Relationship between Emotional Self-Disclosure, Humor Styles, and Social Dysfunctioning in Students of Art and Design

Abstract

The understanding of the complex dynamics of emotional self-disclosure, humor styles, and social dysfunctioning is crucial in the fields of art and design. This research study presents an in-depth exploration of these constructs and their interrelationships in designing students. It was hypothesized that there would be a significant relation between emotional self-disclosure, humor styles and social dysfunctioning in design students. The study sample was consist of 300 participants (50% men & 50% women) from different departments of art and design, aged between 18-25 years. The participants were assessed on the basis of Emotional Self- Disclosure Scale, Humor Styles Questionnaire and Social Functioning Questionnaire. The Pearson Correlation Coefficient, t-test and mediation analyses were conducted to test study hypotheses. The study yielded significant results regarding the relationship between study variables. The findings have shown there were significant correlation between emotional self-disclosure, humor styles and social dysfunctioning, i) affiliative humor was negatively associated with social dysfunctioning, and ii) aggressive humor was positively correlated with social dysfunctioning. The mediation analyses showed that humor styles mediated the association between emotional self- disclosure and social dysfunctioning. Additional findings showed that women tend to show higher emotional self-disclosure and use positive humor styles and men tend to use negative humor styles and scored higher on social dysfunctioning. The findings can be helpful for educational institutions who can work with students and administration collaboratively to support well-being and creativity of students.