TITLE:
Relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Humor Styles in First Year College Students
AUTHORS:
Zahrasari Lukita Dewi, Yeremia Yanuardi
KEYWORDS:
Emotional Intelligence, Humor Style, First-Year Students
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.16 No.2,
February
18,
2025
ABSTRACT: Adaptive humor style can help adjust to the social interactions of first-year college students. This study aims to explore how humor style relates to the level of emotional intelligence (EI). This emotional and social intelligence also plays an important role in college success. This study applies a quantitative research method to 131 male and female emerging adult students in their first year of college in Indonesia, using the Indonesian version of the Humor Styles Questionnaire (HSQ) and the Indonesian version of the BarOn Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i). The results show a significant positive relationship between total EI and affiliative humor and between total EI and self-enhancing humor. This study also finds a significant negative relationship between total EI and aggressive humor, as well as a negative correlation between total EI and self-defeating humor. High EI allows first-year students to manage emotions and respond appropriately to everyday situations. Individuals need these abilities to use adaptive humor. Conversely, low EI makes first-year students less able to manage emotions and respond poorly to situations, leading them to use maladaptive humor.