Laughing matters: Exploring ridicule-related traits, personality, and well-being

This study investigates the intricate relationships among personality traits, well-being, and attitudes toward being ridiculed and laughed at in 379 young adults, who are typically sensitive to social feedback and peer evaluation. These Taiwanese university students completed the Big Five mini-markers, PhoPhiKat-TC, and Mental Health Continuum Short Form scales. Analysis of the resulting data focused on understanding the mediating effects of the respondents' laughter/ridicule orientations on the relationship between their Big Five traits and well-being. Most of the personality traits were found to be positively correlated with well-being and with gelotophobia, the fear of being laughed at. Extraversion emerged as the preeminent correlate with well-being. In accordance with Seligman's Learned Optimism hypothesis, knowledge of the outcomes of this study could heighten gelotophobes' awareness of their responses to laughter, and thus serve as a foundation for the development and refinement of strategies for their effective navigation of social situations involving laughter/ridicule.