Danzer A, Dale J A, Klions H L
Department of Psychology, Allegheny College, Meadville, PA 16335.
Psychol Rep. 1990 Jun;66(3 Pt 1):1027-36. doi: 10.2466/pr0.1990.66.3.1027.
In testing the hypothesis that exposure to humor may be used to relieve the symptoms of depression, 38 female undergraduates were shown depressive slides of the Velten (1968) mood statements and then assigned to one of three groups. One group heard a humorous audiotape, the second group heard a nonhumorous tape, while a third waiting control heard no tape. Heart rate and zygomatic (smile) and corrugator (frown) muscle tensions were recoreded during slide and tape presentations. The Multiple Affect Adjective Check List, administered before and after slide and tape presentations, showed depression induction was successful. Only the humor group decreased depression scores to the preexperimental baseline, although both the humor and waiting groups showed significant decreases in depression scores after the treatment. Zygomatic muscle tension was greater during the humor treatment than other treatments. Heart rate decreased across depression induction for the waiting control only, but increased during the humor and nonhumor treatments. Seven women, who were not included in the above analysis because their initial MAACL depression scores were at least one SD above the mean, showed a paradoxical decrease in depression scores after the depression induction. Implications of the results as they relate to possible interventions for depression are discussed.
为了验证接触幽默可用于缓解抑郁症状这一假设，对38名本科女生展示了韦尔滕（1968年）情绪陈述的抑郁幻灯片，然后将她们分为三组。一组听幽默录音带，第二组听非幽默录音带，而第三组等待对照组则不听任何录音带。在展示幻灯片和录音带期间记录心率以及颧骨（微笑）和皱眉肌（皱眉）的肌肉张力。在展示幻灯片和录音带之前和之后进行的《多重情感形容词检查表》显示，抑郁诱导是成功的。只有幽默组的抑郁得分降至实验前的基线水平，尽管幽默组和等待组在治疗后的抑郁得分均显著下降。在幽默治疗期间，颧骨肌肉张力比其他治疗期间更大。仅等待对照组的心率在抑郁诱导过程中下降，但在幽默和非幽默治疗期间升高。有七名女性未纳入上述分析，因为她们最初的《多重情感形容词检查表》抑郁得分至少比平均值高出一个标准差，她们在抑郁诱导后的抑郁得分出现了反常下降。讨论了这些结果与抑郁症可能的干预措施相关的意义。
