The relationship of sensation seeking and social desirability with humor styles among Iranian salespersons

Given the different effects of adaptive and maladaptive humor on social interactions especially on workplaces, contradictory findings of sensation seeking for forming new relationships, and salespersons' tendency for being demanded and suitable for more sales, it is important to investigate how sensation seeking and social desirability along with background characteristics predict humor styles. The study sample included 150 Iranian salespersons selected through cluster sampling. The study had a correlation research design which drew on the three instruments of Arnett Inventory of Sensation Seeking (AISS), Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (MCSDS) and Humor Style Questionnaire (HSQ). The regression analysis findings showed that income level and gender were significant predictors of the humor style of affiliative. Additionally, only sensation seeking was found to be a significant predictor of self-enhancing. The humor style of aggressive was predicted by education level, gender, and social desirability. The humor style of self-defeating was also predicted by job experience, education level, gender and social desirability. It seems that personality traits such as sensation seeking along with social status can predict humor styles.