Comedy Types and Political Campaigns: The Differential Influence of Other-Directed Hostile Humor and Self-Ridicule on Candidate Evaluations

Abstract

The current study assesses the effect of exposure to diverse comedy types, measuring the differential impact of other-directed hostile humor and self-ridicule on feelings toward John McCain. Specifically, the analyses use experimental data collected in 2009 to compare the differential impact of viewing a video clip of John McCain's playful self-satire on Saturday Night Live with the effects of exposure to the more aggressive, judgmental, other-directed hostile humor of Stephen Colbert. The results suggest that viewers cool toward McCain after exposure to Stephen Colbert's other-directed hostile humor. Additional analyses show that the effect of exposure to varied types of political humor is direct and relatively impervious to moderation by political partisanship. Implications of the findings and their ability to help researchers understand the differential influence of varied comedy message types on political evaluations and attitudes is discussed.