Humor motives, qualities, and reactions in recalled conflict episodes

Abstract This study examines factors affecting respondents' perceptions of the effects of humor used by a conflict partner. Attributions about the speaker's reasons for using humor and humorous message qualities were considered for the outcomes respondents experienced with regard to self‐reported conflict interactions. Attributions about the speaker's reasons for using humor were strongly associated with all three outcomes of Escalation, Progress, and Loss of Face, and the quality of the humor itself was also highly correlated with both Escalation and Progress. These findings support Attribution Theory in that internal attributions of reasons for humor usage were associated with more negative outcomes, while more external reasons were associated with more positive outcomes for conflict episodes.