Understanding the power of political humour: Implications for emotions, attitudes, and behaviour
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Sheffield
Department Name: Psychology
Abstract
Political humour exposes the errors, shortcomings, and misadventures of an individual, institution, or ideology. Such humour seeks to ridicule authoritative figures and systems, and thus presents an especially powerful critique of its subject. Rapid changes in the contemporary political climate have inspired an explosion of political humour, which reaches broad cross-sections of the British public through television, news publications, and social media platforms. Political humour is thus increasingly positioned at the epicentre of contemporary political engagement-particularly among younger generations-yet little is known about its impact on citizens' emotions, attitudes, and behaviour.
Political and social divisions are increasing within contemporary Western democracies, with those on each side becoming increasingly entrenched in their worldview and unwilling to compromise their ideological principles. This polarisation can be reinforced by the incendiary content and tone of political humour, thus inflaming conflicts in civil society. For instance, political humour that targets religious figures (e.g., the Prophet Muhammad or the Catholic Pope) has incited vehement protest among those who disagree.
Given the broad and potentially profound reach of political humour, it is important to understand its impact on citizens. To address this gap, the proposed research examines the extent to which political humour alienates those who disagree with the communicated message while placating those who agree, and the resulting implications for individuals' level of (dis)engagement with mainstream democratic processes. In particular, we investigate the social psychological factors and processes that underpin the impact of political humour on individuals' attitudes and behaviour.
The project has three objectives:
1. To document the range of emotions elicited by political humour
2. To investigate the impact of political humour on individuals' attitudes
3. To examine the impact of political humour on individuals' behaviour
These objectives will be addressed with nine studies that examine British individuals' responses to political humour, focusing on amusement, irritation, and other emotional responses (Studies 1 to 3), political attitudes (Studies 4 to 9), and political behaviour (Studies 8 and 9). Experimental materials (e.g., political cartoons) will be drawn from real-world materials available in the public domain (e.g., social media, news outlets) or developed by political organisations (e.g., unions, local political parties).
This project will have important academic and social benefits. Results will contribute to the development of scholarly frameworks of political humour and satire, as well as theory about the factors that shape political attitudes and political behaviour. Project findings will also help political and community organisations to develop more effective campaigns to educate and mobilise their members. Lastly, the results will help inform editors' decisions regarding the publication of political humour.
Political and social divisions are increasing within contemporary Western democracies, with those on each side becoming increasingly entrenched in their worldview and unwilling to compromise their ideological principles. This polarisation can be reinforced by the incendiary content and tone of political humour, thus inflaming conflicts in civil society. For instance, political humour that targets religious figures (e.g., the Prophet Muhammad or the Catholic Pope) has incited vehement protest among those who disagree.
Given the broad and potentially profound reach of political humour, it is important to understand its impact on citizens. To address this gap, the proposed research examines the extent to which political humour alienates those who disagree with the communicated message while placating those who agree, and the resulting implications for individuals' level of (dis)engagement with mainstream democratic processes. In particular, we investigate the social psychological factors and processes that underpin the impact of political humour on individuals' attitudes and behaviour.
The project has three objectives:
1. To document the range of emotions elicited by political humour
2. To investigate the impact of political humour on individuals' attitudes
3. To examine the impact of political humour on individuals' behaviour
These objectives will be addressed with nine studies that examine British individuals' responses to political humour, focusing on amusement, irritation, and other emotional responses (Studies 1 to 3), political attitudes (Studies 4 to 9), and political behaviour (Studies 8 and 9). Experimental materials (e.g., political cartoons) will be drawn from real-world materials available in the public domain (e.g., social media, news outlets) or developed by political organisations (e.g., unions, local political parties).
This project will have important academic and social benefits. Results will contribute to the development of scholarly frameworks of political humour and satire, as well as theory about the factors that shape political attitudes and political behaviour. Project findings will also help political and community organisations to develop more effective campaigns to educate and mobilise their members. Lastly, the results will help inform editors' decisions regarding the publication of political humour.
Planned Impact
The studies in this project will be designed in consultation with local chapters of the University and College Union, the Conservative Party, and the Labour Party. Societal benefits from the research results have been identified for three stakeholder groups: (1) community and third-sector organisations; (2) media outlets that publish political humour; and (3) the general public. Furthermore (4) the research team will benefit from the project.
(1) Community and third-sector organisations seek to increase individuals' awareness of political or social issues, and/or recruit them to participate in political or charitable activities. Such organisations-which include labour unions, political parties, voluntary organisations, charities, and community organisations-continually seek to improve the campaign materials they use to educate and mobilise their members and the broader public. Results from this project will help facilitate these efforts: when organisations better understand the impact of political humour on attitudes and behaviour, they can make informed decisions about when and how to incorporate humour in their materials. This evidence-based approach can thus enhance the effectiveness and sustainability of these organisations.
(2) The second stakeholder group likely to benefit from our research includes print, online, radio, and television media outlets. Results from this project will elucidate the ways in which political humour shape media users' emotions and political attitudes. Such knowledge will be useful to editorial teams as they consider how best to fulfil their public responsibility to keep their audience informed; their ethical responsibility to provide fair and truthful coverage of a chosen subject; and their fiscal responsibility to publish material that engages readers and thus maintains profit margins for their investors. As such, this project will help editorial teams make better-informed decisions regarding whether they should publish a particular piece of political humour, and whether they should feature a range of views when deciding to publish political humour on a particular subject. Such evidence-based changes to publication policies are most likely to help editors achieve their goals.
(3) Our third target audience is the general public, who will benefit from enhanced cultural enrichment and public engagement with societal issues. Individuals and groups who are already interested in political and social issues will be curious to learn about a novel analysis of political communication, and will benefit from the opportunity to reflect on the factors that shape their own attitudes and behaviour. Those individuals who are generally less engaged with political and social issues may be intrigued by the novel and interesting topic of political humour. Thus, dissemination of the project's findings may well stimulate broader civic discussion in British society, with involvement from broad cross-sections of the population who might normally report indifference or scepticism about engaging with political or issues.
(4) Lastly, the research team-including PI Iyer, Co-Is Grasso and Pattie, and the Post-Doctoral Research Associate-will receive training and development during this project, such as media skills and public engagement. Such skills will enhance their professional portfolio and will improve their work on other projects within their research groups and departments.
(1) Community and third-sector organisations seek to increase individuals' awareness of political or social issues, and/or recruit them to participate in political or charitable activities. Such organisations-which include labour unions, political parties, voluntary organisations, charities, and community organisations-continually seek to improve the campaign materials they use to educate and mobilise their members and the broader public. Results from this project will help facilitate these efforts: when organisations better understand the impact of political humour on attitudes and behaviour, they can make informed decisions about when and how to incorporate humour in their materials. This evidence-based approach can thus enhance the effectiveness and sustainability of these organisations.
(2) The second stakeholder group likely to benefit from our research includes print, online, radio, and television media outlets. Results from this project will elucidate the ways in which political humour shape media users' emotions and political attitudes. Such knowledge will be useful to editorial teams as they consider how best to fulfil their public responsibility to keep their audience informed; their ethical responsibility to provide fair and truthful coverage of a chosen subject; and their fiscal responsibility to publish material that engages readers and thus maintains profit margins for their investors. As such, this project will help editorial teams make better-informed decisions regarding whether they should publish a particular piece of political humour, and whether they should feature a range of views when deciding to publish political humour on a particular subject. Such evidence-based changes to publication policies are most likely to help editors achieve their goals.
(3) Our third target audience is the general public, who will benefit from enhanced cultural enrichment and public engagement with societal issues. Individuals and groups who are already interested in political and social issues will be curious to learn about a novel analysis of political communication, and will benefit from the opportunity to reflect on the factors that shape their own attitudes and behaviour. Those individuals who are generally less engaged with political and social issues may be intrigued by the novel and interesting topic of political humour. Thus, dissemination of the project's findings may well stimulate broader civic discussion in British society, with involvement from broad cross-sections of the population who might normally report indifference or scepticism about engaging with political or issues.
(4) Lastly, the research team-including PI Iyer, Co-Is Grasso and Pattie, and the Post-Doctoral Research Associate-will receive training and development during this project, such as media skills and public engagement. Such skills will enhance their professional portfolio and will improve their work on other projects within their research groups and departments.
Organisations
Publications
Iyer A
(2021)
Mobilized or marginalized? Understanding low-status groups' responses to social justice efforts led by high-status groups.
in Journal of personality and social psychology
| Description | Manuscript 1 Online discussions of political issues increasingly include humorous analyses that target the typical beliefs and characteristics associated with right-wing or left-wing ideology. Yet, research has not systematically investigated ideological differences in people's reactions to such satire targeting political ideology: do left-wing and right-wing individuals respond in different ways? We examine this question by documenting individuals' perceptions and emotions after viewing satire targeting ingroup or outgroup political ideologies. Two preregistered experiments (total N = 1,602) consistently showed that, relative to right-wing individuals, left-wing individuals reported feeling more annoyed and less amused following exposure to satire targeting political ideology in the form of memes. This ideological asymmetry in responses to political satire was not reliably influenced by target of satire (ingroup or outgroup). Mediation analyses indicated that the ideological asymmetry can be explained by left-wing individuals' greater perception that political satire threatens social cohesion and by their more negative reactions to political incorrectness. There was no evidence that the asymmetry in emotional responses was explained by differences in sense of humour or perceived status differences between ideological groups. Manuscript 2 Memes that mock the beliefs of political groups are widely disseminated via social media. But little is known about how exposure to such satire might shape people's views about these groups. How does humour that mocks a political ingroup or a political outgroup contribute to affective polarisation, the tendency to view the outgroup negatively and the ingroup positively? We investigate this question in three online studies conducted with residents of the United Kingdom who identify as holding left-wing or right-wing political beliefs. Results show that humour mocking the political outgroup results in increased affective polarisation, compared to humour that mocks the political ingroup. |
| Exploitation Route | These manuscripts will soon be submitted to peer-reviewed journals. When they are published, they will add to the knowledge base about the impacts of political humour. The papers outline several directions for future research which could be taken up by other research groups. Furthermore, others will develop new research questions based on the results of the present studies. |
| Sectors | Government, Democracy and Justice |