Appreciation and production of humor as an expression of aggression: A Study of Jews and Arabs in Israel

Two independent samples, each containing Jewish and Arab males in Israel, were tested in the production and appreciation of humor. In the appreciation sample, 50 Jews and 50 Arabs rated 35 jokes that included aggressive jokes, nonaggressive jokes, and jokes with a Jewish/ Arab butt. In the production sample, 139 Jewish and 111 Arab males gave humorous answers to a modified Rosenzweig's Picture Frustration Study, depicting conversations of two men in 13 situations. Two sets of hypotheses were compared. One was derived from the cathartic approach, and postulated that Israeli Arabs, being more frustrated, will express more aggression in humor and more aggression toward a Jewish butt. The second was derived from the social approach and claimed that social status determines the expression of aggression in humor. Members of a minority (Arabs) will express less aggression in humor, despite being more frustrated. Results supported hypotheses derived from the social approach both in appreciation and in the production of humor.