1. The role of humor in human relationships: An evolutionary model
Tisljár Roland1 , Sefcsik Tamás1, Bereczkei Tamás2
1University of Szeged, Institute of Psychology
2 University of Pécs, Institute of Psychology
8th Alps-Adria Psychology Conference
Ljubljana, 2008.

2. Outline Theoretical background Method Results Discussion
Evolutionary theories of humor
Humor as the product of sexual selection
Role of similarity in human relationships
Method
Results
Discussion

3. Evolved basis of humor Laughing and humor are universal (Buss, 1989)
Unvoluntary, reflex-like reaction (Weisfeld, 1993)
Similar to our basic emotions (Martin, 2007)

4. Evolutionary theories of humor 1.
Humor and laughter are likely originated in social play (van Hoof and Preuschoft, 2003)
Facilitating the development of various adaptive skills (Bateson, 2005)
Playfully practice important skills (Weisfeld, 1993)
In a non-threatening context
Social cognition, interpersonal behavior

5. Evolutionary theories of humor 2.
Vocal grooming (Dunbar, 1996)
Facilitates social bonding
Emotion-induction mechanism
(Gervais and Wilson, 2005)
Faster way of becoming playful during times of safety
Competitive advantage over other groups
Creativity is the most important part of humor (Miller, 2000)
Rather than its agressiveness
Sexual selection play a major role in its evolution

6. Humor and the mate choice process
Humor is a highly valued social trait (Apte, 1987; Feingold, 1992)
One of the ten most desirable characteristics (Buss, 1989)
Friendships, relation partners (Joeyen-Waldorf, 2003)

7. Testing Miller’s theory
Bressler and Balshine (2006)
Women prefer men with a good sense of humor
Men’s preference is not influenced by this characteristics
Bressler, Martin and Balshine (2006)
Different ideas of the sexes about what the desirable sense of humor is
Women – Someone who makes them laugh
Men – Someone who laughs at their jokes

8. Homogamy and mate choice
People tend to choose mates on the basis of similarity (Bereczkei and Csanaky, 1996)
Race, socioeconomic status, age, intellectual ability, personality variables (Bereczkei, Vörös, Gál and Bernáth, 1997)
Married couples are more genetically similar than randomly paired individuals (Buunk and Fries, 1997)

9. Hypothesis
Humor works as a matching device in the beginning of the relationship
Honest information about the prospective partner’s mind
We choose our partner on the basis of similarity
How similarly our minds work

10. Method Participants Procedures 38 couples (mean age=22,7, SD=4,5)
Humor Style Questionnaire (HSQ) (Martin et al., 2003)
Four dimensions:
Affiliative humor (+)
Self-enhancing humor (+)
Agressive humor (-)
Self-defeating humor (-)
Romantic relationship-satisfaction questionnaire (RSQ) (self-produced)

11. Items from the Humor Styles Questionnaire measure
Affiliative humor
„I don’t have to work very hard at making other people laugh – I seem to be a naturally humorous person.”
Self-enhancing humor
„If I am feeling depressed, I can usually cheer myself up with humor.”
Aggresive humor
„If I don’t like someone, I often use humor or teasing to put them down.”
Self-defeating humor
„I let people laugh at me or make fun at my expense more than I should.”

12. Items from the Relationship Satisfaction Questionnaire
„How many time has elapsed from the beginning of this relationship?”
„How many time has elapsed between your acquaintance and the beginning of this relationship?”
„How much are you satisfied with this relationship?”
(1-5 Likert scale)
„Will you be together in a year’s time (if it is depends on you)?”

13. Results

14. Gender differences within couples: HSQ dimensions mean scores25 30 35 40 45 50
Affiliative
humor
Self-enhancing
Aggressive
Self-defeating
HSQ mean scores
Male partner
Female partner
n.s.
n.s. *
n.s.

15. Correlations between the HSQ dimensions and the Relationships satisfaction items
Affiliative
humor
Self-enhancing humor
Aggressive humor
Self-defeating humor
Conflict with the partner’s emotional closedness **
(r=-0,24; p=0,001)
Problem-solving with the use of humor
(r=0,44; p=0,00)
Conflict with the partner’s alcohol or drug using *
(r=0,33; p=0,005)
Time elapsed between the first meeting and the beginning of the relationship .
(r=0,30; p=0,01)

16. Discussion High similarity in the couples humor styles
Humor may work as a matching device in the beginning of the relationships
Typical humor style can also shows a tendency to hide our true self

17. I’d like to thank to Rod. A. Martin László Séra Péter Vukov
Bernadett Bodor
Zsófia Kapás
Mónika Krizsán
Márta Pápai
Szilvia Polgár
Kamilla Polyák
Orsolya Szabó
Karolina Janacsek
Dezső Németh

18. Thank you for your attention!