Humor Styles Test

The IDRlabs Humor Styles Test (IDR-HST) was developed by IDRlabs. The IDR-HST is based on the work of Dr. Rod Martin, Ph.D. and his colleagues, who authored the tool, "The Humor Styles Questionnaire.” The IDR-HST is not associated with any specific researchers in the field of personality psychology, clinical psychology, or any affiliated research institutions.

The test measures the following scales: Affiliative Humor: People who score high on affiliative humor tend to create vibes of camaraderie and happiness since they tell jokes that everybody might find funny. They enhance relationships by using humor in benevolent and inclusive ways. Also, they typically tell jokes spontaneously and are likely to initiate friendships. The content of their humor often involves day-to-day experiences and they usually like joking around with others, telling funny stories about themselves, and thinking of witty things to say to make people laugh.

Self-Enhancing Humor: Individuals who score high on self-enhancing humor tend to laugh at themselves and their circumstances. They use humor to cope with challenges, telling jokes to promote optimism or maintain a positive attitude. For instance, they often think of something funny to make themselves and others feel better. Studies have shown that individuals who make use of self-enhancing humor are less likely to suffer depressive symptoms. In organizational settings, self-enhancing humor has been observed to foster creativity and reduce job-related stress.

Aggressive Humor: People who score high on aggressive humor tend to use sarcasm, criticism, ridicule, and similar kinds of humor that are potentially detrimental to others. They often disregard the impact that their jokes might have on others; their humor may seem funny and playful, but the content may harm or belittle other individuals or groups. For instance, their jokes may be interpreted as prejudiced (i.e., racist and sexist) and people may be offended or hurt by their sense of humor. On the other hand, when aggressive humor is employed with the right context and audience, the use of such jokes may foster intimacy and camaraderie, since there is often an unstated premise that the person uttering such jokes does not really mean what they say.

Self-Defeating Humor: People who score high on self-defeating humor use detrimental humor toward themselves in order to gain approval from others. They tend to engage in self-disparaging jokes in which the laughter comes at their own expense. For example, they often say something funny about their weaknesses or mistakes in order for others to like or accept them. They may also tend to hide their negative feelings by joking around, fostering a sense of shared absurdity that may lighten the mood.

As the publishers of this free online Humor Styles Test, which allows you to screen yourself for the characteristics and manifestations of your humor, we have striven to make the test as reliable and valid as possible by subjecting it to statistical controls and validation. However, free online quizzes such as the present Humor Styles Test do not provide professional assessments or recommendations of any kind; the test is provided entirely “as-is.” For more information about any of our online tests and quizzes, please consult our Terms of Service.