Sex differences in humor experiences in relationship to compassion for oneself and for others

Abstract

AbstractThis study explored how multifaceted facets of humor relate to sex differences and compassion for oneself, others, and the environment (Ntotal = 697; 57.5% female). We utilized the Dispositional Positive Emotions ‘amusement’ subscale (DPES-H), the Humor Styles Questionnaire Self-Enhancing Dimension (HSQ-SE), and the COPE Inventory to assess ‘coping humor’ (COPE-CH) and found that males report significantly higher scores of these humor constructs when compared to females. Considering previous research indicating that humor may be used to enhance oneself and relationships with others, we compared all three humor measures in males and females with reports of self-compassion, other-oriented compassion, and altruistic environmental concern. Interestingly, we found that all three humor scales are significantly related to the multi-faceted measure of self-compassion, the DPES ‘compassion’ subscale (DPES-C), and the environmental concern scale, but specific significant correlations vary according to sex. Altogether, this study explores sex differences in humor experiences and illustrates that women’s experiences with coping humor, DPES humor, and self-enhancing humor are significantly correlated with reports of compassion for oneself and others while men’s experiences with coping humor, DPES humor, and self-enhancing humor are significantly correlated with altruistic environmental concern. Potential basis for these correlations and implications for future research in light of these sex differences and similarities will be discussed.