Article
Teasing: For Superiority or Solidarity?
The Journal of General Psychology
(2005)
Abstract
Humor among friends is typically regarded as a means of strengthening friendships. However, there may be a side of humor that is used to compete rather than bond (R. D. Alexander, 1986; C. R. Gruner, 1997). In the present studies, the participants were asked to imagine that they were sitting with a group of mixed-sex peers. One of the group (a same-sex friend) made a comment about the participant. Different groups of participants were told that the remark did or did not involve teasing. While the participants imagined they were the target of the remark, they rated their emotional reactions as well as their perceived relationship with the teaser and the character traits attributed to the teaser. The outcomes from analyses of variance of perceived competitiveness, emotional responses, and expected social outcomes largely supported superiority perspectives of humor.
Keywords
- Humor,
- Superiority,
- Teasing
Disciplines
Publication Date
2005
DOI
10.3200/GENP.132.3.255-266
Publisher Statement
Published by the Taylor & Francis Group
Citation Information
Louis Lippman and Sarah L. Tragesser. "Teasing: For Superiority or Solidarity?" The Journal of General Psychology Vol. 132 Iss. 3 (2005) p. 255 - 266 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/louis-lippman/8/