Open To Laugh: The Role Of Openness To Experience In Humor Production Ability

Across two preregistered studies, we addressed the following questions: (1) Does the Big Five personality trait openness to experience predict humor production ability above and beyond intelligence and demographics? (2) Which aspect of openness to experience (intellect vs. openness) predicts humor production ability? In Study 1 (N = 489), participants self-reported on demographics, socioeconomic status (SES), and personality, and were tested on intelligence and humor production. Structural equation modeling showed that openness to experience (beta = .28, 95% CI [.14,.42]) predicted humor production ability above and beyond intelligence, demographics, SES, and other personality traits. Study 2 (N = 414) replicated and extended Study 1. Specifically, we found that openness to experience predicted humor production ability above and beyond the other predictors (beta = .21, 95% CI [.03,.28]), and that, of the two aspects of openness to experience, openness (but not intellect) drove the association between personality and humor production ability.