Humor can help decrease negative emotional reactions in people vulnerable to depression, according to new research published in the journal Brain and Behavior. The findings offer preliminary evidence that humor could be an effective emotion regulation strategy.
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The researchers then instructed the participants to view more of these pictures. But this time, the participants were asked to comment on them. Sometimes the participants were told to comment on the situation depicted in the photo in a humorous way, while at other times they were told to generate positive comments about the picture. Sometimes they were simply asked to describe what they saw.
When participants were asked to make a humorous comment, they tended to report less negative emotions and more positive emotions after viewing the picture.
