SEX AND SALIENCE IN THE APPRECIATION OF CARTOON HUMOR

In two related experiments cartoons were selected as high or low in sexuality and high or low in rated humor: Matched sets of these cartoons were presented to prime a specific humor context then followed by a different set with characteristics that contrasted with the first. The participants, 265 females and 171 males in the first study and 311 females and 243 males in the second study, judged the funniness of the cartoons on a scale from 0 (not funny at all) to 20 (one of the funniest ever seen). Humor ratings were relatively unmodified following sexual cartoons, although males showed a consistent tendency to rate sexual material (female deprecating) as funnier. Cartoon ratings were influenced by innocent contexts. These results suggest that content (sex) and structure (quality or incongruity) can be made salient to different degrees. Furthermore, this procedure could be used to study the relation between incongruity and quality. © 1993, Walter de Gruyter. All rights reserved.