Humor motives, qualities, and reactions in recalled conflict episodes

THE PURPOSE OF THIS investigation was to determine the effects of humorous comments made by people in the context of conflicts-in-progress. Previous researchers have noted the (albeit perhaps infrequent) presence of humor usage in arguments (Alberts, 1990; Krokoff, 1991). Its usage is undoubtedly due to the ambiguity of humor that enables it to be used to communicate and enforce social norms and relational expectations (Kane, Suls, & Tedeschi, 1977; Seckman & Couch, 1989; Slugoski & Turnbull, 1988) with the possibility of saying "Only kidding!" if comments are not well received (Johnson, 1990). While it is commonly recognized that using humor can serve both positive and negative functions in any situation (see Meyers, 2000), using humor effectively in a verbal argument may be even more challenging. Humor may not be well received by its target, particularly in conflicts, because recipients may see it as a personal attack (Zajdman, 1995) or an implication that the topic of the conversation does not warrant serious attention (Norrick, 1994). However, humor's ability to relieve stress has been well documented (e.g., Lefcourt, Davidson, Shepherd, & Phillips, 1995; Newman & Stone, 1996) and it is generally recognized that humor can decrease aggression (Baron, 1993) and provide "comic relief" in tense situations (Odell, 1996). The goal of this study was to identify those factors that are associated with positive outcomes of arguments in which humor is used. The term "outcome" is used here to describe the respondents' perceptions of the aftermath of the conflict episode, including their own emotional state, the relationship between the disputants, and the status of the conflict issue between them. Based on Attribution Theory, it is proposed that receivers' attributions about the speaker's reasons for using humor will influence their perceptions of the outcomes of the conflict.