Expanding on Benign Violation Theory: Portrayed Joke-Teller Status Effects on the Perceived Funniness of Posts Containing Harsh Jokes

Kyriacou, Andreas (2025) Expanding on Benign Violation Theory: Portrayed Joke-Teller Status Effects on the Perceived Funniness of Posts Containing Harsh Jokes. Bachelor thesis, Psychology.

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Abstract

Social media platforms have enabled users to share posts and tweets and engage in public discussions on sensitive social issues, including gender inequality. This study examines how the status of a joke-teller presented in posts containing harsh humor (high-status manager vs. low-status employee) influences how funny audience perceive the posts perceptions and consequently intentions to participate in collective action. Drawing on Benign Violation Theory (McGraw & Warren, 2010), participants were shown identical jokes framed by either high or low-status figures and assessed on perceived funniness and intention to act on gender equality issues. The overall hypothesis of this thesis was that perceived funniness of the posts will mediate the relationship between the status of the joke-teller in the posts. This was inspired by prior research examining how higher-status joke-tellers are less likely to be perceived as benign when making norm-violating jokes such as harsh joke (Kant & Norman, 2019) and from research showing that less harsh humor used by companies made people feel more amused, which in turn increased consumer engagement behavioral intention (Ning et al., 2022). Results showed that posts containing jokes from low-status individuals were perceived as significantly funnier, supporting BVT’s claim that norm violations are more benign when delivered by lower status figures (Kant & Norman, 2019). However, no statistically significant association was found between the two conditions in terms of participants’ reported intentions to engage in collective action. I conclude that joke teller status is related to perceived funniness but there is no evidence that perceived funniness acts as a mediator between joke teller status as portrayed on posts and collective action intentions. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Item Type:	Thesis (Bachelor)
Supervisor name:	Greijdanus, H.J.E.
Degree programme:	Psychology
Differentiation route:	None [Bachelor Psychology]
Date Deposited:	17 Jun 2025 11:40
Last Modified:	17 Jun 2025 11:40
URI:	http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/4928

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