Styles of Humor and Interpersonal Relationships in University Students

Abstract

The study aimed to investigate relationship between humor styles and interpersonal relationships in university students. It was hypothesized that: there would be a relationship between humor styles and interpersonal relationships in university students; humor styles are likely to predict interpersonal relationships in university students; there would be gender differences in humor styles and interpersonal relationships. The sample consisted of 196 students from two Universities of Lahore. Humor Style Questionnaire (Martin, Puhlik-Doris, Larsen, Gray & Weir, 2003) and Interpersonal Relationship Questionnaire (Callaghan, 2006) were used for assessment. Data were analyzed by using Pearson product moment correlation, hierarchical regression analysis and independent sample t-test. Results revealed significant relationship between humor styles and interpersonal relationships. Affiliative humor style predicted interpersonal relationships negatively whereas self-defeating humor style predicted interpersonal relationships positively. Men used more aggressive humor styles compared to women but they did not differ on other humor styles. Findings highlight significance of humor in the quality of interpersonal relationships.