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Examining the Energizing Effects of Humor: The Influence of Humor on Persistence Behavior

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper examines whether, when, and how humor can increase individuals’ persistence.

Design/Methodology/Approach

Two laboratory studies were conducted using 124 students from a large Australian university to examine the causal impact of humor exposure on persistence.

Findings

The results show that exposure to humor increases individuals’ persistence in two different tasks and that this effect is mediated by the discrete emotion of amusement (Study 1). Moreover, the positive effect of humor on persistence is stronger for individuals with higher levels of self-enhancing humor style (Study 2).

Implications

Humor is not only entertaining but also replenishing. Individuals engaging in activities that require persistence may benefit from exposure to humor. Therefore, organizations that require their employees to persist may consider creating a playful culture that encourages the use of humor to increase employees’ persistence.

Originality/Value

Our study is the first to systematically examine the influence of humor on persistence. Going beyond anecdotal and correlational evidence, we document the causal impact of humor exposure on persistence using an experimental design. The findings contribute to the psychology of persistence by showing that humor can be used to increase persistence behavior. In addition, ours is the first study to show that the discrete emotion of amusement mediates the relationship between humor and persistence, and that the effect of humor on persistence is greater for individuals who are high in self-enhancing humor style.

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Notes

  1. The two participants completed the persistence task before the depletion task. One participant was from the neutral condition and another from the contentment condition.

  2. Participants crossed out the letter e in any word that contained the letter on the first page of writing. On the second page, they only crossed out the letter e in words that did not follow vowels.

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Acknowledgment

The authors would like to thank the UNSW Business School for the use of their ASBlab research facility.

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  1. School of Management, Australian School of Business, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

    David Cheng & Lu Wang

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Cheng, D., Wang, L. Examining the Energizing Effects of Humor: The Influence of Humor on Persistence Behavior. J Bus Psychol 30, 759–772 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-014-9396-z

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