Predicting Self-Esteem Using Humor Styles
A Cross-Cultural Study
Julie Aitken Schermer (University of Western Ontario)
Eva Boyanova Papazova (IPHS-Bulgarian Academy of Sciences)
Maria Magdalena Kwiatkowska (Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw)
Radoslaw Rogoza (Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw)
Joonha Park (NUCB Business School)
Christopher Marcin Kowalski (University of Western Ontario)
Marija Brankovic (Singidunum University)
Marta Doroszuk (Jagiellonian University)
Truong Thi Khanh Ha (Vietnam National University Hanoi)
Dzintra Iliško (Daugavpils University)
Sadia Malik (University of Sargodha)
Samuel Lins (Universidade do Porto)
Ginés Navarro-Carrillo (Universidad de Jaén)
Oscar Oviedo-Trespalacios (Queensland University of Technology)
Jorge Torres-Marín (Universidad de Granada)
Anna Wlodarczyk (Universidad Catolica de Norte)
Sibele Dias de Aquino (Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro)
Tatiana Volkodav (Kuban State University)
Georg Krammer (University College of Teacher Education Styria)
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Abstract
The present study examines the question of whether certain humor styles predict self-esteem. Men and women in 15 countries (NTOTAL = 4701) completed self-report measures assessing self-esteem and the four humor styles of affiliative, aggressive, self-defeating, and self-enhancing. Each of the country samples had self-esteem averages at or above the midpoint of the scale, but did vary. The samples from Colombia and Serbia had the highest self-esteem values and Russia had the lowest. For all of the country samples, with the exception of Russia, the multiple regression results demonstrated that a greater level of the self-enhancing humor style positively predicted higher self-esteem scores. As the self-enhancing humor style involves improving one’s mood with humor, the results suggest that for the majority of the participants, self-enhancing humor styles also help to increase self-esteem. The results are discussed both within countries and across the samples. In particular, the unique finding that not a self-enhancing humor style but an aggressive humor style predicts self-esteem in the Russian sample is discussed. The chapter ends with a discussion of how humor styles correlate with mental health indicators and how the understanding of humor style profiles are related to well-being across countries adds to the global understanding of individual differences.