Humor Content Preferences and the Relief of Experimentally Aroused Aggression

Previous research on the relationship between humor and aggression produced contradictory and inconclusive results. The present study differentiated effects of threatening, aggressive humor from those of non-threatening, aggressive humor, and determined that humor preferences are affected by conditions of aggression arousal. One hundred twenty female university students participated in the experiment proper, and 30 provided data on the effectiveness of the Aggressiveness Induction Procedure (AIP). Two groups were exposed to the AIP, and two were exposed to a Neutral Procedure (NP). One group in each condition (AIP and NP) rated aggressive, threatening jokes, and the other group rated aggressive, nonthreatening jokes, for their humor. All Ss then completed a mood adjective checklist. The AIP was successful in arousing aggression. Results showed that aggressive, nonthreatening humor was more effective in reducing induced aggressive mood-states than was aggressive, threatening humor. Further, AIP Ss preferred aggressive humor to nonaggressive humor, while NP Ss showed the opposite preference.