Examining the Relationships between Sense of Humor Styles, Emotional Intelligence, and Social Competence among Pakistani Youth

Abstract

This study investigates the interrelations among sense of humor, emotional intelligence (EI), and social competence within a sample of 270 higher secondary school, undergraduate, and postgraduate students, aged between 18 and 30 years. Employing measures of humor styles, social competence, and emotional intelligence, the research identifies noteworthy associations. Notably, emotion regulation ability exhibits a positive and significant correlation with self-enhancing and affiliate humor styles. Conversely, the aptitude to employ emotions accurately shows a negative relationship with aggressive and self-defeating humor styles. Positive humor styles demonstrate positive correlations with multiple domains of social competence, whereas negative humor styles display negative correlations with both social competence and emotional intelligence. Additionally, the study scrutinizes gender disparities in emotional intelligence and humor styles, revealing negligible gender differences in both constructs. These findings provide valuable insights into the complex interactions among humor, emotional intelligence, and social competence, shedding light on their relevance within the context of Pakistani students.