Humor Preferences among Angered Males and Females: Associations with Humor Content and Sexual Desire

Abstract

Previous research has indicated a connection between the appreciation of different content types of humor and the effectiveness of laughter to reduce a hostile mood. Although a person's state of arousal can influence the preferences shown for a particular type of humor, little research has examined how sexual desire may contribute to preferences for humor. Anger was experimentally induced in 180 men and 180 women who had noted sexual desire before exposure to humor with sexual, sexist, and neutral content. Assessment of appreciation scores showed that angered men and women preferred sexual and sexist humor when they reported high sexual desire. Mood assessment indicated this appreciation related to the removal of anger and the reporting of a happy state with low ratings of sexual desire. Participants preferred neutral humor and showed least appreciation of sexist humor. Also, they did not enjoy a reduction in their hostile mood following exposure to humor.