Year of Award

2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

Master of Arts (MA)

Degree Name

Communication Studies

Department or School/College

Department of Communication Studies

Committee Chair

Stephen Yoshimura

Commitee Members

Heather Voorhees, Sara Polanchek

Keywords

humor, conflict, friends, adaptive humor, maladaptive humor, evolutionary theory

Publisher

University of Montana

Subject Categories

Health Communication | Interpersonal and Small Group Communication

Abstract

This study sought to examine the role humor plays in defusing conflict between friends from an evolutionary perspective. Although a vast amount of research exists on humor, friendship, and conflict, no single study connects all three of these concepts together. This study attempted to fill this gap by examining how different humor styles used between friends in times of conflict relate to friendship satisfaction and life satisfaction. Specifically, the hypotheses predicted that friends who use affiliative humor to deescalate conflict are more inclined to report higher relational satisfaction and improved individual well-being than friends who use maladaptive humor to deescalate conflict. Seventy-four participants completed this study. The responses were collected in a cross-sectional questionnaire data with Qualtrics. The hypotheses were tested with a multiple regression model. The first hypothesis was supported, as the results indicated that adaptive humor led to higher levels of relational satisfaction and maladaptive humor, on the other hand, led to lower levels of relational satisfaction. H2 and H3 were not supported. H2 found zero correlation between adaptive humor and life satisfaction and a weak negative correlation between maladaptive humor and life satisfaction. H3 was unsupported because there was no statistical significance between adaptive humor or maladaptive humor on life satisfaction as a function of relational satisfaction. Implications and future directions are discussed as well, with the results of this study contributing both practical and theoretical knowledge to the fields of friendship, conflict, and humor.

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© Copyright 2023 Sheena A. Bringa