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Aggressive Humor Style Scale

Do you laugh with others, or at them? Discover if you have an 'aggressive humor style' and if you need to dull your sharp tongue.

Mark Travers, Ph.D.

By Mark Travers, Ph.D.

January 8, 2024

Mark Travers, Ph.D., is the lead psychologist at Awake Therapy, responsible for new client intake and placement. Mark received his B.A. in psychology, magna cum laude, from Cornell University and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Colorado Boulder. His academic research has been published in leading psychology journals and has been featured in The New York Times and The New Yorker, among other popular publications. He is a regular contributor for Forbes and Psychology Today, where he writes about psycho-educational topics such as happiness, relationships, personality, and life meaning. Click here to schedule an initial consultation with Mark or another member of the Awake Therapy team. Or, you can drop him a note here.

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Aggressive humor is a bold and often edgy form of wit, utilizing elements like irony, sarcasm and ridicule to convey messages. It's a humor style that can cut through the ordinary and make a statement, but it also carries the risk of causing discomfort, tension or hurt. Aggressive humor doesn't shy away from challenging the status quo, using sharp wit to bring attention to societal norms or individual behaviors.

Identifying your aggressive humor style isn't just about claiming the quick-witted provocateur title, but also encourages recognizing the potential impact of your humor on others. Aggressive humor can be a double-edged sword, injecting energy and prompting critical thinking, but also risking misunderstandings or hurt feelings. Understanding and acknowledging this humor style is key to navigating social interactions with tact and ensuring that humor serves as a tool for connection rather than division.

The Humor Style Questionnaire allows the exploration of aggressive humor and its three counterparts: self-enhancing, affiliative and self-defeating humor. By answering a few questions, respondents can unlock the secrets of their humor style and gain insights into the unique blends that define their laughter, and how their laughter makes others feel.

You can take this test here. Please follow all of the steps to receive your results.

References: Martin, R. A., Puhlik-Doris, P., Larsen, G., Gray, J., & Weir, K. (2003). Individual differences in uses of humor and their relation to psychological well-being: Development of the Humor Styles Questionnaire. Journal of Research in Personality, (2003)37. 48-75. doi:S0092-6566(02)00534-2

Step 1: Rate the following statements based on how much you agree with them on a scale of strongly disagree to strongly agree.

1. If someone makes a mistake, I will often tease them about it.

2. People are always offended or hurt by my sense of humor.

3. When telling jokes or saying funny things, I am usually not very concerned about how other people are taking it.

4. I like it when people use humor as a way of criticizing or putting someone down.

5. Sometimes I think of something that is so funny that I can’t stop myself from saying it, even if it is not appropriate for the situation.

6. I always participate in laughing at others, especially if all my friends are doing it.

0 of 0 questions answered

Step 2: Enter your age, gender, region, and first name so we can provide you with a detailed report that compares your test scores with people similar to you.

What is your age?

What is your gender?

What region of the world do you live in?

What is your first name?

Step 3: Check to make sure you've provided answers to all of the statements/questions above. Once you've done that, click the button below to send your responses to Awake Therapy's Lead Psychologist, Mark Travers, Ph.D. He will provide you with an overview of how you scored relative to others (all answers are anonymized and confidential to protect users' privacy). He can also answer any follow-up questions you may have.