Jokes that work or work that is a joke: The influence of humor on persistence and cheating behavior

Workers often encounter temptations that entice them to withdraw their effort from assigned work tasks and pursue counterproductive goals. Studies have shown that failure to resist such temptations collectively costs organizations billions of dollars each year in lost productivity and additional expenses (Bennett & Robinson, 2000). Ego-depletion theory posits that an individuals’ ability to resist temptations is dependent on a limited pool of self-regulatory resources that is expended whenever an individual exerts self-control (Muraven & Baumeister, 2000). While much research has examined how individuals expend resources, little research has examined how individuals can replenish resources in order to resist further temptations (Hagger, Wood, Stiff, & Chatzisarantis, 2010). This dissertation examines whether humor, a phenomenon highly recommended by business consultants as being energizing (Kanter, 2010), can help individuals persist at assigned work tasks and resist the temptation to engage in counterproductive behavior. In addition, the studies in this dissertation also examine one mechanism by which humor increases persistence along with how different types of humor and individual differences in humor style interact to influence its outcomes. Five experimental studies are reported. Study 1 examined the effects of humor and found that those who experienced humor persisted significantly longer than others at an assigned task. In addition, the discrete emotion of amusement mediated the positive relationship between humor and persistence. Study 2 replicated the findings of Study 1 and found that those high in self-enhancing humor style persisted longer when experiencing humor than those low in self-enhancing humor style. Study 3 found that exposure to self-deprecating humor generally results in greater levels of persistence. However, those high in self-defeating humor style did not show any significant increase in persistence when experiencing self-deprecating humor. Studies 4 and 5 examined aggressive humor and found that aggressive humor in general led to a significant increase in persistence. It also found that those low in aggressive humor style did not persist longer at assigned tasks. In addition, those who were high in aggressive humor style who laughed at others were more likely to engage in cheating behavior. Implications for research, practice and future directions are discussed