Meaning in Life: Is Humour the Answer?

This study aimed to examine the mediating role of neuroticism in the relationship between materialism and meaning in life. Additionally, the study explored the moderating role of humour, conceptualised as a dispositional positive emotion, in explaining the connection between neuroticism and meaning in life and the proposed mediation mechanism. The research was conducted on a convenience sample of 322 adults, of whom 86% were women, with an average age of 32 years. Materialism (happiness dimension) was measured using the Short Form of the Materialism Scale (Richins, 2004), neuroticism was assessed with the BFI questionnaire (neuroticism subscale; Benet-Martinez & John, 1998), meaning in life was measured with the Meaning in Life Scale (Vulić-Prtorić & Bubalo, 2006), and humour was operationalised as a dispositional tendency to experience humour, as measured by the Humour subscale of the Dispositional Positive Emotions Scale (Shiota et al., 2006). The results revealed that neuroticism mediates the relationship between materialism and life meaning. Individuals inclined towards materialism showed higher levels of neuroticism, which was associated with a lower meaning in life. Humour moderated the relationship between neuroticism and meaning in life and the proposed mediation mechanism. The negative association between neuroticism and meaning in life was weaker among those more inclined to experience humour daily. Similarly, the negative relationship between materialism and meaning in life through neuroticism was less pronounced among those with a greater tendency to experience humour in everyday life.