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Humorous Complaining

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  • A. Peter McGraw
  • Caleb Warren
  • Christina Kan

Abstract

Although complaints document dissatisfaction, some are also humorous. The article introduces the concept of humorous complaining and draws on the benign violation theory--which proposes that humor arises from things that seem simultaneously wrong yet okay--to examine how being humorous helps and hinders complainers. Six studies, which use social media and online reviews as stimuli, show that humorous complaints benefit people who want to warn, entertain, and make a favorable impression on others. Further, in contrast to the belief that humor is beneficial but consistent with the benign violation theory, humor makes complaints seem more positive (by making an expression of dissatisfaction seem okay), but makes praise seem more negative (by making an expression of satisfaction seem wrong in some way). Finally, a benign violation approach perspective also reveals that complaining humorously has costs. Because being humorous suggests that a dissatisfying situation is okay, humorous complaints are less likely to elicit redress or sympathy from others than nonhumorous complaints.

Suggested Citation

  • A. Peter McGraw & Caleb Warren & Christina Kan, 2015. "Humorous Complaining," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 41(5), pages 1153-1171.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jconrs:doi:10.1086/678904
    DOI: 10.1086/678904
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Jing Ge & Ulrike Gretzel, 2018. "Impact of humour on firm-initiated social media conversations," Information Technology & Tourism, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 61-83, April.
    2. Junegak Joung & Ki-Hun Kim & Kwangsoo Kim, 2021. "Data-Driven Approach to Dual Service Failure Monitoring From Negative Online Reviews: Managerial Perspective," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(1), pages 21582440209, January.
    3. Mansur Khamitov & Yany Grégoire & Anshu Suri, 2020. "A systematic review of brand transgression, service failure recovery and product-harm crisis: integration and guiding insights," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 519-542, May.
    4. Yang, Hongyan & Xu, Hong & Zhang, Yan & Liang, Yan & Lyu, Ting, 2022. "Exploring the effect of humor in robot failure," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    5. Ana Babić Rosario & Kristine Valck & Francesca Sotgiu, 2020. "Conceptualizing the electronic word-of-mouth process: What we know and need to know about eWOM creation, exposure, and evaluation," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 422-448, May.
    6. Bitterly, T. Bradford & Schweitzer, Maurice E., 2019. "The impression management benefits of humorous self-disclosures: How humor influences perceptions of veracity," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 73-89.
    7. Tobias Maiberger & David Schindler & Nicole Koschate-Fischer, 2024. "Let’s face it: When and how facial emojis increase the persuasiveness of electronic word of mouth," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 52(1), pages 119-139, January.
    8. de Campos Ribeiro, Gisèle & Butori, Raphaëlle & Le Nagard, Emmanuelle, 2018. "The determinants of approval of online consumer revenge," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 212-221.
    9. Tung Moi Chiew & Christine Mathies & Paul Patterson, 2019. "The effect of humour usage on customer’s service experiences," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 44(1), pages 109-127, February.

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