Appendix: Tests to Take Before and After Completing the Humor Skills Training Program
[These scales may not be reprinted elsewhere without the written permission of Paul McGhee. You may reproduce as many copies as you need for your own personal use.]
Pre-Test
The pre-test of your attitude, mood and sense of humor will provide you with 1) a good picture of your present sense of humor including its strengths and weaknesses, 2) a basis for determining what aspects of you sense of humor you want to target for special effort, and 3) a base line for comparison with the post-test, so that you can determine how much you've gained by completing the 8-Step Program.
A separate test of your attitude (playful vs. serious) and mood (positive vs. negative) is provided, because your daily attitude and mood influence how easy it is to use your sense of humor when you need a good laugh. Once you've completed the pre-test, do not look at your answers until you've completed Step 8 and the post-test.
Peer/Spouse Rating
In addition to completing the pre-test yourself, ask two other people (or more) who know you well, and who have daily contact with you, to rate your sense of humor using the same pre-test. Make photocopies of the pre-test and ask them to simply substitute you name where it says "I." You should be aware that there is a tendency for friends or colleagues to give you ratings that are higher than the way they actually perceive you. Mention this tendency to them, and ask them to rate you as honestly as possible. Otherwise, the information you will get will be of little use to you. You should also be careful to rate yourself as honestly as possible. No one else will see your ratings, so rate yourself as you really are, not as you'd like to be.
Having other people rate you will give you a better picture of your current sense of humor. You'll be surprised to see that others nay have a very different perception of your sense of humor than you do. Again, you can use this information to select specific steps of the program for extra attention.
One of the rates should be someone you work with - but make sure it's someone who will feel comfortable about rating you honestly. This should also be someone by whom you will not be offended if s/he rates you in a way that does not match your own view of yourself. If possible have two different people at work rate you.
If you are married, ask your spouse to rate you. If his/her ratings differ from yours, be careful not to allow this to generate discord. Use the differences as a starting point for a discussion of why s/he sees you differently than you see yourself.
Assessing Your Sense of Humor
Use the 7-point scale provided just below each questions to answer that question. In the space provided to the left of each item, indicate the extent to which you agree with the statement by writing a 1, 2, 3, etc. in that space. Avoid the tendency to give what you consider a "good" answer. Be honest with yourself.
For the first two tests, use the 7-point scale provided just below each question to answer that question. In the space to the left of each item, indicate the extent to which you agree with the statement by writing a 1, 2, 3, etc. in that space. Avoid the tendency to give what you consider a "good" answer. Be honest with yourself.
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Playful/Serious Attitude Scale |
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1. I am in a serious frame of mind most of the time. |
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2. I am a very spontaneous person. |
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3. I think it's important to always adopt a serious demeanor at work. |
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4. I have a lot of fun in my life. |
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5. I prefer friends who are generally pretty serious. |
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6. I prefer spending time with people who are good at what they do, but know how to have fun and enjoy life. |
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7. I get annoyed by people who are playful at work. |
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8. I often adopt a playful attitude in everyday life. |
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Total PSA Score (add items 1-8) |
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Positive/Negative Mood Scale |
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1. I would describe my current outlook on life as |
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2. These days, my typical mood is |
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3. These days, I am generally |
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4. I have a lot of joy in my life. |
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5. I often get very frustrated on my job. |
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6. I am often depressed. |
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7. I am often anxious. |
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8. I am often angry. |
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Total PNM Score (add items 1-8) |
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Sense of Humor Scale |
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Use the 7-point scale provided here to answer the rest of the items below. Again, avoid the tendency to give what you consider a "good" answer. Be honest with yourself. (Please note that joke- and story-telling has been omitted from this scale.) |
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Enjoyment of Humor |
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1. I generally look for sit coms or other funny programs to watch on TV. |
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2. When I pick up magazines, I generally look at the cartoons in them first. |
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3. When I go to the movies, my preference is generally to see a good comedy. |
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4. It is important for me to have a lot of humor in my life. |
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Total EH score (add items 1-4) |
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Laughter |
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5. I have a good belly laugh many times each day. |
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6. I have a heartier, more robust laugh than most people. |
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7. I feel comfortable laughing, even when others aren't. |
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8. One or both of my parents laughed a lot when I was growing up. |
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Total L score (add items 5-8) |
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Verbal Humor |
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9. I often tell jokes. |
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10. I often tell funny stories. |
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11. I often create my own spontaneous puns. |
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12. I often make other spontaneous witty remarks (other than 9-11). |
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Total VH score (add items 9-12) |
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Finding Humor in Everyday Life |
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13. I often find humor in things that happen at work. |
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14. I often find humor in things that happen at home. |
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15. I often find humor in things that happen outside of work & family settings. |
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16. I often share with others the funny incidents I observe, or that happen to me. |
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Total FHEL score (add items 13-16) |
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Laughing at Yourself |
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17. I have no trouble poking fun at my physical imperfections. |
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18. I often find humor in my own embarrassing incidents or personal blunders. |
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19. I often share with others the humor in my blunders/embarrassing incidents. |
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20. I find it easy to laugh when I am the butt of the joke. |
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Total LY score (add items 17-20) |
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Humor Under Stress |
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21. My sense of humor rarely abandons me under stress. |
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22. I often use my sense of humor to control the effect of stress on my mood. |
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23. I often use humor at work to reduce stress and stay effective on the job. |
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24. My sense of humor is my most effective tool in coping with life stress. |
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Total HUS score (add items 21-24) |
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Total Sense of Humor Score (add items 1-24) |
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This is your Humor Quotient. Lowest possible score = 24. Highest = 168. Your goal should be to score somewhere between 140-168. For the Playful/Serious Attitude and Positive/Negative Mood Scales, your goal should be to raise your score up to 50 or higher.
