Date of Award:

5-2001

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Psychology

Committee Chair(s)

David Stein

Committee

David Stein

Committee

Susan Crowley

Committee

Mary Doty

Abstract

The current study was designed to test the theory that daily exposure to humorous material would reduce depressive symptoms. Thirty-eight undergraduate students endorsing depressive symptoms were randomly assigned to either a humor or comparison group. Dependent variables were scores on the Beck Depression Inventory, the Social Activities Scale from the Interpersonal Events Schedule, and the Positive and Negative Daily Affect Schedule. The humor group intervention consisted of take-home videotaped recordings of humorous materials. The comparison group intervention consisted of take-home video taped recordings of educational materials with motivational themes. Results indicated that subjects in both groups exhibited significant reductions in depressive symptoms. However, subjects in the humor group showed significant increases in social activities and daily affectual gains, while the comparison group subjects showed no such changes. Plausible reasons for the current findings as well as implications are discussed.

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