A Pilot Study On Humor Styles Of Middle School Students

The word “humor”, deriving from Hippocrates, is widely praised as a goodpersonality and positive psychological experience. However, psychologists did notconduct a systematic and empirical research until they recognized the important linkbetween humor and mental health. The relation between sense of humor and mentalhealth has been the focus of humor research field all the time, but many researchfindings are in contradiction. To solve this problem, Martin et al put forward theconcept of humor styles based on reviewing a large number of researches. Humorstyles are state-like psychological characteristics related to the ways in whichindividuals understand, appreciate, create and apply humor. The purpose of the studyon students ’ humor styles is to verify the theory of humor styles and enrich theresearch of humor styles.The study conducts a systematic exploration of middle school students’ humorstyles by using document analysis and questionnaire survey.Firstly, it forms a theoretical structure of middle school students’ humor stylesby referring to the existing literature of sense of humor and humor styles. Secondly, ithas an open questionnaire survey of330middle school students, a prediction of320middle school students and a retesting formal questionnaire survey of500middleschool students. Lastly, it explores the current situation of middle school students’humor styles and its relation with mental health and affective factors by conducting asurvey of800middle school students using “The Humor Styles Questionnaire forMiddle School Students”,“Mental Health Questionnaire for Middle School Students”and “Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS-R)”. And the followings are themain conclusions:(1) Middle school students’ humor styles are a multidimensional concept, whichincludes self-enhancing humor, affiliative humor, self-deprecating humor andaggressive humor.(2) The self-compiled “The Humor Styles Questionnaire for Middle SchoolStudents” can be used as a tool of the study as its test indicators achieve the standardof psychometrics.(3) The development of middle school students’ humor styles is generally in agood condition.(4) Demographic variables such as gender, native places, grades and otherfactors have influence on the formation of middle school students’ humor styles. Boys prefer using aggressive humor and self-deprecating humor, while urban studentsprefer self-enhancing humor and affiliative humor and senior students like applyingself-deprecating humor and aggressive humor more.(5) Middle school students’ humor styles and mental health are closely related.Appropriate humor can promote mental health; however, inappropriate humor hindersmental health.(6) Middle school students’ affective factors are related with humor styles andmental health and it plays a mediating role between humor styles and mental health.