Society judges them less harshly, study finds

People are more forgiving of women who crack bad jokes than they are of men, a new study has found.

Males are judged more harshly when their gags fall flat, and are considered less likeable and funny as a result.

The researchers suggest that it may be because women are normally seen as more attentive and use humour to ‘advance communal goals’, while men crack jokes to make themselves look good.

As a result, when a man’s joke bombs it makes them appear ‘less likeable, competent and funny’, compared to when a woman’s attempt fails.

The study, published in the Journal Of Experimental Social Psychology, goes against research which has found that women are judged more harshly for their mistakes in the workplace in general.

Researchers at the Yale School of Business and the University of Toronto came to their conclusions after asking 5,400 volunteers to respond to fictional scenarios in which characters made jokes.

Published: 7 Mar 2022