Global Journal of Finance and Management. ISSN 0975-6477 Volume 6, Number 4 (2014), pp. 385-390 © Research India Publications http://www.ripublication.com Effect of sense of Humour on Positive Capacities: An Empirical Inquiry into Psychological Aspects Navya Pande Dept. of Psychology, Banasthali University, Rajasthan Abstract “Sense of humour” refers to a personality trait which enables an individual to understand, produce and appreciate amusement for the purpose of enjoyment and laughter. As researchers have shifted their focus on adaptive coping mechanisms for the attainment of psychological well-being, humour has emerged as a significant coping strategy. The present study attempts to examine the effect of humour and gender on positive psychological capacities like resilience, hardiness and experiential acceptance. Young adult sample of 70 subjects 35 males and 35 females) of 18-22 years was randomly drawn from female students residing at Banasthali University Campus and male students from New Rajasthan College, Jhunjhunu. Standardized psychological tools were used to assess sense of humour, resilience, experiential acceptance and hardiness. Results obtained by conducting two way analysis of variance reveal a significant effect of sense of humour on resilience (p< .01), and hardiness (p < .01). Significant individual effect of gender was observed on hardiness (p < .05) and experiential acceptance (p < .01). Significant Interaction of sense of humour and gender was also found on resilience (p < .05) and experiential acceptance (p < .05). As humour emerged as an important factor in promoting positive characteristics, the present study emphasizes on the need of developing sense of humour for adaptive coping and maintaining positive mental health. Keywords: Sense of humour, resilience, hardiness, experiential acceptance. Introduction and review of literature: According to the Oxford English Dictionary [1], the meaning of humour is “quality of action, speech, or writing which excites amusement,” which is “the faculty of perceiving what is ludicrous or amusing, or of expressing it in speech, writing, or other composition; jocose imagination or treatment of a subject.” In other words,