When Humor Appeals Fail and When They Succeed: Using Latent Profile Analysis to Identify Audience Receptivity to Humorous Messages

This study contributes to theory in persuasion and humor by hypothesizing distinct audience segments that determine how people respond to humor appeals. Across two studies, using a multiple message design and two different humor appeals, we specify and validate four discrete audience segments, referred to here as audience receptivity profiles, that align with previous theorizing and are differentially related to persuasion. Findings suggest that those with different audience receptivity profiles vary in whether they find humor appeals humorous, resulting in increased perceptions of humor and message-consistent persuasive effects among audiences who belong to supportive audience receptivity profiles, and decreased humor as well as increased likelihood of unintended effects among audiences who belong to non-supportive audience receptivity profiles. These findings align with previous theorizing in this area, and highlight when humor may have deleterious effects on audiences whose attitudes and values suggest they are most open to persuasive attempts.