The Fear of Being Laughed at in Switzerland

Abstract

This study compares the characteristics and possible causes of gelotophobia (the fear of being laughed at) in different parts of Switzerland. In addition, we examined how gelotophobia was related to variables of positive psychological functioning. The first study (N = 1,006) revealed that gelotophobia can be found in all language regions of Switzerland with an approximate prevalence of 5%. The results suggest that cultural background is more relevant for the development of gelotophobia than the language spoken in the respective area. The second study (N = 196) showed gelotophobia to be negatively related to subjective well-being, grit (i.e., a perseverance and passion for long-term goals), gratitude, cognitive aspects of subjective well-being, and subjective happiness. Variables of positive psychological functioning contribute to the understanding of the experiential world of gelotophobes, but might also be relevant when developing interventions to alleviate the fear of being laughed at.