Keltner, D., Young, R. C., Heerey, E. A., Oemig, C., & Monarch, N. D. (1998). Teasing in hierarchical and intimate relations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 1231-1247.

III. Overview:

How does being teased affect us? This study sought to answer this question by using a "face threat" analysis of teasing. Some researchers hold that social interactions are aimed at safeguarding one's social identity or face and sustaining positive social relations. A face threat analysis of teasing proposes that teasing consists of face-threatening actions that entail certain elements of humor and politeness that reduce the face threat of the tease. As such, a face threat analysis suggests that the face threatening nature of teasing will vary according to several key variables, among them, the nature of the relationship of the persons involved, their personalities, their relative statuses, and their genders. Keltner et al.'s research sought to answer two research questions. First, to what extent does teasing center on deviations from social norms. Second, is teasing influenced by the nature of the social relationship?

IV. General Method:

Two separate studies were conducted. The first involved teasing among high- and low-status fraternity members and the second involved romantic couples. In each case, subjects were asked to make up nicknames for each other that reflected embarrassing incidents. In the first study, subjects filled out self-report questionnaires and their social interactions were videotaped and the following variables were coded: the nature of the teasing, the playful quality of the teasing, nonverbal dominance and submissiveness, and facial behaviors. In the second study, subjects also filled out self-reports regarding their emotions and rated their partner's conflict behavior during a discussion regarding an unresolved issue affecting them. Their social interactions were videotaped and the following variables were coded: the quality of teasing, flirtatious behavior, and teasing during the conflict discussion.

V. Conclusions and Implications:

Keltner et al. discovered that lower-status fraternity members and happy romatic partners tended to tease in positive, prosocial styles that reduced the face threat of the teasing. In addition, the targets of the teasing self-reported more negative emotions, and among romantic couples, women, compared to men, reported the teasing to be more aversive. Thus the social outcome of teasing is affected by the status of the persons involved as well as by one's gender.