Virtuous humor and the dispositions towards ridicule and laughter: Investigating their contribution to happiness

There are different concepts of humor: virtuous humor (i.e., benevolent and corrective humor) which represents the morally good, and three dispositions towards ridicule and laughter, namely the fear of being laughed at (gelotophobia), the joy of being laughed at (gelotophilia), and the joy of laughing at others (katagelasticism). In the current study, we aim to investigate the relationship of virtuous humor and dispositions towards ridicule and laughter with happiness. A sample of 229 Spanish undergraduates completed self-reports of the corresponding measures. Regression analyses revealed individual differences in humor predicting happiness. Gelotophobia and corrective humor were negatively associated with happiness, whereas gelotophilia and benevolent humor were positively associated with happiness. The effect of gelotophilia on happiness may be due to the existing relationship between gelotophilia and benevolent humor. Our study extends prior research into the contribution of novel forms of humor to positive outcomes and replicates important findings on the relationship between humor and happiness. In sum, the results demonstrated that virtuous humor and dispositions towards ridicule and laughter can be adequately assessed among Spanish samples, and that it is important to consider novel forms of humor in the study of happiness.