The association between class clown dimensions, school experiences and accomplishment

Nearly forty years ago, Damico and Purkey (1978) pioneered a study on class clowns that became a benchmark publication in the field. Utilizing sociometric assessment methods, they screened 3500 pupils, eventually selecting 96 class clowns that yielded 10 or more “class clown” nominations from peers. The class clowns were compared to a randomly selected sample of 237 non-clowns on the bases of teacher ratings, student self-esteem, and school-attitude measures. They report class clowns as being predominantly males, having lower positive attitudes toward teachers and the principal than non-clowns, and they saw themselves as leaders and as being vocal in expressing ideas and opinions to their classmates. Moreover, they were judged by their teachers to be higher than the non-clowns in asserting, unruliness, attention seeking, leadership, and cheerfulness, but lower in accomplishing. Thus, a new and coherent picture of the class clown was emerging; but little additional research took place, with no study replications. Before building upon these findings, and extending them, a few issues need highlighting. The first relates to the assessment of class clowns. Is there really only one type of class clowns or do more types exist? Is a “type” approach still appropriate, as psychology has moved to dimensional conceptualizations? In the Damico and Purkey (1978) study, there are gradual differences and a criterion of 10 nominations was rather an arbitrary set. So utilizing a dimensional approach to class clown behaviors is more appropriate. Another set of issues relate to the domains of measurements. Are teacher self-reports of accomplishing sufficient or should they be supplemented by the objective grades of the student, as well as the student’s own perspective and peer reports

The emotions of gelotophobes: Shameful, fearful, and joyless?

The present research examines the hypothesis that the fear of being laughed at is related to three emotions: shame, fear, and (low) joy. In two self-report studies the participants (N = 234, N = 102) filled in the GELOPH (Ruch and Titze, GELOPH〈46〉. Unpublished questionnaire, 1998) for the assessment of the level of gelotophobia and the Anchor Que question form (Ekman, Emotions Revealed: Recognizing Faces and Feelings to Improve Communication and Emotional Life, Owl Books, 2007) measuring five parameters (latency, maximal intensity, duration, expression, and intensity during a typical week) of emotions. Across both studies gelotophobes reported that their maximal experience of shame was of a higher intensity and longer duration, also they reported experiencing shame more frequently during a typical week. Their maximal experience of happiness was less intense, and it took longer for these intense feeling to develop lasting for shorter periods of time. Gelotophobia was also positively related to intensity, duration, and intensity experienced during a typical week of fear. Among individuals with a higher prevalence of shame, compared to happiness, approximately 50% were gelotophobes. Gelotophobia is notably related to the interplay of three emotions fear, shame and the low disposition to happiness. This dynamic is a new, yet equally plausible explanation for the onset of gelotophobi

Book Review of "The Happiness Industry: How the Government and Big Business Sold Us Well-Being"

One may believe that reviewing a book on the “happiness industry” for the International Society for Humor Studies shows that humor is starting to embrace its natural bedfellow, positive psychology. However, before we all rush to jump on this new focus of interest, it might be worth considering the critiques offered by the author, William Davies. In his book Davies explores how and why there has been a shift in how we pursue happiness. He argues that happiness has moved away from being a personal goal to one that is used and controlled by a myriad of public entities, exploited by corporations to increase productivity, and even appearing on government agendas. Going beyond his own political and economic expertise, Davies also builds arguments that encompass practices within neuroscience and the science of psycholog

Testing the relations of gelotophobia with humour as a coping strategy, self-ascribed loneliness, reflectivity, attractiveness, self-acceptance, and life expectations

Gelotophobia (the fear of being laughed at) was studied in a sample of N = 1,322 Danish adolescents aged 11 to 16. When using a measure of coping humour in three different respects (using humour (1) to overcome uncertainty and stress, (2) in relation to aggression and sexuality, and (3) to get cheered up), it was indicated that the fear of being laughed at existed independently from the use of humour as a coping strategy. It is suggested that interventions targeting the positive use of laughter and humour may have a potential for increasing the well-being of adolescents with high levels of the fear of being laughed at. In single item ratings higher levels of gelotophobia were associated with greater self-ascribed loneliness, lower perceived attractiveness, lower self-acceptance, and rather negative life expectancies. Findings are discussed in the light of current literature and with respect to potential implications for the school life of adolescents

The state-of-the art in gelotophobia research: A review and some theoretical extensions

Research on gelotophobia (the fear of being laughed at) has come a long way since the first empirical studies published in 2008. Based on a review of the findings on gelotophobia, its structure, causes and consequences, updates to the model are introduced emphasizing the context of the fear and its dynamic nature. More precisely, external and internal factors are seen to moderate the effects of initial events on gelotophobia, and a spiral nature in the development of the fear is assumed. It is highlighted that gelotophobia needs to be studied in the context of related variables (such as timidity, shame-proneness and social anxiety), and research should focus on the time span in which this fear is most prevalent. The relevance of gelotophobia for humor theory, research and practice is highlighted and new areas of research are introduced. Among the latter the role of gelotophobia at work and in relation to life trajectories is discusse

The state-of-the art in gelotophobia research: A review and some theoretical extensions

Abstract Research on gelotophobia (the fear of being laughed at) has come a long way since the first empirical studies published in 2008. Based on a review of the findings on gelotophobia, its structure, causes and consequences, updates to the model are introduced emphasizing the context of the fear and its dynamic nature. More precisely, external and internal factors are seen to moderate the effects of initial events on gelotophobia, and a spiral nature in the development of the fear is assumed. It is highlighted that gelotophobia needs to be studied in the context of related variables (such as timidity, shame-proneness and social anxiety), and research should focus on the time span in which this fear is most prevalent. The relevance of gelotophobia for humor theory, research and practice is highlighted and new areas of research are introduced. Among the latter the role of gelotophobia at work and in relation to life trajectories is discussed

Separating content and structure in humor appreciation: The need for a bimodal model and support from research into aesthetics

For a long time humor theorists have acknowledged that content and structure of humor (or: joke work vs. tendency, [4]; thematic vs. schematic, [12]; cognitive vs. orectic factors, [3]) have to be distinguished as two different sources of pleasure [6]. Nevertheless, against all evidence, taxonomies of humor are stuck in (serial) unimodal classifications rather than bi- or multimodal models. Intuitive classifications of humor typically distinguish between content classes (e.g., blonde jokes, dead baby jokes, Stalin jokes), neglecting the contributions of structural properties to appreciation of humor. Also rational taxonomies most frequently emphasize content features; e.g., when emotional features like disgust, fear or anger are highlighted in humor

Measurement Theory and Psychological Scaling

from Hackett, P. (Ed.). (2019). Quantitative Research Methods in Consumer Psychology. New York: Routledge,Quantitative research in every branch of psychology involves the measurement of psychological constructs, and consumer psychology is no exception. The use of tools to measure psychological constructs is known as psychometrics. This chapter will outline the use of psychometric measures within consumer psychology and related fields – both in academic and practice settings – and discuss the theory underlying psychological measurement, before exploring the process by which these measures are developed by psychologists