Humor styles and personality: A meta-analysis of the relation between humor styles and the Big Five personality traits

This research summarizes the knowledge generated in social psychology and positive psychology about the relationship between humor styles, personality and wellbeing. Specifically, a meta-analysis was performed with the results of 15 studies on humor styles measured by the Humor Styles Questionnaire (Martin, Puhlik-Doris, Larsen, Gray & Weir, 2003) in correlation with the personality traits measured by the Big Five Personality model (measured with different scales). Following the steps presented by Rosenthal (1991) for meta-analysis in the case of correlational research, we calculated the total mean r as an indicator of effect size. Results show that affiliative humor has a strong and homogeneous relation to neuroticism and extraversion. The homogeneity and heterogeneity found between variables and possible explanations are discussed in the conclusion. © 2015 Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.