Benefits of humor for mental health: Empirical findings and directions forfurther research

The results of numerous empirical studies, which ave examined in this artic le, indicate that, in general, humor can beneficially influence mental heal th. Specifically, it has been observed that humor as a response (e.g., laug hter) is associated with a reduction in some existing mental health problem s, whereas humor as a psychological process (sense of humor) appears to mod erate the perceived intensity of negative life events. Several suggestions are provided about how these different kinds of humor might occasion their effects. A number of issues are also identified that warrant further empiri cal examination. These include whether, and if so how, the relationships be tween humor and mental health are affected by individual difference variabl es, (e.g., personality, gender, extent of actual effect of negative life ev ents, degree of appreciation of humorous experimental stimuli); how much ea ch of the above mentioned types of humor contribute to effects observed in any given situation; how the relationships in question are affected by diff erent kinds of humorous stimuli; and various aspects of the broader experim ental context.