploration of factors influencing persistence in interpersonal affect regulation post-failure.