The influence of self- and other-deprecatory humor on presidential candidate evaluation during the 2008 US election

Abstract

This study considers the effect of participants’ evaluation of self-deprecatory and other-deprecatory (attack) humorous comments made by presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain during the 2008 electoral season. Humor, by evoking laughter in an audience, provides evidence of support for competitors for a leadership position through social contagion, and can be used to attack competitors ( Alexander, 1986 ) while sanctioning behavior at odds with group norms, whereas humor focused on oneself may be seen as a way of attending to egalitarian norms while ascending the dominance hierarchy ( Boehm, 1999 ). A total of 185 participants analyzed here took part in a web-based experiment carried out 2 weeks before the 2008 presidential election. Short video excerpts of the presidential candidates making both self-deprecatory and other-deprecatory humorous comments serve as stimuli. Findings suggest previously held opinions about the presidential candidates influence participant evaluation of humorous comments by the candidates. These comments, in turn, influence how participants evaluate the candidate making the humorous comment.

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