Research Paper on:
Humour Styles Questionnaire; Introduction and Methodology

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this widely diverse personality trait (Saroglou and Scariot, 2002). The role of humour has also been seen as diverse, studies reveals its importance as a coping mechanism in times of  difficulty and as a release or relief for stress (Thorson and Powell, 1993), it has also been found as a useful predictor of hypertension (Lefcourt et al, 1997), studies have  also indicated that subjects with similar style humours are more likely to have a mutual attraction and make successful relationships (Murstein and Brust, 1985).  However, the measurement has been problematic. A range of measures have been developed, such as the coping humour scale, but each has a singular or limited application making  general assessments impractical (Martin et al, 2003). The development of the humour styles questionnaire (HSQ) developed the model where there were 4 types of humour; these are self enhancing, where  the self is enhanced, affirmative which is where relationships wit others are enhances, aggressive, where the humour is targeted at others and at the expense of others, and the last  type is self defeating, where the humour is undertaken at the cost of self (Martin et al, 2003). This HSQ has some overlaps with former scales, but the application is  broader and may be argued as providing an assessor with a tool that is useful in assessing a subject. The classify and quantify the humour of a subject has  practical applications, not only giving insight to the personality of the subjects, but also allowing a greater understanding of psychological and potential physiological factors with which the humour type and  level is correlated. Saroglou and Scariot, (2002), noted that when looking at the humour styles questionnaire that there were different personality styles related to each of the four humour styles.