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Humor
Styles Questionnaire (HSQ) | |
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Authors |
Rod A. Martin and Patricia Doris |
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Category |
Self-report scale (peer-report versions also available) |
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Description |
The HSQ
consists of 32 items, each of which is a self-descriptive statement about
particular uses of humor. Respondents rate the degree to which each
statement describes them on a scale from 1 (totally disagree) to 7
(totally agree). Scores are obtained for 4 subscales relating to
potentially beneficial and detrimental ways people typically make use of
humor in their everyday lives. |
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Number of
Items |
32 items (8 for each subscale) |
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Measures |
Four humor
styles: (1) Affiliative ( use of
humor to amuse others and facilitate relationships); (2)
Self-enhancing (use of humor to cope with stress and maintain a
humorous outlook during times of difficulty); (3) Aggressive (use
of sarcastic, manipulative, put-down, or disparaging humor); (4)
Self-defeating (use of humor for excessive self-disparagement,
ingratiation, or defensive denial) |
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Population |
Adults and adolescents |
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Applications |
Useful for
assessing both positive and negative styles of humor in correlational
research on the role of humor in psychological and physical health and
well-being, friendships, romantic relationships, etc. Also potentially
useful for individual self-assessment of humor styles in applied or
educational settings. |
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Time |
10 minutes |
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Availability |
Online at www.humorstudies.org or from Rod Martin at ramartin@uwo.ca. |
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Validity
& Reliability Information |
Reliability of the four scales is
demonstrated by internal consistencies of .77 to .81, test-retest
reliabilities of .80 to .85. Evidence of validity includes theoretically
meaningful differential correlations with other measures of sense of
humor, self-esteem, psychological well-being, hostility, coping, intimacy,
social support, relationship satisfaction, five-factor model of
personality, etc. |
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Reference
Article |
Martin, R.
A., Puhlik-Doris, P., Larsen, G., Gray, J., & Weir, K. (2003).
Individual differences in uses of humor and their relation to
psychological well-being: Development of the Humor Styles Questionnaire.
Journal of Research in Personality, 37, 48-75.
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Online Materials |
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