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Beyond Laughter: How Culture Shapes the Meaning and Preference of Humor
Yi Cao1, Yijiang Wang2, Yubo Hou1
1Peking University, Beijing, China.
Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin
|January 2, 2026
Summary
Chinese individuals perceive humor as more meaningful than Americans. This cultural difference in humor appreciation and creation was explored across five studies, revealing distinct cross-cultural perspectives on meaningful humor.
Area of Science:
- Cross-cultural psychology
- Humor studies
- Social psychology
Background:
- Humor perception and creation vary across cultures.
- Previous research has not extensively explored the dimension of 'meaningfulness' in humor.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate cultural differences in humor perception, creation, and appreciation between Chinese and American individuals.
- To examine the role of 'meaningfulness' as a dimension of humor.
Main Methods:
- Five studies were conducted using methods such as free association, content analysis of humor, social media video comparison, cultural sampling, and naturalistic observation.
- Participant samples ranged from 200 to 611 individuals across studies.
Main Results:
- Chinese participants consistently associated humor with greater meaningfulness compared to American participants.
- Humor generated by Chinese individuals and content from Chinese social media platforms (Douyin) were found to be more meaningful than their American counterparts (TikTok).
- Chinese participants showed a stronger preference for meaningful humor over non-meaningful humor than American participants.
Conclusions:
- A significant cultural difference exists in the appreciation of humor's meaningfulness between Chinese and American populations.
- Meaningfulness represents a novel and significant dimension in the cross-cultural study of humor.
- Findings contribute to a deeper understanding of cultural influences on humor.
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