Kelsey Wallach

Response Paper #4
Psychology 403
10.25.2013
One of this weeks readings Benign Violations: Making Immoral Behavior Funny began
by discussing the importance of humor. The authors brought up that experiencing humor not only
has effects on psychological states, but also may hold some physical benefits. I have always been
very interested in the relationship between psychological experiences and the physiological
processes they correspond with, so I decided to further explore the physical effects on the body
of experiencing humor.
Weve all grown up with the saying laughter is the best medicine. But is it really? A
fascinating research study by Clark et al. investigated whether having sociable personality traits,
a main focus being on humor, would associate with a lower risk of coronary heart disease
(CHD). They hypothesized that humor, as well as the laughter that results from it, has a number
of physiological effects on the body that suppresses or counteracts factors that contribute to CHD
(Clark et al, 2001).
The participants personality traits were measured via a Situational Humor Response
Questionnaire, which averaged their response scores (scaled from 1- not humorous to 5-very
humorous) to obtain a personality profile. Participants were also asked to complete a
physiological risk factor profile, which detailed the presence or absence of CHD related risks
such as high cholesterol, hypertension, diabetes and family history of heart disease. The results
of this study indicated an inverse relationship between humor and CHD, meaning that those with
CHD on average tended to be less humorous (Clark et al, 2001)..
Clark et al.s proposed explanation for this trend identifies humor and laughter as actors
in cardioprotection. Laughter may reduce the immunosuppressant effects of stress (such as
high blood pressure, elevated heart and respiratory rate) and therefore act against negative factors
that contribute to CHD (Clark et al, 2001).. However, there has been some resistance to the idea
of humor having such a direct effect on these factors. Research undergone by N. Kuiper & S.
Nicholl suggests that a greater sense of humor does not actually have a direct effect on physical
health, but instead simply contributes to a more positive perception of ones health than is

actually warranted. They identify two mechanisms that may account for the more positive
orientation of those with greater humor: an ability to more easily distance themselves from
potentially stressful events and defaulting to positive appraisals rather than negative ones. These
two mechanisms would act acoping devices for any indicators of poor physical health (Nicholl &
Kuiper, 2006).
Kuiper et al. tested this hypothesis by administering several tests to determine the levels
of humor in each participant, including a Coping Humor Scale, Situational Humor Response
Questionnaire, and Sense of Humor Questionnaire. The participants also responded to an Illness
Attitude Survey, which recorded their fears beliefs and attitudes towards different aspects of
physical health including: fear of death and disease, bodily focus, worry about illness, healthrelated lifestyle etc. Their results showed that those with an increased sense of humor had less
fear about death and serious disease as well as were less preoccupied with negative bodily
sensations such as pain. The surveys also revealed that humorous people did not have better or
worse health habits, just simply worried less about them (Nicholl & Kuiper, 2006).
I think it was interesting that the research surrounding humor and physical health has
emphasized the distinction between actual and perceived health. I did have some discomfort with
Clark et al.s quick jump from correlation to causation, and would like to see more studies done
that look at any potential cardioprotectional effects of humor. However, the conflicting ideas I
found while researching this topic confirms in my mind the intimacy between psychological and
physiological processes. During my research I also saw some brief mentions of using humor in
structured therapy programs. I would be interested to further study the efficacy of these
programs, and whether they attribute their results to direct physical effects of humor or to
psychological changes in attitude and appraisal.
Clark, A., Seidler, A., & Miller, M. (2001). Inverse association between humor and coronary
heart disease. International Journal of Cardiology,(80), 87-88. Retrieved from http://ac.elscdn.com.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/S0167527301004703/1-s2.0-S0167527301004703main.pdf?_tid=ff84714a-3d25-11e3-97d200000aacb360&acdnat=1382672096_8ab958a30afe6751ae18a49c024d02cf
Nicholl, S., & Kuiper, N. (2006). Thoughts of feeling better?:sense of humor and physical
health.International Journal of Humor Research, 17(1-2), 37-66. doi: 10.1515/humr.2004.007,