title: Humor as a character strength among the elderly: theoretical considerations.
abstract: Positive psychology is a scientific approach within psychology that focuses on research on what is best in people. Within this framework, humor is understood as a character strength. The article gives a brief overview on positive psychology and implications for aging (positive aging, successful aging) with an emphasis on the contribution of humor. Humor as a strength of character and its measurement by various approaches are discussed. It is argued that there is a lack of empirical data about humor in the elderly. Potential benefits of considering humor in research but also in practice are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Section on Personality and Assessment, Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Binzmühlestr. 14/7, 8050, Zürich, Schweiz. w.ruch@psychologie.uzh.ch
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ruch
authors.forename: R T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Proyer
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weber
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged / Q000523:psychology*; D000369:Aged, 80 and over / Q000523:psychology*; D001290:Attitude; D002605:Character; D005260:Female; D006240:Happiness; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D013694:Temperament; D014925:Wit and Humor as Topic / Q000523:psychology*