Incremental validity of the dual self-directed humor scale in predicting psychological well-being: Beyond the big five personality traits and four humor styles.

Previous studies have mostly focused on the negative elements of self-directed humor (SDH) in well-being and measured their individual differences. Tsukawaki and Imura Personality and Individual Differences, 157, (2020) developed the Dual Self-Directed Humor Scale (DSDHS), which is the first scale to measure individual differences in SDH across two dimensions, negative (Deleterious SDH) and positive (Benign SDH). Although the DSDHS has provided promising initial evidence of validity and reliability, its psychometric properties need further investigation. Our first objective was to investigate the relationship between the two dimensions of the DSDHS and the Big Five personality characteristics, and to establish construct validity. Our second objective was to verify the incremental validity of the DSDHS and in using the Big Five and four humor styles as comparison criteria, we tested whether the DSDHS could account for additional variance in well-being prediction, even when they were controlled for. The results show a discriminatory correlation between the two dimensions of the DSDHS and the Big Five, verifying the construct validity. Moreover, two dimensions of the DSDHS were found to explain further variations in well-being, even after controlling for the Big Five or four humor styles, showing incremental validity. Further evidence on validity of the DSDHS was provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]