Humour physiology and motor-skill performance under stress

Abstract

Humour is an important social and emotional activity and research indicates that it has a multitude of positive effects. This has led to considerable research interest in its potential function in relation to the experience of stress. As such, it has been included as a moderator variable within a number of stress-performance relationship studies. Results of these studies vary, and findings appear to be contingent upon both the nature of the humorous manipulation and the performance measure used. A salutary neuroendocrinological arousal profile, associated with mirthful humour, has also been identified. According to toughness theory, positively valenced forms of arousal can contribute to positive cognitive appraisals in putatively stressful situations. In turn, improved appraisals can reduce experienced stress and may, therefore, contribute to improvements in performance. This study was conducted to test the hypothesis that such a pattern of arousal, following a humour induction video, would both increase feelings of energy and reduce tension, and thereby improve performance on a complex motor-skill task – a simulated rock climb. In order to measure changes in energy, tension, and performance between a humour and a non-humour group, three 2 x 2 repeated measures MANOVAs were conducted. Further, in order to measure performance with relation to energy and tension changes, a regression analysis was conducted. Results indicated that the humour induction film was insufficient to improve performance on the climbing task. Based on a review of the literature, and the present findings, it was concluded that humour that is unrelated to stressful activity – as was the case with the humour induction video - is insufficient to enhance motor-skill performance in a stressful setting. Future research examining the stress moderating role of humour should focus on an individual’s ability to create humour with situationally relevant content, rather than use it as a passive manipulation, as is most commonly done in research in performance settings.