The impact of gelotophobia, gelotophilia and katagelasticism on creativity

Yu-Chen Chan; Hsueh-Chih Chen; Joseph Lavallee

doi:10.1515/humor-2013-0037

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The impact of gelotophobia, gelotophilia and katagelasticism on creativity

Yu-Chen Chan
Yu-Chen Chan is an assistant professor in the Institute of Learning Sciences and Center for General Education at National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan. Her research interests include cognitive neuroscience, humor, emotions, and creativity. She also specializes in the development of psychological assessment tools.
, Hsueh-Chih Chen
Hsueh-Chih Chen is professor and chair of the Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling at National Taiwan Normal University in Taiwan. His research interests include a number of topics within cognitive psychology and neuroscience. His research focuses on creativity and the psychology of humor.
and Joseph Lavallee
Joseph Lavallee is an assistant professor in the School of Education and Applied Linguistics at Ming Chuan University in Taipei. In addition to the psychology of humor, his research focuses on applied judgment and decision-making. He is currently involved in research on the neural substrates of cognitive processes.

Published/Copyright: October 19, 2013

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From the journal Humor Volume 26 Issue 4

Abstract

A number of studies have found that humor has a positive short-term effect in terms of enhancing creativity, but few have examined its long-term effects, and few have considered different personality traits when exploring this connection. The present study seeks to address this gap by examining the relationship between creativity and dispositions towards ridicule and being laughed at. We conceptualized humor-induced mirth as a positive emotion within the framework of broaden-and-build theory (Fredrickson 1998), with the potential to foster an individual's disposition towards creative behavior. We hypothesized that this potential would depend on different dispositions towards ridicule and being laughed at. Path analysis was then used to explore the impact of gelotophobia, gelotophilia and katagelasticism on creative performance, with creative disposition as a mediating variable. Gelotophobia, the fear of being laughed at, was found to correlate negatively with creative disposition, and may also exert an indirect negative influence on creative performance through its association with creative disposition. Gelotophilia, the joy of being laughed at, on the other hand, appears to have a partially mediated influence on creativity, exhibiting both a direct and an indirect positive relation through its positive association with creative disposition. No significant relation was observed between katagelasticism (the joy of laughing at others) and creativity.

Keywords: gelotophobia; gelotophilia; katagelasticism; broaden-and-build theory; humor; laughter; creativity

About the authors

Yu-Chen Chan

Yu-Chen Chan is an assistant professor in the Institute of Learning Sciences and Center for General Education at National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan. Her research interests include cognitive neuroscience, humor, emotions, and creativity. She also specializes in the development of psychological assessment tools.

Hsueh-Chih Chen

Hsueh-Chih Chen is professor and chair of the Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling at National Taiwan Normal University in Taiwan. His research interests include a number of topics within cognitive psychology and neuroscience. His research focuses on creativity and the psychology of humor.

Joseph Lavallee

Joseph Lavallee is an assistant professor in the School of Education and Applied Linguistics at Ming Chuan University in Taipei. In addition to the psychology of humor, his research focuses on applied judgment and decision-making. He is currently involved in research on the neural substrates of cognitive processes.

Published Online: 2013-10-19

Published in Print: 2013-10-25

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Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/humor-2013-0037

Keywords for this article

gelotophobia; gelotophilia; katagelasticism; broaden-and-build theory; humor; laughter; creativity