Gelotophobia, personality and emotion ratings following emotion-inducing scenarios

Using measures of personality and emotion not previously employed in gelotophobia research, the study investigated the relationship between gelotophobia and emotion ratings after controlling for personality. The relationship between gelotophobia and sensory sensitivity was also investigated. Using the Big Five Inventory to measure personality, and the Highly Sensitive Person Scale to measure sensory sensitivity, the results supported previous research correlating gelotophobia with introversion and neuroticism. Six emotion scenarios were presumed to induce feelings of shame, shyness or embarrassment, and nine emotions were rated using the Differential Emotions Scale. When links to emotion ratings were explored, the research clearly supported previous research indicating the importance of fear. The expected link between gelotophobia and shame was supported for some scenarios, though shame was of slightly less relevance than sadness and guilt in the present study. It is suggested that subtle aspects of the situation, including the scenarios, the ratings measures, and the cultural background of the participants, may have contributed to the pattern of results.