DOES HUMOR FACILITATE COPING WITH PHYSICAL DISCOMFORT

The mediation of superior coping with physical discomfort after humoro us stimulation was explored through respondents' exposure to materials varying markedly in their capacity to evoke amusement and joviality. Both male and female respondents were exposed to (a) stand-up comedy, (b) situation comedy, (c) serious drama, (d) instructional material, o r (e) tragedy. Discomfort threshold for cuff pressure at the upper arm was ascertained prior to and following exposure. Cognitive and affect ive responses to the materials were recorded after the postexposure th reshold measurement. Compared against exposure to instructional materi al in the control condition, and compared against pre-exposure thresho ld measures, exposure to either type of comedy and, unexpectedly, to t ragedy significantly elevated the threshold for physical discomfort in both male and female respondents. Serious drama had no such effect. T aken together, the exposure effects on the discomfort threshold could not be attributed to amusement reactions. Nor could they be considered mediated by responses of positive hedonic quality during and after ex posure. There was some indication, however, that the capacity of stimu li to evoke humorous reactions (material being deemed funny) and the a bsorption potential of stimuli (material being deemed captivating) wer e positively involved in the mediation of postexposure tolerance of ph ysical discomfort.