Richmond Humor Assessment Instrument

The Richmond Humor Assessment Instrument (RHAI) was designed to be a self-report measure of an individual's use of humor in communication. Unlike some other similar measures, this instrument does not focus on a particular kind of humor (such as story telling). Alpha reliability estimates for this measure have been near .90. 

Directions: The following statements apply to how people communicate humor when relating to others. Indicate the degree to which each of these statements applies to you by filling in the number of your response in the blank before each item:

5 = Strongly Agree; 4 = Agree; 3 = Undecided; 2 = Disagree; 1 = Strongly Disagree

_____1. I regularly communicate with others by joking with them.

_____2. People usually laugh when I make a humorous remark.

_____3. I am not funny or humorous.

_____4. I can be amusing or humorous without having to tell a joke.

_____5. Being humorous is a natural communication orientation for me.

_____6. I cannot relate an amusing idea well.

_____7. My friends would say that I am a humorous or funny person.

_____8. People don't seem to pay close attention when I am being funny.

_____9. Even funny ideas and stories seem dull when I tell them.

_____10. I can easily relate funny or humorous ideas to the class.

_____11. I would say that I am not a humorous person.

_____12. I cannot be funny, even when asked to do so.

_____13. I relate amusing stories, jokes, and funny things very well to others.

_____14. Of all the people I know, I am one of the "least" amusing or funny persons.

_____15. I use humor to communicate in a variety of situations.

_____16. On a regular basis, I do not communicate with others by being humorous or entertaining.

SCORING: To compute your scores, add your scores for each item as indicated below:

Recode items 2, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, and 16 with the following format:

1=5

2=4

3=3

4=2

5=1

After you have recoded the previous questions, add all of the numbers together to get your composite RHAI score.

Score should be between 16 and 80. Scores of 60 and above indicate high degrees of humor usage; Scores of 30 and below indicate low of humor usage; Scores between 30 and 60 indicate moderate degrees of humor usage.

Sources:

Richmond, V. P., Wrench, J. S., & Gorham, J.(2001).Communication, affect, and learning in the classroom. Acton, MA: Tapestry Press.

Wrench, J. S., & McCroskey, J. C. (2001). A temperamental understanding of humor communication and exhilaratability. Communication Quarterly, 49, 170-183.