Behavior/Humans

Jokes and Testosterone: Are Funny Men More Male?

Humor is in the end a form of aggression

By Stefan Anitei, Science Editor

21st of December 2007, 14:29 GMT

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Women like men that make them laugh, men like women that laugh at their jokes. Now an expert has found an explanation for this:

male hormone testosterone.

"Men make more gags than women and their jokes tend to be more aggressive," said Professor Sam Shuster, of Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.

He tested personally both genders with his jokes.

"Women tended to make encouraging, praising comments, while men jeered. The most aggressive were young men," he told the British Medical Journal.

It's obvious that women joke less than man, and their jokes are less aggressive. There are clearly more male comedians than females. Men' humor is aggressive, putting down the others. Aggression is clearly connected to testosterone levels.

Shuster checked the reaction of over 400 persons to his unicycling antics through the streets of Newcastle upon Tyne. About 50 % of the people reacted verbally, mostly men. Few women came with comic or snide remarks, while 75% of the men reacted with humor phrases, but often their comments passed to derision.

Driving young men were very aggressive, shouting barbarities. Older men had a weaker reaction, more contemplative, like that of the female subjects.

"The difference between the men and women was absolutely remarkable and consistent. At 11-13 years, the boys began to get really aggressive. Into puberty, the aggression became more marked, then it changed into a form of joke. The men were snide. The initial aggressive intent seems to become channeled into a more subtle and sophisticated joke, so the aggression is hidden by wit," said Shuster.

"Men might respond aggressively because they see the other unicycling man as a threat, attracting female attention away from themselves. This would be particularly challenging for young males entering the breeding market and thus it does not surprise me that their responses were the more threatening." said Dr Nick Neave, a psychologist at the University of Northumbria, a specialist in the physical, behavioral, and psychological effects of testosterone.

TAGS:

testosterone | joke | humor | hormone

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