Party games and prejudice: are these Cards Against Humanity?
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Andrew R. Olah
Andrew R. Olah received his Master’s in Experimental Psychology from Western Carolina University and is currently a Statistician and Research Consultant with The Junkin Group, LLC, providing quantitative and subject matter expertise to clients in the comedy and arts sectors. His research focuses on the applications and consequences of humor (such as for intergroup relations and psychological well-being).
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Ashley M. Dillard
Ashley M. Dillard was an adjunct professor at Western Carolina University at the onset of this research and is currently a Research Associate at BuildCentral, Inc., an information services company researching construction project leads and location analytics to develop construction databases that help builders, suppliers, and investors find new opportunities and customers. As a predominantly social and personality specialist, her research interests include the receptivity to and influences of horror media and dark/morbid humor.
Stephanie J. Gomez completed her Bachelor’s in Psychology at Western Carolina University and is currently working on her Ph.D. in Educational Research, Measurement, and Evaluation at University of North Carolina – Greensboro. Her research interests include social schemas and academic vocabulary use in higher education.
Abstract
Two experiments assess the validity of common criticisms against the popular party game Cards Against Humanity (CAH), namely that it promotes prejudice while absolving players of any moral responsibility. Study 1a (based on Prejudiced Norm Theory) finds no evidence that sexist humor in CAH encourages men to express prejudice against women. However, Study 1b (based on Social Identity Theory) provides evidence that sexist humor in CAH cues women to anticipate such discrimination. CAH’s reputation does not appear to contribute to these results. Exploratory analyses further reveal that, consistent with criticisms, people do allocate moral responsibility for offense differently in CAH than in traditional verbal exchanges of humor; however, this moral allocation is generally unrelated to prejudiced outcomes. Implications and future directions for refining these theories and understanding the intergroup functions of humor in party games are discussed in light of the studies’ mixed support of CAH’s criticisms.
About the authors
Andrew R. Olah received his Master’s in Experimental Psychology from Western Carolina University and is currently a Statistician and Research Consultant with The Junkin Group, LLC, providing quantitative and subject matter expertise to clients in the comedy and arts sectors. His research focuses on the applications and consequences of humor (such as for intergroup relations and psychological well-being).
Ashley M. Dillard was an adjunct professor at Western Carolina University at the onset of this research and is currently a Research Associate at BuildCentral, Inc., an information services company researching construction project leads and location analytics to develop construction databases that help builders, suppliers, and investors find new opportunities and customers. As a predominantly social and personality specialist, her research interests include the receptivity to and influences of horror media and dark/morbid humor.
Stephanie J. Gomez completed her Bachelor’s in Psychology at Western Carolina University and is currently working on her Ph.D. in Educational Research, Measurement, and Evaluation at University of North Carolina – Greensboro. Her research interests include social schemas and academic vocabulary use in higher education.
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank Thomas E. Ford for granting his time for a conversation about the nuances of Prejudiced Norm Theory in the early stages of this research.
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© 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Full Length Articles
- Israeli Nonsense: humor, globalization and vegetables during the early nineties
- “Laughing with” or “laughing at” people with disabilities? Love on the Spectrum and Derek
- Party games and prejudice: are these Cards Against Humanity?
- What is counter-Versailles literature? – At the intersection of humblebrag, irony, and humor
- The power of memes: personification as a marker of psychological distance in memes about the war in Ukraine
- Let’s entertain others: the relationship between comic styles and the histrionic self-presentation style in Polish, British, and Canadian samples
- Downward-punching disparagement humor harms interpersonal impressions and trust
- Book Reviews
- Jessica Milner Davis: Humour in Asian Cultures. Tradition and Context
- Francisco Yus: Pragmatics of Internet Humor
- Chaoqun Xie: The Pragmatics of Internet Memes
- Esther Linares Bernabéu: The Pragmatics of Humour in Interactive Contexts
- Lena Straßburger: Humor and Horror – Different Emotions, Similar Linguistic Processing Strategies
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Full Length Articles
- Israeli Nonsense: humor, globalization and vegetables during the early nineties
- “Laughing with” or “laughing at” people with disabilities? Love on the Spectrum and Derek
- Party games and prejudice: are these Cards Against Humanity?
- What is counter-Versailles literature? – At the intersection of humblebrag, irony, and humor
- The power of memes: personification as a marker of psychological distance in memes about the war in Ukraine
- Let’s entertain others: the relationship between comic styles and the histrionic self-presentation style in Polish, British, and Canadian samples
- Downward-punching disparagement humor harms interpersonal impressions and trust
- Book Reviews
- Jessica Milner Davis: Humour in Asian Cultures. Tradition and Context
- Francisco Yus: Pragmatics of Internet Humor
- Chaoqun Xie: The Pragmatics of Internet Memes
- Esther Linares Bernabéu: The Pragmatics of Humour in Interactive Contexts
- Lena Straßburger: Humor and Horror – Different Emotions, Similar Linguistic Processing Strategies
