Abstract
Whether or not one uses humor to cope with a setback may depend on the idiosyncratic relation of the setback to feeling of self-worth. All people pursue the higher order goal of self-validation, but people differ in what domains of life their self-worth is contingent upon and to what extent. In this article based on an incongruity theory of humor we argue that the use of humor in coping with a highly self-worth-contingent setback may be impeded by two cognitive-motivational processes: goal-driven activation and goal shielding. From the outlined theory we derived the hypothesis that the more a domain is contingent upon self-worth, the less likely a person will be to use humor to deal with a setback in that domain. We tested this hypothesis in two studies employing two forms of self-report, i.e., ratings of reaction likelihood to setbacks described at an abstract domain level (Study 1), and ranking of reaction likelihood to concrete setbacks from different domains (Study 2). The hypothesis was affirmed in different domains of self-worth contingency controlling for the influence of habitual coping with humor, coping by disengagement, and global self-esteem.
Highlights
Humor is believed to be the strategy for coping with setbacks and failures
Reactions to threats were relatively consistent across domains: coping with humor α = .75, putting things into perspective α = .59, and distraction α = .78, showing a habitual tendency to cope with failure, but leaving room for the influence of self-worth contingency
Using humor to cope with threats to one’s appearance was not correlated with the Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale (RSE) when controlling for putting things into perspective, r = .11, p = .25, and putting things into perspective remained significantly correlated with the RSE when controlling for coping with humor, r = .26, p
Summary
Empirical research has backed this favorable view insofar as coping with humor appears to be an effective and functional strategy for regulating stress, negative and positive emotions, and self-threat and coping with trauma (Geisler & Weber, 2010; Kuiper, 2012; for an overview, see Martin, 2007). We postulate that when people have to cope with a setback in a domain on which their self-worth is contingent (i.e., in which success and failure have an impact on the feeling of self-worth), it is unlikely that they will use humor as a coping strategy. Self-worth contingencies inhibit cognitive and motivational processes that underlie humor generation
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