What is the temperamental basis of humour like in China? A cross-national examination and validation of the standard version of the state-trait cheerfulness inventory

Cultural Differences in How People Deal with Ridicule and Laughter: Differential Item Functioning between the Taiwanese Chinese and Canadian English Versions of the PhoPhiKat-45

The PhoPhiKat-45 measures three dispositions toward ridicule and laughter, including gelotophobia (i.e., the fear of being laughed at), gelotophilia (i.e., the joy of being laughed at), and katagelasticism (i.e., the joy of laughing at others). Despite numerous cultural adaptations, there is a paucity of cross-cultural studies investigating measurement invariance of this measure. Undergraduate students from a Canadian university (N = 1467; 71.4% females) and 14 universities in Taiwan (N = 1274; 64.6% females) completed the English and Chinese PhoPhiKat-45 measures, respectively. Item response theory and differential item functioning analyses demonstrated that most items were well-distributed across the latent continuum. Five of 45 items were flagged for DIF, but all values had negligible effect sizes (McFadden's pseudo R² < 0.13). The Canadian sample was further subdivided into subsamples who identified as European White born in Canada (n = 567) and Chinese born in China, Hong Kong, or Taiwan (n = 180). In the subgroup analyses, no evidence of DIF was found. Findings support the utility of this measure across these languages and samples.

The state-trait model of cheerfulness: Tests of measurement invariance and latent mean differences in European and Chinese Canadian students

The State-Trait Cheerfulness Inventory (STCI) assesses latent traits and states of cheerfulness, seriousness, and bad mood to represent the temperamental basis of humor. The present study (1) tested the generalizability of the three-factor model in both state and trait versions of the STCI across European Canadian (N = 489) and first generation Chinese Canadian (N = 147) participants completing the English version of the STCI and (2) compared latent mean differences. Results indicated the confirmatory factor analyses of the three-factor model for European White participants born in Canada and Chinese participants born in China showed adequate fit for both trait and state measures. Furthermore, substantial equivalence of factor model parameters and partial scalar invariance were found for both the state and trait STCI measures. In examining latent mean differences, European White Canadian participants reported significantly higher trait cheerfulness, z = 3.30, p < .001, d = 0.84, and lower trait bad mood z = 3.25, p < .01, d = 0.80 compared to the Chinese Canadian groups. European White Canadian participants reported significantly lower state bad mood, z = 3.59, p < .001, d = 1.15, compared to the Chinese Canadian groups. Limitations and future directions based on study findings are discussed.

The State-Trait Cheerfulness Inventory State Version-Short Form (STCI-S18): An Examination of Language Use and Psychometric Properties

The State-Trait Cheerfulness Inventory-State Version (STCI-S) measures three states of cheerfulness, seriousness, and bad mood as the temperamental basis of humor. The present study investigates (1) the development and psychometric validation of a newly developed short version and (2) test-criterion validity with state measures and language use. Study 1 (N = 933) confirmed the three-dimensional structure, and both the short and standard versions demonstrated strong psychometric properties. Study 2 (N = 617) replicated these findings in a separate sample. Study 3 (N = 750) demonstrated expected intercorrelations with self-report state measures (i.e., inspiration, self-esteem, depression, anxiety). Participants were randomized to expressive writing conditions (i.e., writing about a retrospective cheerful, serious, or bad mood scenario). Unacquainted judges' and participants' ratings of three states in their respective scenarios converged (.44 < r < .62). Retrospective states cheerfulness, seriousness, and bad mood were associated with linguistic categories (e.g., emotional tone, clout, achievement, insight) identified in the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) software. The impact of personality states on word usage may only be evident in specific contexts and situations. Presence of distinctive language use in these writing samples further demonstrated test-criterion validity and practicality of the STCI-S18.

Development and Linguistic Cue Analysis of the State-Trait Cheerfulness Inventory-Short Form

The present study derived a short form of the State-Trait Cheerfulness Inventory-Trait Version (STCI-T30) using an item response theory framework. Latent trait test-retest correlations and reliability across the latent continuum in the STCI-T30 remained high. Moreover, the STCI-T30 showed external validity with criterion variables (e.g., playfulness) and a short writing task completed by these participants was rated by unacquainted judges to infer the author's cheerfulness, seriousness, and bad-mood. Results suggested significant self-other and inter-judge agreement of cheerfulness, seriousness, and bad-mood and linguistic cues analysis suggested cheerfulness and bad-mood manifested through writing in tone, social processes, and affect.

The Italian Version of the State-Trait Cheerfulness Inventory Trait Form: Psychometric Validation and Evaluation of Measurement Invariance

The State-Trait Cheerfulness Inventory–Trait Version (STCI-T60) measures the temperamental basis of sense of humor involving theoretically derived personality dispositions of cheerfulness, seriousness, and bad mood. The reliability and validity of the newly developed STCI-T60 Italian version were assessed in a sample of Italian speakers ( N = 683). Proper fit for a three-dimensional factor structure observed in previous studies was replicated and each factor demonstrated acceptable internal consistency and test–retest reliability. The associations between the STCI subscales and major personality dimensions, optimism, resilience, stress, and general well-being were further examined and results were in the expected directions (e.g., cheerfulness and bad mood being positively and negatively associated with well-being variables, respectively). Cross-cultural invariance examination was conducted to provide more validity data for the Italian STCI. Metric invariance was found between Italian and Canadian English speakers ( N = 632), but scalar invariance was not shown.