Impact Factor: 1.3

Published since January 1, 1988

HUMOR

International Journal of Humor Research

ISSN: 1613-3722

Editor-in-chief: Christian F. Hempelmann

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About this journal

Objective
HUMOR was established as an international interdisciplinary forum for the publication of high-quality research papers on humor as an important and universal human faculty. Humor research draws upon a wide range of academic disciplines including anthropology, biology, cultural studies, computer science, education, communication, film and media studies, gender studies, history, linguistics, literature, mathematics, health and medicine, philosophy, political science, psychology, and sociology. At the same time, humor research often sheds light on the basic concepts, ideas, and methods of many of these disciplines.

Topics

interdisciplinary humor research
humor theory
empirical studies in humor, laughter, comedy and related fields from around the world
humor research methodologies and measurements of sense of humor
scholarly debates on the social functions of humor

Article formats
Research articles, Book reviews, Debates

Your Benefits

Your benefits:

International and interdisciplinary scholarly debate on humor and related phenomena such as laughter, mirth, comedy
Innovative and interdisciplinary studies in the field of humor research
Multifaceted approach to the role of humor as an important and universal human faculty
Innovative approaches and measurements in the study of humor
Studies on humor, comedy, laughter from a wide range of countries and cultures
Reviews of recent books on humor

HUMOR is the official journal of the International Society of Humor Studies (ISHS). For further information, please see the web site: www.humorstudies.org.

History

Humor was founded in 1988 and the first Editor-in-chief was Victor Raskin.

Other publications in the field

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Volume 36 Issue 3

August 2023

Publicly Available August 7, 2023

Frontmatter

Page range: i-v

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Full Length Articles

June 13, 2023

“Waiter, there’s a fly in my soup!”: tipping behavior in restaurants as a function of food servers’ humor, opinion conformity, and other-enhancement

John S. Seiter, Harry Weger

Page range: 355-373

Abstract

The purpose of this field experiment was to examine whether food servers who used other-enhancement, opinion conformity, or humor would be rewarded with higher tips from restaurant customers than food servers who did not use such ingratiation tactics. Consistent with predictions, humor and simple opinion conformity resulted in significantly higher tip percentages compared to the control condition. In contrast, other-enhancement (i.e., compliments) and exaggerated opinion conformity did not. Humor also resulted in higher tips than all other tactics, except simple opinion conformity. These results and their implications are discussed.

Publicly Available June 26, 2023

‘Just kidding?’ – an exploratory audience study into the ways Flemish youth with a minoritized ethnic identity make sense of ethnic humor and the politics of offense

Anke Lion, Frederik Dhaenens

Page range: 375-395

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Abstract

Recently, ethnic humor (targeting ethnoreligious identities) is increasingly questioned in European and Western countries, sparking controversy on online and traditional media platforms. Absent from the mediated and academic debate are the opinions from targeted subjects of the joke. This qualitative audience study aims to add to critical humor scholarship by providing insight into how targeted groups make sense of disputes of offense. We interviewed 35 participants (ages 15–24) with a minoritized ethnic identity (mostly a Moroccan or Turkish diasporic background) and religious identity (all identified as Muslim) on how they negotiate offensive (ethnic) humor. Moreover, we asked participants to reflect on the politics of offense (i.e. the power relations underlying the process of publicly claiming offense) and the role media play in the discussion of offended feelings in relation to (ethnic) humor. A thematic analysis of three focus groups indicates how participants’ negotiations were always influenced by contextual factors and tied to their identities, both on a sociopolitical and personal level. Further, participants were highly conscious about their minoritized position in debates on offensive ethnic humor and how this relates to societal power inequalities. As such, they recognized how the politics of offense regarding ethnic humor highlight boundaries between social groups.

Open Access July 25, 2023

Sexist jokes don’t appear to increase rape proclivity among men high in hostile sexism: Evidence from two pre-registered direct replications of Thomae and Viki (2013)

Neil McLatchie, Manuela Thomae

Page range: 397-417

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Abstract

Thomae and Viki (2013) reported that increased exposure to sexist humor can increase rape proclivity among men who score high on measures of Hostile Sexism. Here we report two pre-registered direct replications (Total N = 530) of Study 2 from Thomae and Viki (2013) and assess replicability via (i) statistical significance, (ii) Bayes factors, (iii) a small-telescope approach, and (iv) a mini meta-analysis across the original and replication studies. The original results were not supported by any of the approaches. Combining both the original studies and replications yielded strong evidence in support of the null over the experimental hypothesis (Bayes factor = 0.04). The evidence provided by the current studies therefore suggests sexist jokes do not increase rape proclivity among males high in hostile sexism. We encourage researchers to continue to conduct pre-registered and open research to further understand the potential (lack of) impact of sexist humor in the future.

July 10, 2023

Clown doctors virtualized: hospital professionals’ perception regarding online visits during confinement in Portuguese public hospitals

Inês Peceguina, Iêda Alcântara, Anabela C. Santos, Flávia Diab, Sílvia Carvalho

Page range: 419-437

Abstract

Clown doctors’ artistic interventions directed to hospitalized children in the Portuguese public hospitals have been performed over the last 20 years, uninterruptedly. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the doctor clowns’ visits were interrupted, but soon after resumed in some hospitals, by means of visits online. The present study evaluates hospital professionals’ perception ( n = 152) regarding clowns’ online visits. Participants were mostly nurses ( n = 76), and child educators/teachers ( n = 39) working in pediatrics ( n = 139). Six months after the beginning of the visits, an online questionnaire was used to collect the data. A mixed-methods approach was used to analyse the data. Results indicate that most hospital professionals have a positive perception of online visits, considering that the quality of performance was preserved, and that children were engaged and benefited from the interactions. Moreover, participants acknowledge the organizations’ ability and promptness in developing an alternative way of visiting the children, even though some stressed that in-person visits are the most desirable format.

June 22, 2023

Humor style predicts sarcasm use – evidence from Turkish speakers

Katarzyna Branowska, Duygu Kandemirci-Bayız, Yasemin Abayhan, Büşra Akdeniz, Natalia Banasik-Jemielniak

Page range: 439-461

Abstract

Humor and sarcasm are closely related – sarcasm is often identified with aggressive humor or humorous mockery. Research in this area is common in Western European languages, but not in non-WEIRD populations. The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between humor styles and sarcasm use in the Turkish-speaking population. We also attempted to predict the use of different sarcasm types (general sarcasm, embarrassment diffusion, face-saving, and frustration diffusion) by the scores of the Humor Styles Questionnaire (Martin, Rod A., Patricia Puhlik-Doris, Gwen Larsen, Jeanette Gray & Kelly Weir. 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(1). 48–75) scales (aggressive, affiliative, self-enhancing, and self-defeating humor). The data from 329 Turkish-speaking participants were collected: 250 women and 79 men ( M age = 37; SD = 12.32; age range: 18–70). Participants filled out online questionnaires including Sarcasm Self-Report Scale (Ivanko, Stacey L., Penny M. Pexman & Kara M. Olineck. 2004. How sarcastic are you? Individual differences and verbal irony. Journal of Language and Social Psychology 23(3). 244–271) adapted into Turkish, and the Humor Styles Questionnaire (Martin, Rod A., Patricia Puhlik-Doris, Gwen Larsen, Jeanette Gray & Kelly Weir. 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(1). 48–75) in Turkish adaptation (Tümkaya, Songül. 2011. Humor styles and socio-demographic variables as predictor of subjective well-being of Turkish university students. Egitim ve Bilim 36(160). 158–170). The results showed positive correlations between all humor styles and all sarcasm types, with the strongest correlation with aggressive humor. Regression analysis was used to find predictors of sarcasm use. Our results show that aggressive humor style is the main predictor of all self-reported sarcasm use scales.

June 13, 2023

What makes Mormons laugh

Adrian Hale

Page range: 463-486

Abstract

As a minority in the USA and globally, Mormons ( The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is also known as the ‘Mormon Church’, and its members are typically called ‘Mormons’, ‘Latter Day Saints’ or ‘LDS’. This paper uses its preferred abbreviations – ‘the Church’ and ‘Latter-day Saints’) and their distinctive religious doctrines/practices have for 190+ years been publicly ridiculed. Typically, they have responded to mockery with tolerance and, occasionally, good-natured humor of their own (Hale, Adrian. 2021a. Do Mormons think The Book of Mormon is funny? HUMOR 34. 659–677, Hale, Adrian. 2021b. Mormon reactions to The Book of Mormon. Comedy Studies 12(2). 186–202). However, little is known about Latter-day Saints’ humor, and they have a reputation for being conservative, dour, and pious (Wilson, William A. 1985. The seriousness of Mormon humor. Sunstone 10. 6–13). This paper views this situation as regrettable, since humor can function as a great social leveler, and knowing more about minorities’ humor practices can generate social bridges. This paper therefore seeks to overturn some preconceptions by reporting on an exploratory survey (The survey received Institutional and National ethics approval: HREC Approval Number: H14364) of 131 Latter-day Saints across various nations, to find out what makes them laugh. Results indicate that the Latter-day Saints’ sense of humor seems to be, like the membership itself, livelier and more diverse than their reputation might suggest.

May 31, 2023

The role of humor in social, psychological, and physical well-being

Raquel Oliveira, Patrícia Arriaga, João Barreiros

Page range: 487-509

Abstract

Humor is a pervasive part of our daily lives that has several important social functions. Although past literature has suggested the existence of a link between certain components of humor and well-being, the extent and specific characteristics of this link are still unclear. To shed light on this issue, we conducted a scoping review of the literature through which we identified 128 publications examining the association between humor components (i.e., styles of humor, coping humor, sense of humor, comic styles, and laughter) and psychological, physical, social, and general well-being. Overall, findings support a clear positive relation between all components of humor and psychological well-being, and a less pronounced positive association between humor and physical, social, and general well-being.

Book Reviews

Publicly Available June 20, 2023

Judith Yaross Lee and John Bird: Seeing Mad: Essays on Mad Magazine’s Humor and Legacy

Eric Weitz

Page range: 511-515

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Publicly Available June 22, 2023

Rachel Trousdale: Humor, Empathy, and Community in Twentieth-Century American Poetry

Calista McRae

Page range: 517-520

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Open Access May 24, 2023

Conners, Carrie: Laugh Lines: Humor, Genre, and Political Critique in Late Twentieth-Century American Poetry

Peter Kirkpatrick

Page range: 521-524

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Publicly Available May 25, 2023

Wiggins, Bradley: The Discursive Power of Memes in Digital Culture: Ideology, Semiotics, and Intertextuality

Guillem Castañar

Page range: 525-528

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Ahead of Print / Just Accepted

Ahead of Print / Just Accepted

Volume 36 (2023)

Volume 35 (2022)

Volume 34 (2021)

Volume 33 (2020)

Volume 32 (2019)

Volume 31 (2018)

Volume 30 (2017)

Volume 29 (2016)

Volume 28 (2015)

Volume 27 (2014)

Volume 26 (2013)

Volume 25 (2012)

Volume 24 (2011)

Volume 23 (2010)

Volume 22 (2009)

Volume 21 (2008)

Volume 20 (2007)

Volume 19 (2006)

Volume 18 (2005)

Volume 17 (2004)

Volume 16 (2003)

Volume 15 (2002)

Volume 14 (2001)

Volume 13 (2000)

Volume 12 (1999)

Volume 11 (1998)

Volume 10 (1997)

Volume 9 (1996)

Volume 8 (1995)

Volume 7 (1994)

Volume 6 (1993)

Volume 5 (1992)

Volume 4 (1991)

Volume 3 (1990)

Volume 2 (1989)

Volume 1 (1988)

Journal Impact Factor	1.3	2022, Journal Citation Reports (Clarivate, 2023)
5-year Journal Impact Factor	1.3	2022, Journal Citation Reports (Clarivate, 2023)
Journal Citation Indicator	0.88	2022, Journal Citation Reports (Clarivate, 2023)
CiteScore	2.1	2022, Scopus (Elsevier B.V., 2023)
SCImago Journal Rank	0.470	2022, SJR (Scimago Lab, 2023; Data Source: Scopus)
Source Normalized Impact per Paper	0.435	2022, CWTS Journal Indicators (CWTS B.V., 2023; Data Source: Scopus)

More information about journal rankings

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Submission process

Submission of your paper via our submission management tool
Please note unsolicited book reviews will not be accepted!
Peer review process (you will be guided through every step)
Decision on your paper (14 weeks from submission to first decision)
If accepted: you have the option to publish it open access

Please note

Please see the De Gruyter Mouton journal style sheet for further information regarding the proper formatting of your manuscript
Manuscripts must be written in clear and concise English
Before submitting your article please have a look at our Instruction for Authors, Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement and our Copyright Transfer Agreement
Once your article is accepted you have the option to publish it open access
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If you have any general questions please visit our FAQ for authors.

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Authors have the option to publish their article under an open access license. The standard article processing charge for a hybrid open access article is 2,000 Euro (plus VAT if applicable). Please note that corresponding authors from institutions with which we have a transformative agreement, can publish open access without paying the fee. More information on the eligible institutions and articles can be found here.

Editorial

Editor-in-Chief
Christian F. Hempelmann
Dept. of Literature & Languages
Texas A&M University Commerce, USA
e-mail: humorjournal@gmail.com

Founding Editor
Victor Raskin, Purdue University, USA

Book Review Editors (Unsolicited book reviews will not be accepted!)

Nicholas Holm
Massey University
n.h.f.holm@massey.ac.nz

Liisi Laineste
Estonian Literary Museum / University of Tartu
liisi@folklore.ee　

Eric Weitz
University College Dublin
weitzer@tcd.ie

Editorial Assistant
Andrew R. Olah
Kansas State University, USA

ISHS Executive Secretary
Martin D. Lampert (Holy Names University, USA)

Editorial Board
Salvatore Attardo (Texas A&M University, USA)
Nancy Bell (Washington State University, USA)
Delia Chiaro (University of Bologna, Italy)
Władysław Chłopicki (Jagiellonian University, Poland)
Thomas E. Ford (Western Carolina University, USA)
Gil Greengross (Aberystwyth University, Wales)
Giselinde Kuipers (University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands)
Liisi Laineste (Estonian Literary Museum, Estonia)
Sharon Lockyer (Brunel University, UK)
Moira Marsh (Indiana University, USA)
Jessica Milner Davis (University of Sidney, Australia)
John Morreall (College of William and Mary, USA)
Alleen P. Nilsen (Arizona State University, USA)
Don L. F. Nilsen (Arizona State University, USA)
Elliott Oring (California State University, USA)
René Proyer (Martin Luther University Halle, Germany)
Victor Raskin (Purdue University, USA)
Willibald Ruch (University of Zurich, Switzerland)
Limor Shifman (Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel)
Villy Tsakona (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece)

Consulting Editors
Goh Abe (Tokushima Bunri University, Japan)
Mostafa Abedinifard (University of British Columbia, Canada)
Sammy Basu (Willamette University, USA)
Ursula Beermann (UMIT Tirol, Austria)
Hugo Carretero Dios (University of Granada, Spain)
Elisa Gironzetti (University of Maryland, United States)
Sonja Heintz (University of Zurich, Switzerland)
Holger Kersten (Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany)
Andrés Mendiburo-Seguel (Universidad Andrés Bello, Chile)
Tristan Miller (Austrian Research Institute for Artificial intelligence)
Patrice Oppliger (Boston University, United States)
Tracey Platt (University of Wolverhampton, UK)
Béatrice Priego-Valverde (Aix-Marseille University, France)
Andrea Samson (University of Fribourg, Switzerland)
Julia Taylor Rayz (Purdue University, USA)
Till Weingärtner (University College Cork, Ireland)
Julie A. Woodzicka (Washington and Lee University, USA)
Xiaodong Yue (City University of Hong Kong, China)

Former Editors-in-Chief

Victor Raskin 　1988-1999
Lawrence E. Mintz 2000-2002
Salvatore Attardo 2003-2012
Giselinde Kuipers 2012-2015
Thomas E. Ford 　2016-2020

(Deutsch)

Online ISSN: 1613-3722
Print ISSN: 0933-1719
Type: Journal
Language: English
Publisher: De Gruyter Mouton
First published: January 1, 1988
Publication Frequency: 4 Issues per Year
Audience: Researchers, students and practitioners with an interest in the scholarly study of humor and related phenomena