You find that funny? Study says humor changes with age

Making jokes at the expense of others becomes less funny as we age, according to a new study that used sitcoms to gauge humor at the University of Akron in Ohio.

Dr. Jennifer Tehan Stanley, an assistant professor of psychology, set out to observe reactions to what she calls "aggressive humor" that defines the style of TV sitcoms such as "The Office."

In the experimentation phase of the study, she used clips from situation comedies such as "Golden Girls," "Mr. Bean," "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and of course "The Office."

Working with a participant group of 30 young adults between ages 17 and 21, 22 middle-aged adults between 35 and 56, and 29 older adults between 64 and 84, Dr. Stanley showed them 14 clips from various situation comedies.

"While they watched the clips, we video-recorded their facial expressions to later code for smiles and laughter, and measured facial electromyography with electrodes on their face to capture activation of the smile muscle," Dr. Stanley told Relaxnews.

After each clip, participants were asked to rate how appropriate they thought the protagonist's behavior was and how funny they found the clip on a scale of 0 to 100, she told Relaxnews, and they were screened on their understanding of the jokes.

Young and middle aged participants found the aggressive humor funny, while their older counterparts did not, according to Dr. Stanley.

Instead, they preferred "affiliative humor" in which several characters share and navigate an awkward situation.

The study was published in the journal Psychology and Aging.