Downward-punching disparagement humor harms interpersonal impressions and trust

Abstract

Abstract Disparagement humor may harm perceptions of joke-tellers’ core traits and trustworthiness differently when it “punches down” rather than “up” at its target. This was experimentally tested with a sexist joke in Study 1 (n = 161) and a boss/employee joke in Study 2 (n = 331). Consistently, joke-tellers who punched down seemed less competent, lower in status, and less trustworthy (assessed via a hypothetical monetary trust game). Jokes that punched “down” (versus “up”) seemed less affiliative in general, and particularly aggressive only in a sexist humor context, perhaps due to more normative expectations of aggression in gender-based contexts. Implications for curbing disparagement humor, particularly from high-status people, are discussed.