Naslov
Breaking ground in cross-cultural research on the fear of being laughed at (gelotophobia) : A multi-national study involving 73 countries

Autori
Proyer, R. T. ; ... ; Brdar, Ingrid ; ... ; Yeun, Eun Ja

Izvornik
Humor (0933-1719) 22 (2009), /2; 253-279

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Radovi u časopisima, članak, znanstveni

Ključne riječi
cross-cultural comparisons Gelotophobia; humor; laughter; multi-national study

Sažetak
The current study examines whether the fear of being laughed at can be assessed reliably and validly by means of a self-report instrument in different countries of the world. All items of the GELOPH (Ruch and Titze 1998 ; Ruch and Proyer in press) were translated to the local language of the collaborator (39 languages in total). In total, 21 127 participants in 87 samples from 73 countries completed the GELOPH. Across all samples the reliability of the 15-item questionnaire was high (mean alpha of .85) and the factorial structure was very similar in all samples (i.e. in all samples a one-factor solution did fit the data best). The endorsement rates for the items ranged from 1.31% through 80.00% to a single item. Variations in the mean scores of the items were more strongly related to the culture in a country and not to the language in which the data was collected. Furthermore, multiple samples derived from one country tended to be (with a few exceptions) highly similar. Thus, it is assumed that Gelotophobia can be assessed in a reliable and valid way by means of a self-report instrument in cross-cultural research. This study enables further studies of the fear of being laughed at with regards to differences in the prevalence and putative causes of the fear of being laughed at in comparisons of different cultures.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Psihologija

POVEZANOST RADA