Humor use, reactions to social comments, and social anxiety

This study investigated how the use of different humor styles by individuals described as being either socially anxious or non-anxious can have an impact on the perceptions and evaluations made by others about these individuals. Participants read a set of scenarios describing brief interactions with a casual acquaintance (either socially anxious or non-anxious) who made four different types of social comments (affiliative, self-enhancing, aggressive or self-defeating). When the affiliative and self-enhancing comments were delivered humorously, participants indicated more positive evaluations and less social rejection of the casual acquaintance. This finding was obtained for both the socially anxious and non-anxious casual acquaintances. In contrast, the use of self-defeating comments, both with or without humor, was particularly detrimental to evaluations of the socially anxious acquaintance. In addition, participants were generally less interested in future interactions with a socially anxious acquaintance, and rated themselves more negatively when this acquaintance was portrayed as being socially anxious. Discussion focused on the pervasive role of humor in facilitating more positive reactions and responses to social comments made by both socially anxious and non-anxious individuals.