Humor Styles as Mediators of the Shyness-Loneliness Relationship

Abstract

Individuals adjust and adapt to the demands of social interaction in a variety of ways that may be more or less adaptive. For example, some individuals use humor in a way that facilitates positive social interaction while still others may manifest shyness or loneliness in response to social demands. The relationship between these emotional states or responses that differ in adaptive result was the focus of the present study. For example, results from numerous studies indicate a reliable positive correlation between shyness and loneliness (e.g., Cheek & Busch, 1981; Jones, Freeman, & Goswick, 1981; Russell, Peplau, & Ferguson, 1978; Schmidt & Fox, 1995). Shyness is defined as a personality trait consisting of three components: somatic, cognitive, and behavioral. Individual differences exist among shy individuals regarding the extent to which each of the components are experienced; however, in general, the three components act together to form a tendency towards anxiety, negative thinking, and behavioral awkwardness in social situations (Cheek & Melchior, 1990). Loneliness is described as the distressing psychological experience that occurs when there is a discrepancy between one's desired and one's actual social network, either qualitatively (e.g., absence of deeply intimate relationships) or quantitatively (e.g., too few friends). It is a subjective experience in that it does not necessarily imply isolation, but instead is the result of self-perceived deficiencies in social relationships (Peplau & Perlman, 1982). Although measures of shyness and loneliness typically show a correlation ranging from .40 to .50 (Ashe & McCutcheon, 2001; Jones, Rose, & Russell, 1990), relatively few studies have investigated why this relationship exists. Both constructs have been found to be negatively related to various aspects of social competence, suggesting social competence may have an influential role in the shyness-loneliness relationship. Social competence has often been conceptualized as a set of skills used to promote desired social outcomes (Argyle, 1980; Cavell, 1990; Gresham, 1986; Hubbard & Coie, 1994). Effectiveness of social interaction is included as a central aspect in most of the conceptualizations. For example, Topping, Bremner, and Holmes (2000) define social competence as the ability to integrate cognition, affect, and behavior to achieve outcomes valued in context-dependent social situations. Therefore, social competence can be viewed as a multifaceted organizing construct with multiple subcomponents, including social adjustment, social performance, and social skills (Cavell, Meehan, & Fiala, 2003). Results from numerous studies indicate that greater shyness and loneliness are related to social competence subcomponents such as poor social skills (Miller, 1995; Riggio, 1986; Segrin & Flora, 2000; Zahaki & Duran, 1982), unsatisfactory interpersonal relationships (Jones, et al., 1990), interpersonal competence deficiencies (Jackson, Fritch, Nagasaka, & Gunderson, 2002) low self-esteem (Jones, et al., 1981; Kamath & Kanekar, 1993; Schmidt & Fox, 1995), and low social self-esteem (Miller, 1995). In light of these results, one objective of the current study is to explore the influence of a global conceptualization of social competence on the relationship between shyness and loneliness. In addition to the research investigating the relationships between various subcomponents of social competence and shyness and loneliness, research has also investigated how individuals' use of humor is involved in social interactions. A number of studies have shown the use of humor to be positively associated with high social competence (e.g., Bell, McGhee, & Duffey, 1986; Masten, 1986), to be important in influencing social outcomes and achieving interpersonal goals (Chapman, Smith, & Foot, 1980; McGhee, 1989; Nezlek & Derks, 2001), and to be a useful skill in the development of relationships and the effective promotion of successful social interactions (Kane, Suls, & Tedeschi, 1977; Wanzer, Booth-Butterfield, & Booth-Butterfield, 1996). …

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