Does Humour Related Activity Help Buffer against Stress PDF

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Does Watching Funny Videos Assist Stress Management?Charlotte G. Olsson 47209860 Department of Psychology, Macquarie University STAT1103: Introduction to Psychological Design and Statistics Tutor: Anna Pangilinan Date: 1st April 2022 Word Count: 874Does Watching Funny Videos Assist Stress Management...

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Does Watching Funny Videos Assist Stress Management?

Charlotte G. Olsson 47209860 Department of Psychology, Macquarie University STAT1103: Introduction to Psychological Design and Statistics Tutor: Anna Pangilinan Date: 1st April 2022 Word Count: 874

2 Does Watching Funny Videos Assist Stress Management? Stress is an emotional response to internal or external threats to a person’s neurobiological equilibrium (Lecic-Tosevski, 2011). Studies indicate that approximately 91% of Australians experience stress about important elements of their life; an alarming statistic recognising the necessity to account for strategies to minimise stress and anxiety (Patterson, 2021). Such information has perpetuated research into the buffering effects of stress on individuals' lives and how this may be enhanced through viewing funny videos. Buffering against stress may be a result of positive affect: a person’s ability to reappraise negative circumstances with a positive disposition (Steenburgen et al., 2021). The regulation of cognitive strain can be achieved through positive affect, and its powers to moderate intense emotions elicited by neurobiological stress responses (Steenburgen et al., 2021). LecicTosevski (2011) regards stress as a personalised process of perception, conceding that strategic methods to buffer stress will not have an objective result however, general improvements may be indicative of their respective effectiveness. Thus, it is critical that the catalysts of positive affect are identified and empirically researched to effectively apply and control stress reducing strategies. Humour and its respective styles; dispositional and self-enhancing humour, have proven to moderate the extent of distress experienced by individuals (Fritz et al., 2017). Fritz et al., (2017) carried out an experimental survey study affirming their hypothesis that positive humour reduces psychological distress, highlighting the promising effects of humour on positive affect. Humour has proven to enhance emotional well-being to promote optimistic perceptions surrounding anxiety inducing situations (Crawford, 2011). Furthermore, a study into the application of ‘coping humour’ in stressful situations, confirmed the tropes aptitude in regulating somatic and psychological stress responses (Lowis & John, 2006), concurrently endorsing the buffering effects of positive affect. Millear & Prudence (2013) confirm that it is

3 appropriate to nurture the use of humour to enhance positive cognitions and mediate stressful situations, endorsing the buffering effects of positive affect. In association, a longitudinal investigation carried out by Schellenberg et al (2020) used an “Experience Sampling Method” to conclude that emotional stress can be subdued by various frequencies of laughter; a catalyst of positive affect able to regulate the intensity of emotional stress. The study found that the association persons make between stressful situations and their respective responses was weakened the more people laugh, triggering positive reappraisal to sequentially buffer the effects of stress. Alternatively, the hypothesis that positive affect buffers stress is weakened through the study’s findings that the intensity of laughter has a stagnant effect on buffering the negative effects of stress and reducing cognitive strain (Schellenberg et al., 2020). Additionally, Rudnick et al (2014) conducted an experimental study of humour related mediation of stress in mentally ill adults also rendered a somewhat negative. Such ambiguity has exposed the necessity for further empirical research into the buffering effects of stress. Cogent findings may be applicable through testing our three hypothesises: “People who watch the funny video clip will report higher positive affect compared to those who watch the neutral video clip;” “People who watch the funny video clip will report lower stress compared to those who watch the neutral video clip; “Greater positive affect will be associated with lower levels of stress.” Method Participants The recruitment process involved the use of flyers around the Macquarie University Campus, attempting to attract a variety of students. The sample constituted of 200 Macquarie University students: 103 females, 81 males and 16 non-binary. The age of the participants ranged from 17-31 (SD=3.3, Mean=22.5). Measures

4 The study ascertained the positive affect of its respective participants who were told to watch a funny video whenever feeling stressed by answering a single question, “how stressed do you feel in this moment?” by selecting an item on a scale of 0 to 100. Their respective positive affect was measure through utilising the positive feelings subscale: the 'Scale of Positive and Negative Experience' (Diener et al., 2010) adjusted to represent their current experience and emotions. Students were asked to respond to 6-items of positive feelings: Positive, Good, Pleasant, Happy, Joyful, Contented on a Likert scale: Not at all, Not very, Neutral, Somewhat, Very much. Upon combining the scores which ranged from 6-30, interpretation proceeded: the higher scores reflecting greater positive affect. Design and Procedure This was an experimental study, granted with ethical approval by the Macquarie University Human Research Ethics Committee. Students were randomly allocated to watch either the funny video (intervention condition) or a neutral video (control condition). Students were able to sign up via a website for the study to commence from October to November 2021, where they were then asked a series of demographic questions. Upon receiving instructions to complete the rest of the study, students had one week to watch their provided video clip when feeling stressed. Students in the intervention condition were given a compilation of funny videos to watch, including human fail videos and cute animal videos. The condition group were provided with a neutral, unstimulating video consisting of humans and animals engaging in unvaried activities such as humans crossing a road and fishes swimming. Following watching the video, participants were to complete the positive feelings scale and single item measure of stress only once.

5 References Crawford, Shelley A & Caltabiano, Nerina J. (2011). Promoting emotional well-being through the use of humour. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 6, 237-252. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2011.577087 Diener, Ed, Wirtz, Derrick, Tov, William, Kim-Prieto, Chu, Choi, Dong-won, Oishi, Shigehiro, et al. (2010). New well-being measures: Short scales to assess flourishing and positive and negative feelings. Social Indicators Research, 97, 143-156. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-009-9493-y Eric Patterson. (2021). Stress Facts and Statistics. The Recovery Village. https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/mental-health/stress/related/stress-statistics/ Fritz, H.L., Russek, L.N., & Dillon, M.M. (2017). Humor use moderates the relation of stressful life events with psychological distress. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 43(6), 845- 859. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167217699583 Lecic-Tosevski, Vukovic, O., & Stepanovic, J. (2011). Stress and personality. Psychiatrikē, 22(4), 290–297. http://ovidsp.ovid.com/ovidweb.cgi? T=JS&PAGE=reference&D=psyc8&NEWS=N&AN=2012-05156-002 Lowis, Michael John. (2006). Humour, its nature, definition and use. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering, 66(8-B), 4508. http://ovidsp.ovid.com/ovidweb.cgi? T=JS&PAGE=reference&D=psyc5&NEWS=N&AN=2006-99004-221 Millear, Prudence. (2013). All things being equal: Do personal resources contribute equally to well-being and mental health? Asia Pacific Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy, 4, 89-101. https://doi.org/10.1080/21507686.2013.778305 Rudnick, Abraham, Kohn, Paul M, Edwards, Kim R, Podnar, David, Caird, Sara & Martin, Rod. (2014). Humour-related interventions for people with mental illness: A

6 randomized controlled pilot study. Community Mental Health Journal, 50, 737-742. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-013-9685-4 van Steenbergen, H., de Bruijn, E.R.A., van Duijvenvoorde, A.C.K., & van Harmelen, A-L. (2021). How positive affect buffers stress responses. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 39, 153-160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2021.03.014 Zander-Schellenberg, T., Collins, I.M., Miche, M., Guttmann, C., Lieb, R., & Wahl, K. (2020). Does laughing have a stress-buggering effect in daily life? An intensive longitudinal study. PLoS ONE, 15(7), e0235851.n https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0235851...