HUMOR STYLES, PERSONALITY TRAITS AND SUBJECTIVE WELL BEING: A MODEL TESTING

Tahsin İlhan
Dr. Hasan Bacanli
Gazi University

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explain the role of humor styles within a model on subjective well-being. Participants in the present study were 454 university students: 154 males and 300 females who were attending Gazi University, Faculty of Education. In this study; Big Five Personality Inventory, Humor Styles Questionnaire, Satisfaction with Life Scale, and Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale were used to gather data. First of all a model related to effects of humor styles on subjective well-being was suggested. After that, the most suitable model was selected among alternative models. Although the identified final model had high fit coefficients, humor styles were found to have a little explanatory effect on subjective well-being. In other words, only self-enhancing humor had effects on subjective well-being indirectly via mediator role of self-efficacy. Nevertheless, personality traits, such as extroversion and neuroticism, and self-efficacy had the most effective variables on subjective well-being. Extraversion and neuroticism, which are personality traits, had both direct and indirect effects via self-enhancing and self-efficacy. However, self-efficacy had direct and moderate effects. On the other hand, classroom level and gender had little effect on subjective well-being.

Keywords

Humor styles, big five personality, subjective well being, self-efficacy