ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how positive, negative, and avoiding humor use might relate to two other important relational constructs: the degree of relationship satisfaction and the type of situation involved. It describes how individuals in close relationships report using humor and then delineate how both relationship satisfaction and the type of situation might pertain to humor use in romantic relationships, including the proposal that these two constructs might interact to predict humor use. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that individuals who were more satisfied with their relationship reported higher levels of positive humor use and lower levels of negative and avoiding humor use. Furthermore, lower levels of negative and avoiding humor use were reported for the conflict situation. Considerable research has shown that couples who report lower levels of satisfaction generally behave less positively toward each other, exhibiting higher levels of negative affect and lower levels of relationship stability.
