A gender study of personality and humor in comedians

Abstract

AbstractAlthough individual differences in personality traits and humor between comedians and non-comedians have received increased attention, conclusions are limited to males as prior samples include few female comedians. This is the first quantitative study of personality traits and humor with more female (n=36) than male (n=33) comedians. This study compared comedians to a diverse non-comedian sample of undergraduates (n=89). A logistic regression using personality, humor styles, and gender as predictors correctly identified 83% of participants as either comedians or non-comedians. As hypothesized, personality and humor styles, but not gender, were significant predictors of comedian status. Male and female comedians were similar on Big Five Personality traits except for neuroticism, on which female comedians scored significantly higher than their male counterparts. Comedians scored significantly higher than non-comedians on extraversion and openness, while non-comedians just failed to be significant in scoring higher than comedians on agreeableness. In addition, as measured by the Humor Styles Questionnaire, male and female comedians scored similarly on all four humor styles (affiliative, self-enhancing, aggressive, self-defeating) and scored higher than non-comedians on the humor styles. Overall, these findings suggest personality differences and humor styles are two traits responsible for individuals pursuing stand-up comedy.