of Humor Associated With Liking for the Coach?
Would a coach who has a better sense of humor be liked more by players? The participants in one study (Burke and Peterson, 1995) were female volleyball players in high school. The study involved the evaluation of six female and two male coaches. They found that the perceived sense of humor of coaches was positively correlated with judgments of liking for the coaches. (1)
The participants in another study (Grisaffe, Blom, and Burke, 2003) were male and female soccer players from a university. For both head and assistant coaches, they found that perceived sense of humor was positively correlated with judgments of liking. (2)
These findings suggest that greater perceived sense of humor of coaches is associated with greater liking. Because the above findings are correlational, we cannot make causal conclusion. Other possible explanations for the findings cannot be ruled out. Nonetheless, it would seem to be beneficial for coaches to have a good sense of humor. Humor may demonstrate to the players that a coach is good-natured. Humor might possibly increase enjoyment of a game or acceptance of failure. More research may be needed.
Notes
1. See their article for information on other findings.
2. See their article for information on other findings.
References
Burke, K. L., & Peterson, D. (1995). The effects of the coaches' use of
humor on female volleyball players' evaluation of their coaches. Journal
of Sport Behavior, 18, 83-90.
Grisaffe, C., Blom, L. C., Burke, K. L. (2003). The effects of head and
assistant coaches' use of humor on collegiate soccer players'
evaluation of their coaches. Journal of Sport Behavior, 26, 103-108.