http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7153584.stm
Humour 'comes from testosterone'
Men are naturally more comedic than women because of the male hormone
testosterone, an expert claims.
Men make more gags than women and their jokes tend to be more
aggressive, Professor Sam Shuster, of Norfolk and Norwich University
Hospital, says.
The unicycling doctor observed how the genders reacted to his "amusing"
hobby.
Women tended to make encouraging, praising comments, while men jeered.
The most aggressive were young men, he told the British Medical
Journal.
Previous findings have suggested women and men differ in how they use
and appreciate humour.
Women tend to tell fewer jokes than men and male comedians outnumber
female ones.
Aggressively funny
Research suggests men are more likely to use humour aggressively by
making others the butt of the joke.
And aggression - generally considered to be a more masculine trait -
has been linked by some to testosterone exposure in the womb.
Professor Shuster believes humour develops from aggression caused by
male hormones.
He documented the reaction of over 400 individuals to his unicycling
antics through the streets of Newcastle upon Tyne.
The difference between the men and women was absolutely remarkable and
consistent
Professor Shuster
Almost half of people responded verbally - more being men. Very few of
the women made comic or snide remarks, while 75% of the men attempted
comedy - mostly shouting out "Lost your wheel?", for example.
Mocking and sneering
Often the men's comments were mocking and intended as a put-down. Young
men in cars were particularly aggressive - they lowered their windows
and shouted abusively.
This type of behaviour decreased among older men however, who tended to
offer more admiring comments, much like the women.
"The idea that unicycling is intrinsically funny does not explain the
findings," said Professor Shuster.
The simplest explanation, he says, is the effect of male hormones such
as testosterone.
"The difference between the men and women was absolutely remarkable and
consistent," said Professor Shuster.
"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 channelled into a more
subtle and sophisticated joke, so the aggression is hidden by wit,
explained Professor Shuster.
Dr Nick Neave is a psychologist at the University of Northumbria who
has been studying the physical, behavioural, and psychological effects
of testosterone.
He suggested 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."
--
steveyo
steveyo
...like having your own personal rollercoaster...
- a few 'uni race write-ups'
(http://home.nycap.rr.com/rduhan/uni_race_writeups/)
- muni and kokopelli uni 't-shirts, mugs and stickers'
(http://www.cafepress.com/steveyo)
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