Humiliate My Enemies or Mock My Friends? Applying Disposition Theory of Humor to the Study of Political Parody Appreciation and Attitudes Toward Candidates

Abstract

The research examines politically entertaining media through a mass communication lens, applying the disposition theory of humor toward the study of political parody appreciation and the effects of exposure to varied humor types on political attitudes. The analyses rely on experimental data (N = 269) collected in 2013. The results of the first analysis suggest that the interaction of disposition and exposure to different types of humor significantly influences variation in political parody appreciation. The findings from the second analysis show that negative affect toward the opposing candidate, or the presumed victor of a humorous situation, can dampen attitudes toward the victim given exposure to critical humor. The strategic implications for campaigns looking to engage with humor are discussed.

At Odds: Laughing and Thinking? The Appreciation, Processing, and Persuasiveness of Political Satire

“…The current study has shown that if background information was provided, it affected the appreciation of satire; thereby, it provides evidence for both selective processing mechanisms (LaMarre et al, ; Vidmar & Rokeach, ) and disposition theory (Becker, ; Zillmann & Cantor, ). Indicative of selective processing was that people without background knowledge found the satire equally funny.…”

Playing With Politics: Online Political Parody, Affinity for Political Humor, Anxiety Reduction, and Implications for Political Efficacy

“…Related research applying the disposition theory of humor to political contexts has shown that individuals exhibit greater appreciation for humor that pokes fun at a candidate or politician they dislike but are less receptive PARODY, ANXIETY REDUCTION, AND POLITICAL EFFICACY toward humor that mocks an affiliate (Zillmann, Bryant, & Cantor, 1974;Zillmann, Taylor, & Lewis, 1998). In fact, recent work has suggested that disposition can moderate the impact of exposure to attack humor on related political attitudes, resulting in less favorable evaluations of the candidate being mocked given a prior negative orientation toward the attacker (Becker, 2014). Extending this dynamic to the current case study, it should follow that a preference for humor that attacks the opposition should reinforce or be positively related to evaluations of efficacy, whereas humor that attacks an affiliate or a candidate that one likes should reduce judgments of one's ability to effectively understand and participate in the political process.…”

“…Of course this may depend both upon the prior partisan leanings of the individual and the type of humor to which they are exposed (Becker, 2014). For example, seeing the opposing candidate being mocked should lead to more positive feelings of internal political efficacy, particularly among individuals with high levels of affinity toward political humor as an anxiety reduction tool.…”

“…Smith & Duggan, 2012). It should therefore come as no surprise that scholars have begun to explore the impact of exposure to these parody videos on viewer perceptions and political engagement (Becker, 2014;Lim & Golan, 2011;Tryon, 2008). Previous empirical research has suggested that exposure to politically oriented usergenerated YouTube content can impact evaluations of target politicians' credibility and favorability but has failed to offer evidence of a relationship between exposure to political content and feelings of political cynicism or efficacy (Rill & Cardiel, 2013).…”

Maybe it Is More Than a Joke: Satire, Mobilization, and Political Participation*

“…Here, too, much of the work is experimental, using college students (or college‐aged individuals) as subjects. The consensus from most of this research is that humor has a message‐consistent effect on opinions of its target (Baumgartner, ; Baumgartner and Morris, , , ; Baumgartner, Morris, and Walth, ; Becker, ; Esralew and Young, ; Morris, ; Nabi, Moyer‐Gusé, and Byrne, ). For example, humor that ridicules a particular individual (e.g., a president or presidential candidate) will lower opinions of that individual.…”