Lateralization in appreciation of humor: Sex differences vs stimulus effects

Abstract

The finding that women rate funnier humorous items with left-ear input, while men give higher ratings with right-ear input has been cited as evidence for a biological basis for sex differences in appreciation of humor. However, in 1991 Gallivan did not find this effect and suggested that the earlier finding could have been due to the use of 'male-oriented' stimuli. In this study, 72 subjects rated the funniness of 32 'female-oriented' comedy excerpts, presented monaurally. Women gave higher ratings with right-ear input but men's ratings were not affected by ear of presentation. These findings represent another failure to replicate the earlier-reported hemispheric effect and support the conclusion that it may have been due to the stimuli used.