Date of Graduation

5-2021

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Counselor Education and Supervision (PhD)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders

Advisor/Mentor

Higgins, Kristin K.

Committee Member

Christian, David D.

Second Committee Member

Willmering, Penny

Third Committee Member

Miller, Michael T.

Fourth Committee Member

Mulvenon, Sean W.

Keywords

Counseling; Counselor Education; Employee Assistance Program (EAP); Job Satisfaction; Laughter; Mental Health; Non-articipatory interventions; Occupational Stress; Priming; Supraliminal Laughter; Work Groups

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze the importance of laughter as a factor in influencing employee job satisfaction ratings. The Job Satisfaction Survey (Spector, 1985, 1997) and pulses of laughter were used in this study. To explore the relationship between laughter and job satisfaction, results of the Job Satisfaction Survey (Spector, 1994) were collected quarterly (four times a year) for three consecutive years, beginning six months prior to the start of the two-year study and six months post. The study sample was composed of 545 employees (34% male, 66% female) operating out of 10 employee-owned retail chain locations across Midwestern United States. A quasi-experimental, time-series research model, utilizing a one-way repeated measure multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used in this study. The MANOVA determined significant differences existed. Further studies should be carried out in different settings to shed light on the versatility of laughter on job satisfaction and laughter pulses as a means of non-participatory intervention.

Keywords: job satisfaction, supraliminal laughter, occupational stress, employee assistance program (EAP), mental health, counseling, priming, non-participatory interventions, counselor education

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