In Japan, individuals of higher social class engage in other-oriented humor

Abstract

Previous research on individual social class (SC) and humor has found support for the hypothesis that those with higher SC will engage in more dominant humor (aggressive humor) that derogates or degrades others. One rationale for introducing this hypothesis is the well-known theory that people with higher SC are more self-oriented; however, it has recently been shown that there may be cultural differences in this theory. In this study, using a Japanese sample objective measures (income and educational attainment) and subjective measures (perceived social status) and examined in relation to humor. Four types of humor assessed by the Humor Styles Questionnaire and two types of humor measured by the Dual Self-Directed Humor Scale were considered to investigate the relationship between SC and humor. Unlike prior findings obtained in Western countries, Study 1 (N = 344) and Study 2 (N = 604) consistently showed that SC and aggressive humor were unrelated. Rather, SC was shown to be positively associated with other-oriented humor in Japan, a country belonging to the Confucian cultural sphere of East Asia. The differences in results from these previous studies were discussed from a cultural contextual perspective.