Journal of Management Research

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access
Open Access Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Restricted Access Subscription Access

The Relationship between Humor and Group Productivity


Affiliations
1 Department of Management College of Business Administration University of Texas Pan-American Edinburg, TX 78541
2 Department of Management, Marketing and General Business College of Business Administration West Texas A&M University Canyon, TX 79016
     

   Subscribe/Renew Journal


Humor is an important factor in group dynamics. Based on humor literature from several fields, humor was predicted to have a positive effect on group productivity. An experiment was conducted to determine if humor can be induced and if it has a positive effect on group productivity. The results indicate that humor can be induced and increase a group's humor use. However, groups with people who used more humor were not more productive. Men in general and younger participants used humor more than women and older participants. Suggestions are offered for researchers interested in using experiments to test the effect of humor on groups.

Keywords

Group Productivity, Group Cohesion, Organization Culture
User
Notifications

  • Abel, M. H. (1998), Interaction of Humor and Gender in Moderating Relationships between Stress and Outcomes, The Journal of Psychology 132: 267-276.

  • Avolio, B. J., Howell, J. M., and Sosik, J. J. (1999), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Bottom Line: Humor as a Moderator of Leadership Style Effects, Academy of Management Journal 42: 219-227.

  • Cann, A., Holt, K., and Calhoun, L. G. (1999), The Roles of Humor and Sense of Humor in Responses to Stressors, Humor 12: 177-193.

  • Clouse, R. W., and Spurgeon, K. L. (1995), Corporate Analysis of Humor, Psychology – A Quarterly Journal Of Human Behavior 32: 1-24.

  • Collinson, D. L. (1988), Engineering Humour, Masculinity, Joking and Conflict in Shop-floor Relations, Organization Studies 9: 181-199.

  • Coser, R. L. (1959), Some Social Functions of Laughter: A Study of Humor in a Hospital Setting, Human Relations 12: 171-182.

  • Crawford, C. B. (1994), Theory and Implications Regarding the Utilization of Strategic Humor by Leaders, The Journal of Leadership Studies 1: 53-68.

  • Cullen, J. B. (2002), Multinational Management: A Strategic Approach, South-Western, Cincinnati, OH.

  • Decker, W. H. (1987), Managerial Humor and Subordinate Satisfaction, Social Behavior and Personality 15: 225-232.

  • Decker, W. H., Rotondo, D. M. (1999), Use of Humor at Work: Predictors and Implications, Psychological Reports 84: 961-968.

  • Decker, W. H., and Rotondo, D. M. (2001), Relationships among Gender, Type of Humor, and Perceived Leader Effectiveness, Journal of Managerial Issues 13: 450-466.

  • Devine, D. J. (1999), Effects of Cognitive Ability, Task Knowledge, Information Sharing, and Conflict on Group Decision-making Effectiveness, Small Group Research 30: 608-634.

  • Dienstbier, R. A. (1995), The Impact of Humor on Energy, tension, task choices, and attributions: Exploring hypothesis from toughness theory, Motivation and Emotion, 19: 255-267.

  • Dixon, N. F. (1980), A Cognitive Alternative to Stress?, in I. G. Sarason and C. D. Speilberger (Eds.), Stress and Anxiety (Vol. 5), pp. 281-289, Washington, DC, Hemisphere.

  • Duncan, W. J. (1982), Humor in Management: Prospects for Administrative Practice and Research, Academy of Management Review 7: 136-142.

  • Duncan, W. J., and Feisal, J. P. (1989), No Laughing Matter: Patterns of Humor in the Workplace, Organizational Dynamics 17: 18-30

  • Dworkin, E. S., and Efan, J. S. (1967), The Angered: Their Susceptibility to Varieties of Humor, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 6: 233-236.

  • Fine, G. A. (1977), Humour in Situ: The Role of Humor in Small Group Culture, in A. J. Chapman and H. C. Foot (Eds.), It’s a funny thing, humour, pp. 315-318, Pergamon, NY.

  • Graham, E. E. (1995), The Involvement of Sense of Humor in the Development of Social Relationships, Communication Reports 8: 158-170.

  • Greatbatch, D., and Clark, T. (2002), Laughing with the Gurus, Business Strategy Review 13: 10-18.

  • Gruner, C. (1976), Wit and Humor in Mass Communication, in A. J. Chapman and H. C. Foot (Eds.), Humour and laughter: Theory, Research and Applications, pp. 287-311, Wiley, London.

  • Guzzo, R.A. and Dickson, M. W. (1996), Teams in Organizations: Recent Research on Performance and Effectiveness, Annual Review of Psychology 47: 307-38.

  • Hampes, W. P. (1999), The Relationship between Humor and Trust, Humor 12: 253-259.

  • Hofstede, G. (1991), Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind, McGraw-Hill, London.

  • Hudson, K. M. (2001), Transforming a Conservative Company - One Laugh at a Time, Harvard Business Review July-August: 45-53.

  • Janes, L. M., and Olson, J. M. (2000), Jeer Pressure: The Behavioral Effects of Observing Ridicule in Others, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 26: 474-485.

  • Kane, T. R., Suls, J., and Tedeschi, J. T. (1977), Humour as a Tool of Social Interaction, in A. J. Chapman and H. C. Foot (Eds.), It’s a Funny Thing Humour, pp. 13-16, Pergamon Press, NY.

  • Kotter, J. P., and Heskett, J. L. (1992), Corporate Culture and Performance, Free Press, NY.

  • Kupier, N. A., McKenzie, S. D., and Belanger, K. A. (1995), Cognitive Appraisals and Individual Differences in Sense of Humor: Motivational and Affective Implications, Personality and Individual Differences 19: 359-372.

  • Linstead, S. (1985), Jokers Wild: The Importance of Humour in the Maintenance of Organizational Culture, The Sociological Review 33: 741-767.

  • Lyttle, J. (2001), The Effectiveness of Humor in Persuasion: The Case of Business Ethics Training, Journal of General Psychology 128: 206-217.

  • Malone, P. B. (1980), Humor: A Double-edged Tool for Today’s Managers?, Academy of Management Review 5: 357-360.

  • Marks, M. A., Mathieu, J. E., and Zaccaro, S. J. (2001), A Temporally Based Framework and Taxonomy of Team Processes, Academy of Management Review 26: 356-376.

  • Martin, R. A., and Lefcourt, H. M. (1983), Sense of Humor as a Moderator of the Relation Between Stressors and Moods, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 45: 1313-1324.

  • Martineau, W. H. (1972), A Model of the Social Functions of Humor, in J. Goldstein and P. McGhee (Eds.), The Psychology of Humor, pp. 101-125, Academic Press, New York.

  • Meyer, J. C. (1997), Humor in Member Narratives: Uniting and Dividing at Work, Western Journal of Communication 61: 359-372.

  • Moran, C. C. (1996), Short-term Mood Change, Perceived Funniness, and the Effect of Humor Stimuli, Behavioral Medicine 22: 32-38.

  • Robinson, D. T., and Smith-Lovin, L. (2001), Getting a Laugh: Gender, Status, and Humor in Task Discussions, Social Forces 80: 123-158.

  • Roeckelein, J. E. (2002), The Psychology of Humor, Greenwood Press, Westport, CT.

  • Romero, E. J. and Gray, S. R. (2002), Management Skills And Training Needs Of Small Business Managers, Journal of Business and Entrepreneurship 14: 91-101

  • Schein, E. H. (1985), Organizational Culture and Leadership, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.

  • Singer, D. L. (1968), Aggression Arousal, Hostile Humor, and Catharsis, Journal of Personality and Sociology 8: 1-14.

  • Smeltzer, L. R., and Leap, T. L. (1988), An Analysis of Individual Reactions to Potentially Offensive Jokes in Work Settings, Human Relations 41: 295-304.

  • Thorson, J. A. and Powell, F. C. (1993), Development and Validation of a Multidimensional Sense of Humor Scale, Journal of Clinical Psychology 49: 13-23.

  • Ullian, J. A. (1976), Joking at Work, Journal of Communications 26: 129-133.

  • Ventis, W. L., Higbee, G., and Murdock, S. A. (2001), Using Humor in Systematic Desensitization to Reduce Fear, Journal of General Psychology 128: 241-253

  • Vinton, K. L. (1989), Humor in the Workplace: It Is More than Telling Jokes, Small Group Behavior 20: 151-166.

  • Winnick, C. (1976), The Social Contexts of Humor, Journal of Communication 26: 124-128.


Abstract Views: 303

PDF Views: 1




  • The Relationship between Humor and Group Productivity

Abstract Views: 303  |  PDF Views: 1

Authors

Eric J Romero
Department of Management College of Business Administration University of Texas Pan-American Edinburg, TX 78541
Terry R Pearson
Department of Management, Marketing and General Business College of Business Administration West Texas A&M University Canyon, TX 79016

Abstract


Humor is an important factor in group dynamics. Based on humor literature from several fields, humor was predicted to have a positive effect on group productivity. An experiment was conducted to determine if humor can be induced and if it has a positive effect on group productivity. The results indicate that humor can be induced and increase a group's humor use. However, groups with people who used more humor were not more productive. Men in general and younger participants used humor more than women and older participants. Suggestions are offered for researchers interested in using experiments to test the effect of humor on groups.

Keywords


Group Productivity, Group Cohesion, Organization Culture

References