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Humor is a strategy that healthcare workers can use to help patients cope with stress and manage complex situations. However, people differ in how they deal with laughter. Our aim was to investigate gelotophobia (fear of being laughed at) among healthcare professionals and its relationships with humor styles and inclinations to use humor for coping. A sample of 550 Italian healthcare-workers was assigned to three groups: Professional Hospital Clown Group (PHCG, people who trained as professional clown in health-care setting), Humor Training Group (HTG, people who attended health-care relevant training courses related to humor), or Control Group (CG, people who attended healthcare or professional training courses not related to humor), and provided self-reports in the GELOPH, the Coping Humor Scale, and the Humor Style Questionnaire. Participants from humor-related interventions, in particular PHCG, were lower in gelotophobia and used humor as a coping strategy. Gelotophobia correlated negatively with coping humor, and affiliative and self-enhancing humor styles. We discuss the findings with regard to the use of humor and laughter in healthcare settings., Author(s): Laura Vagnoli [sup.1] , Kay Brauer [sup.2] , Francesca Addarii [sup.1] , Willibald Ruch [sup.3] , Valeria Marangi [sup.4] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.413181.e, 0000 0004 1757 8562, Pediatric Psychology [...]

Individual differences in how people experience and engage in laughter and ridicule can be described by three personality dispositions: gelotophobia (fear of being laughed at), gelotophilia (joy in being laughed at), and katagelasticism (joy in laughing at others). We study the correlates of how people deal with ridicule and being laughed at with the Impostor Phenomenon (IP; individual differences in the failure to internalize success and feelings of intellectual fraud). We tested our hypotheses in two independently collected samples of students and working professionals (N = 315/229; M = 22.7/37.1 years; 54.9/59.4% females). In line with previous studies, the IP was more pronounced in the students (g = 0.45). As expected, the fear of being laughed at best predicted the IP robustly positively (26-31% explained variance), and only numerically small effects ([less than or equal to] 3% explained variance) existed for joy in being laughed at and laughing at others. Associations between the laughter-related dispositions and the IP did not differ between students and professionals. We discuss the findings with respect to expectations derived from theory, potential mediators, and future research directions., Author(s): Kay Brauer [sup.1] , René T. Proyer [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.9018.0, 0000 0001 0679 2801, Department of Psychology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, , Emil-Abderhalden-Straße 26-27, 06099, Halle (Saale), [...]

The generalized S-X[superscript 2]-test is a test of item fit for items with polytomous responses format. The test is based on a comparison of the observed and expected number of responses in strata defined by the test score. In this article, we make four contributions. We demonstrate that the performance of the generalized S-X[superscript 2]-test depends on how sparse cells are pooled. We propose alternative implementations of the test within the framework of limited information testing. We derive the distribution of the S-X[superscript 2]-residuals that can be used for post hoc analyses. We suggest a diagnostic plot that visualizes the form of the misfit. The performance of the alternative implementations is investigated in a simulation study. The simulation study suggests that the alternative implementations are capable of controlling the Type-I error rate well and have high power. An empirical application concludes this article.

Gelotophobia (the fear of being laughed at) is an individual difference variable that relates to a particular set of emotional reactions, behaviors, and processes towards laughter and ridicule that are potentially detrimental to learning processes. We extend the research of gelotophobia to the educational domain by exploring the direct effect of gelotophobia on willingness to communicate (WTC) and second-language (L2) achievement. We hypothesized that communication anxiety might have an indirect effect on the relation between gelotophobia and WTC and L2 achievement. A sample of 483 Iranian high school students completed measures of gelotophobia, WTC, and communication anxiety. The results of structural equation modeling indicated that gelotophobia was negatively related to both L2 achievement and WTC. Further, communication anxiety showed the expected indirect effect on the gelotophobia-WTC association. Finally, we incorporated teacher-ratings of students' gelotophobia and found that (a) the accuracy of teachers' impressions was comparatively low and (b) that higher accuracy was associated with better L2 achievement. We argue that because of fear of anticipated derision in performance situations such as speaking an L2, gelotophobic L2 learners might adopt a withdrawal strategy by avoiding the social situation altogether. Hence, L2 teachers should be aware that not all students enjoy humor and laughter, and they are recommended to use humor judiciously without laughing at students, and to adapt to students' engagement and perceptions of laughter., Author(s): Elyas Barabadi [sup.1] , Kay Brauer [sup.2] , René T. Proyer [sup.2] , Mohsen Rahmani Tabar [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.488432.1, 0000 0004 5935 1577, University of Bojnord, , [...]

Adult playfulness contributes to well-functioning romantic relationships, claim the authors, who study the association between playfulness of several kinds (other directed, lighthearted, intellectual, whimsical) and six specific attitudes towards love they call love styles--"eros," "ludus," "storge," "pragma," "mania" and "agape." To do so, they engaged seventy-seven heterosexual couples to rate the love styles against a checklist for playful behaviors in romantic relationships the authors call the Playful Love Checklist (PLC). The authors then analyzed the responses for similarities and robust associations, either negative or positive, between partners for their views on playfulness in love relationships. Their findings suggest, among other things, that current conceptualizations of playfulness do not much overlap with what other researchers have called the ludic lover, and the authors' analysis of self-ratings and partner ratings contributes to our understanding of the association between playfulness and love styles.

Objectives: Playfulness describes individual differences in (re)framing situations in a way that they are experienced as interesting, intellectually stimulating, or entertaining. We extended the study of playfulness to groups of middle- and higher age and examined the relations of four facets of playfulness (Other-directed, Lighthearted, Intellectual, and Whimsical) to indicators of positive psychological functioning. Method: We collected self-report data from 210 participants aged between 50 and 98 years. Results: The playfulness expressions in this age group were comparable to younger adults. We found that playfulness relates to life satisfaction, the PERMA domains of well-being, and character strengths with small-to-medium correlation effect sizes. The OLIW facets showed differential associations, with regression analyses revealing that particularly Other-directed is positively associated with positive psychological functioning. Conclusion: Our findings highlight the importance of playful relationships across the lifespan. We discuss the findings regarding the role of playfulness for healthy aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Objective Method Results Conclusions We replicated and extended previous research examining the accuracy of judgments of four facets of adult playfulness (Other‐directed, Lighthearted, Intellectual, and Whimsical; OLIW) at zero‐acquaintance.We conducted a conceptual replication study. One hundred sixty targets provided self‐ratings for the OLIW facets, textual self‐descriptions (≤ five sentences), daily self‐ratings of playfulness for 14 consecutive days, and ratings by knowledgeable others. Six unacquainted judges provided rated targets' playfulness based on their self‐descriptions. We replicated findings on trait‐wise self‐other agreement (SOA) and consensus and extended prior research by testing SOA for profiles of the four facets and two distinct accuracy criteria (i.e., targets' diary data and aggregates of targets' self‐reports and those from knowledgeable others).All interpersonal perception indicators showed that facets of playfulness can be perceived above chance (SOA ≥ 0.26; consensus ≥ 0.29, accuracies ≥ 0.16). SOA extends from single facets to profiles, also when controlling for stereotype effects.Playfulness can be accurately observed from minimal textual information at zero acquaintance. Our study highlights the robustness of findings on the interpersonal perception of playfulness across samples and methods, and degrees of acquaintanceship. We discuss implications for playfulness in social relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractAdult playfulness describes the personality of the quick initiation and strong intensity of enjoyable experiences coupled with the frequency of engaging in playful behaviors. In addition to examining the reliability and validity of the Short Measure for Adult Playfulness (SMAP), we compared the psychometric properties of the SMAP across (a) 4- and 7-point answer formats; (b) German and English language versions; and (c) gender. The SMAP and criterion validity measures were distributed across three independent samples from Canada (Ntotal = 1,177) and a German sample (N = 660). Results supported a unidimensional solution with strong factor loadings for all items (>.50 across all samples) and high test-retest reliability (r = .67, BF10>100). In item response theory analyses, high discrimination parameters were found across the latent continuum. Although both the four-point and seven-point Likert scale versions showed robust item properties, the seven-point Likert scale version yielded more precise measurement of higher playfulness (θ > 1.50). No significant differential item functioning was located across gender or language. Finally, results supported external construct validity via associations with broad personality traits, humor, and orientations to happiness. The present investigation provides support for the reliability and validity of the English SMAP for concise adult playfulness measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The text introduces a special issue of the Journal of Intelligence titled "Personality and Individual Differences." It discusses the historical separation of intelligence and personality research and highlights the limited attention given to the intersection of these two fields in major intelligence journals. The special issue includes research from various countries, covering topics such as figurative language comprehension, cognitive enhancement, personality traits, critical thinking, media multitasking, and the relationship between personality traits and cognitive abilities. The articles aim to contribute to the understanding of the interplay between cognitive and non-cognitive individual differences and stimulate further research in this area. [Extracted from the article]

How people deal with humor and laughter is culturally constructed within a society but each member may differ in their attitudes. Depending upon this, this study aimed to test the factor structure of PhoPhiKat-45 (Ruch and Proyer Humor: International Journal of Humor Research, 22, 183-212, 2009a (See CR72)) which is a subjective measurement designed to assess three dispositions toward laughter and ridicule; gelotophobia (fear of being laughed at), gelotophilia (joy of being laughed at), and katagelasticism (joy of laughing at others), taking samples from two universities in Turkey (N = 628; female = 470). We further examined the relationships between humor styles, self-esteem, and psychological symptomatology with the PhoPhiKat-45. Confirmatory factor analyses replicated the original 3-factor model and internal consistencies of derived subscales were satisfactory (.76 for gelotophobia, .79 for gelotophilia, .66 for katagelasticism). For the nomological validity, bivariate correlations and regression analyses showed that gelotophobia was associated with low self-esteem, greater levels of psychological distress (mainly concerning interpersonal relations), and social and coping functions of humor. Gelotophilia was associated with all forms of humor, had no relation to self-esteem or any kind of psychological distress. Katagelasticism (i.e., enjoying laughing at others) was associated with all dimensions of psychological distress and only with an aggressive style of humor. In conclusion, the findings showed that the Turkish PhoPhiKat-43 scale has a satisfactory construct validity and reliability instrument to assess the dispositions toward laughter and ridicule., Author(s): Pinar Dursun [sup.1], Ilker Dalgar [sup.2], Kay Brauer [sup.3], Ercüment Yerlikaya [sup.4], Réne T. Proyer [sup.3] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.411108.d, 0000 0001 0740 4815, Literature & Science Faculty, Department [...]

Objective: We aimed to extend the research on the interpersonal perception of adult playfulness (global and facets: Other‐directed, Lighthearted, Intellectual, and Whimsical [OLIW]) by testing whether judgmental accuracy relates to indicators of acquaintanceship. Background: Playfulness has been found to contribute to social relationships. Method: Using data from 658 dyads (1,318 participants) who had been acquainted for 1 month to 62.2 years, we computed measurement invariance analyses and self–other agreement (SOA) for the facets and profiles of playfulness. We operationalized acquaintanceship as length of acquaintanceship, relationship type (friends, family, and partners), and intensity of acquaintanceship. We tested acquaintanceship effects with multigroup latent analyses and response surface analyses. Results: Self‐ and other ratings of playfulness showed scalar measurement invariance and robust SOA in traits and distinctive profiles (≥.37). There was only minor evidence for acquaintanceship effects for relationship duration (only Intellectual playfulness), and group comparisons showed that friends yielded lower SOA in profiles than dyads of family members and couples. Conclusion: Considering that playfulness can be accurately perceived even at zero acquaintance, we discuss whether playfulness is a "good trait" (high trait visibility) in which acquaintanceship plays a minor role. We also discuss methodological considerations for detecting acquaintanceship effects during relationship formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]