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White House Wit: How Presidents Use Humor as a Leadership Tool
Author(s) -
Carpenter Dick M.,
Webster Marjory J.,
Bowman Chad K.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
presidential studies quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.337
H-Index - 5
eISSN - 1741-5705
pISSN - 0360-4918
DOI - 10.1111/psq.12492
Subject(s) - white (mutation) , typology , political science , george (robot) , law , management , sociology , art , art history , chemistry , anthropology , economics , gene , biochemistry
This article examines how presidents use humor, specifically wit, as a leadership tool. It uses a sample of more than 500 exchanges between presidents and reporters covering the administrations of Franklin Roosevelt to George W. Bush. Content analysis using deductive coding based on a typology of humor uses reveals presidents most often used neutral humor to deflect questions from reporters in order to avoid answering directly. This type of humor was used consistently throughout the years covered in the study.