The Role of Humor in Millennial Life

Name:
Educational Qualifications:
Profession:
Construct: Humor can be defined as the “the ability to indulge in comic relief, as
a response, when stress is appraised cognitively from external and/or
internal demands”.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1)These are 50 items that belong to a trial run for the construction of the scale titled 'The
Role of Humor in Millennial Life'.
2)The motive is to understand whether humor is used as a coping mechanism in the face of
stress by millennials. The participants will be answering this item by responding to any one
of the 5 options (Never, Rarely, Occasionally, Often, Regularly).
3)Kindly rate each item from 1(very bad), 2(bad), 3(okay), 4(good), 5(very good) on how
well it tests the construct using the style of humor mentioned in face of that particular
domain.
SR. RATING
ITEMS
NO. (1 to 5)
Style Affiliative: Using humor to bond or make social interactions  
Domai
Academic Stress  
n
In order to establish my presence in a group, I crack jokes about
1  
pending assignments everyone will relate to.

When the pressure of scoring good marks is high, I share funny

2  
memes about it with my friends.

When with classmates, I try to bond by joking about project

3  
submissions and deadlines.
Domai
Romantic Involvement  
n
When I am attracted to someone and want to talk to them, I crack
4  
jokes to approach them.

I enjoy sharing funny stories on “couple problems” with my

5  
friends, to avoid feeling sad about being single.
Domai
Competitive Career  
n
I exaggerate my issues while chatting with my fellow colleagues
6  
and to make them laugh at my problems.
 When with my colleagues/peers, I like making jokes about the
7  
nervousness faced while giving job interviews.
Domai
Family Expectations  
n
When there is a fight in my family, I use jokes to resolve issues
8  
with my family members.

9 I make fun of parental authority when hanging out with my friends.  

Domai
Body Image Issues  
n
When someone suggests dieting, I crack jokes about how I can’t
10  
control myself around food.

I try to make jokes about unrealistic beauty standards (Fair &

11 Lovely, slim figure) with my friends, inspite of being worried about  
my own looks constantly.

Self Enhancing: Using humor to try and make the situation less
Style  
tense/awkward
Domai
Academic Stress  
n
In order to diffuse exam stress, I try to relax by making jokes about
12  
it.
I try to learn difficult content for examinations, using humorous
13  
stories.

When giving a presentation, I start with a joke or humorous

14  
comment to diffuse the tension.
Domai
Romantic Involvement  
n

If my partner makes important decisions without taking my

15 consent, I would try to trivialise its importance by mocking or  
joking about it.

If my partner is angry with me, I will try joking and making them
16  
laugh.

If my partner and I get into a fight, I would avoid it by being

17  
amused at the ups and downs of my romantic life.
Domai
Competitive Career  
n
 When my friends/colleagues make me feel inferior in any way, I try
18  
to laugh along with them about it.

If my contributions in a task are not acknowledged by my

19  
peers/team mates, I often try to make fun of the task.

Domai
Family Expectations  
n
When I'm not able to fulfill the expectations of my family, I tend to
20  
make jokes to distract them.

If my family members disapprove of my decisions, I tend to laugh

21  
at their reasoning.

22 When my family insults me, I join them to diffuse the situation.  

Domai
Body Image Issues  
n
When my relatives pass remarks on me gaining/losing weight, I use
23  
my wit to defend myself.

When someone makes fun of my physical imperfections, I joke

24  
about it to pretend I don’t care.

Aggressive: Using humor to make oneself superior by putting

Style  
someone else down
Domai
Academic Stress  
n
I pass sarcastic remarks within my group of friends when a superior
25  
has just pointed out my mistakes.

When I face trouble with professor, I use my professor’s funny

26  
nickname and mimic him/her  in front of my friends and laugh.

If I can’t concentrate on my studies then I make fun of the person

27  
who is actually studying.
Domai
Romantic Involvement  
n
When a person I like rejects me, I often make fun of them in front
28  
their friends.
 In order to lighten up the mood after a fight, I would mimic or joke
29  
about my partner.

If questioned about the seriousness of the relationship, I would

30  
make fun of my partner’s weaknesses to avoid answering.

Domai
Competitive Career  
n
When I don’t get good marks in an exam, I tease my friends who
31  
scored better than me.

When I am stressed about assignment/office-work and someone

32  
else is being roasted, I too join in.

I tend to make fun of overly career oriented people, as I lack

33  
seriousness in the matter.
Domai
Family Expectations  
n

When my parents expect something from me, I make humorous

34  
question them about their achievements at my age.

When my family assigns me house chores, I joke about how they

35  
don’t work at all and I do all the chores.
Domai
Body Image Issues  
n
When someone targets my physical appearance, I use sarcastic
36  
comments to defend myself.

I tend to defend my body attributes by making fun of someone

37  
else’s unattractive features.

Style Self Deprecating: Using humor by making fun of one's own self  
Domai
Academic Stress  
n
I make fun of the field I’m studying in because I worry it’s not
38  
interesting enough.

39 I make fun of my own low grades.  

I choose to laugh at my academic failures, to avoid feeling sad
40  
about it.
Domai
Romantic Involvement  
n
I will try to make jokes about my mistakes in order to avoid
41  
argument with my partner.

I joke about my insecurities with my partner to hide my true

42  
feelings.
Domai
Competitive Career  
n
43  
I tend to make jokes about my mistakes at work.

44 I make fun of myself when I am unable to do something that others  

my age are able to do easily.
When a senior finds fault with my work I avoid it by talking about
45  
my inabilities in humorous ways.
Domai
Family Expectations  
n
I make jokes about myself to alleviate the critical remarks from my
46  
family.

When my parents find me at fault I try to wiggle my way out by

47  
joking about my mistake.

I tend to joke about my grades to avoid serious conversations with

48  
my parents about them.
Domai
Body Image Issues  
n
49 I often joke about my actual inability to love my body.  

I often make fun of the way I look so that others laugh along with
50  
me and not at me.

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