Psychologists and researchers have established that the ability to laugh at oneself offers significant benefits for mental health, personal relationships, and overall life prospects, settling a historical debate that dates to ancient philosophy.
Recent scientific developments have moved past long-standing skepticism regarding whether self-directed humour is even possible or healthy.
Ancient Greek philosopher Plato argued that humour was rooted in feelings of superiority and warned that extreme, uncontrolled laughter could trigger dangerous emotional disturbances, reports BBC.
Over a millennium later, in 1651, English philosopher Thomas Hobbes agreed with Plato’s superiority theory, allowing only a single exception for self-laughter when individuals reflect on past foolishness to show how much worldlier they have since become.
While the 18th-century “incongruity theory” proposed that laughter stems from unexpected violations of social norms, the actual capability of individuals to laugh at themselves remained highly contested until recently.
In 2011, European researchers scientifically proved the phenomenon by covertly videotaping subjects as they unexpectedly encountered distorted, fun-house mirror style images of their own faces.
The study revealed that 80 per cent of participants smiled at the images, while 40 per cent laughed aloud.
“Now the science is quite settled that yes, it is possible to laugh at oneself, and there are actually quite numerous benefits associated with that,” said Sonja Heintz, a lecturer in psychology at Plymouth University in the United Kingdom.
According to experts, the consequences of this trait emerge early in life. A 1990s study on peer rejection among schoolchildren identified two distinct excluded archetypes: those who were aggressive and bullying, and those who were meek and subservient.
Although differing in behaviour, both groups shared an inability to take a joke, responding to teasing with either anger or withdrawal, whereas socially assured children shrugged off or were amused by the humour.
For some individuals, self-laughter remains an immense challenge. Influential American humour researcher Paul McGhee noted in 2010 that learning to laugh at oneself is the penultimate step in his seven-step humour programme designed for those suffering from “terminal seriousness”.
Those who highly dislike being laughed at may suffer from gelotophobia, a condition characterised by an acute sensitivity to laughter.
René Proyer, a psychology professor at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg in Germany, explained that gelotophobes often perceive even friendly smiles as signs of ridicule. Risk factors for gelotophobia include strict parenting, childhood trauma from school bullying, and autism.
Researchers note a cultural dimension; East Asian collectivistic cultures show higher levels of gelotophobia compared to Western countries, as individuals in these societies are less likely to single themselves out or use humour as a coping mechanism, often viewing humour as a skill best left to professional comedians.
Gelotophobia has been linked to lower life satisfaction, friendship avoidance, loneliness, and depression.
In contrast, gelotophilia, the joy of being laughed at, is linked to stronger social connectedness and “playfulness”.
“Playful people are able to frame or reframe everyday situations in a way such that they experience them as entertaining or intellectually stimulating or personally interesting,” Proyer said.
In a study by Proyer, participants who spent 10 minutes each evening for a week writing down three playful daily occurrences reported increased playfulness, reduced depressiveness, and greater happiness up to three months later.
Playfulness has also been established as a predictor of higher self-esteem and relationship satisfaction.
The nature of self-directed humour has also undergone a theoretical shift. In 2003, Canadian researchers introduced the Humor Styles Questionnaire, which categorised humour into affiliative, self-enhancing, aggressive, and self-defeating styles.
Claire Fox, a professor of psychology of education at the University of Bristol, noted that this was the first model to consider both adaptive and maladaptive humour.
While self-enhancing humour was deemed adaptive, “self-defeating” humour, where individuals mock their own weaknesses to gain social acceptance, was initially classified as a maladaptive trait indicating low self-esteem and higher risks of anxiety and depression.
However, Heintz’s research challenged these assumptions. When comparing self-defeatists to other humour types, she found that self-defeating humour was actually associated with higher self-esteem and better interpersonal relationships. Participants reported using self-mockery as a constructive way to cope with insecurities and connect with others.
Heintz suggested that the perceived link between self-defeating humour and poor mental health stems from correlational data and methodological flaws in the questionnaire itself, which often forces value judgements.
She is currently working on a paper evaluating 25 years of the questionnaire to propose a scale revision, while other researchers are developing new scales to distinguish between self-defeating humour and healthy “self-deprecating” humour.
The impacts of self-defeating humour also depend heavily on context. A 2014 study by Fox showed that victimised schoolchildren used more self-defeating humour over time.
However, her 2016 follow-up study revealed that children labelled as “humour endorsers”, who used self-defeating humour in combination with the other three humour styles, suffered no social or self-esteem penalties, unlike “self-defeatists” who relied solely on self-defeating humour.
“This suggested that it’s actually okay to use self-defeating humour, as long as you’re using it in combination with other styles of humour as well,” Fox explained.
Learning to laugh at oneself facilitates “self-transcendence,” enabling individuals to maintain objective distance from setbacks and opt for positive emotional responses over anger or gloom. It also serves as a safe social icebreaker.
In professional settings, a study by Fox showed that university lecturers who use self-defeating humour are viewed more positively by students, while individuals who laugh off minor mistakes are perceived as warmer and more competent.
For those wishing to cultivate this attitude, McGhee advised confronting “no-laugh zones”, such as height, weight, baldness, or clumsiness, head-on to experience a sense of liberation.
Heintz suggested starting small by admitting minor insecurities and making light of them, such as joking about wearing the same old jeans or shopping at Temu, before gradually progressing to deeper vulnerabilities.
