LAUGHTER AND STRESS IN DAILY-LIFE - RELATION TO POSITIVE AND NEGATIVEAFFECT

The present study investigated the proposal that increased laughter ca n serve to moderate the affective impact of negative life events. Comm unity participants kept a record of their actual frequency of laughter for a 3-day period, and completed a measure of stressful life events each evening. Current levels of positive and negative affect were also obtained in the morning and evening of each day. A series of simple c orrelations, computed on a daily basis, provided little evidence for a ny direct relationships between amount of daily laughter and either po sitive or negative affect. Instead, mole complex moderator analyses re vealed that greater negative affect was clearly associated with a high er number of stressful life events, but only for those individuals wit h a lower frequency of actual laughter In contrast, and in support of a stress buffering hypothesis, it was found that individuals with a hi gher frequency of laughter did not show greater levels of negative aff ect as stressful life events increased. When considering positive affe ct, it was found that only males showed a significant moderating effec t of laughter For males who laughed more frequently a greater number o f stressful life events was associated with higher levels of positive affect. These findings are discussed in terms of several possible mech anisms which may account for the moderating effects of laughter on aff ect, including the use of cognitive appraisals and emotion-focused cop ing strategies.