Aggressive and Affiliative Humor: Relationships to Aspects of Intercultural Communication

Abstract

The security theory of humor was utilized to examine two types of humor (affiliative and aggressive) in relation to intercultural communication. Participants (N = 241) completed a survey containing measures of humor (humor orientation, humor aggressiveness) and intercultural communication (intercultural communication apprehension, ethnocentrism, emulation, intercultural willingness to communicate). Humor orientation was negatively related to intercultural communication apprehension. Humor aggressiveness was positively related to ethnocentrism and negatively associated with emulation. Implications for the theory and intercultural communication are discussed.

Keywords:

• Affiliative Humor
• Aggressive Humor
• Ethnocentrism
• Intercultural Communication Apprehension
• Intercultural Willingness to Communicate

Notes

Notes

1. Preliminary research using the Humor Orientation Scale (HOS) suggested that those scoring high on the scale had a greater repertoire of humor categories at their disposal (Booth-Butterfield & Booth-Butterfield, 1991), were perceived as funnier when delivering jokes (Wanzer, Booth-Butterfield, & Booth-Butterfield, 1995), and were rated by acquaintances as more socially attractive (Wanzer, Booth-Butterfield, & Booth-Butterfield, 1996). Additionally, across the latter two studies, higher scores on the HOS were associated with greater affective orientation, greater adaptability, more concern for garnering rewarding impressions, greater appreciation for humor, and less loneliness. Together, these findings lead to the inference that the HOS measures a socially positive form of humor, consisting primarily of the ability to tell jokes and stories in social interaction.

2. The Miczo (2004) study utilized Burgoon's (1976) Unwillingness to Communicate Scale (UCS) as a measure of communication-related security. The UCS contains two subscales: approach-avoidance (an anxiety dimension) and reward (an avoidance of interaction dimension). In the Miczo study, however, the scales were coded so that higher scores reflect a greater willingness to communicate.

3. One item on the scale was typed incorrectly, making it redundant with a prior item. The final version thus contained 23 items. Results of the factor analysis are available from the first author upon request.