A cross-cultural study of humor appreciation: Italy and Germany

Abstract

The present study examines the cross-national stability ofafactor analyti- cally derived taxonomy ofjokes and cartoons. A sample oflOOfemale and 48 male Italian adults responded to Italian translations ofthe 3 WD humor test (Ruch 1983) which is aimed at measuring funniness and aversiveness of incongruity-resolution, nonsense, and sexual humor. The results were compared with that of a German sample of98female and 50 male adults. Funniness and degree of controversiality of these humor categories were compared in Italy and Germany, and a comparison of the mean humor appreciation profile was undertaken.
The results showed that the taxonomy derivedfrom German andAustrian samples can be applied to Italian samples äs well; the factor structures were very similar both at the level ofthe factors themselves and at the level of individualjokes and cartoons. Furthermore, comparable rank orders of perceived quality and controversiality ofjokes and cartoons of the sexual humor category were obtainedfor both samples. The Italian sample scored higher in appreciation of sexual humor and lower infunniness of nonsense humor than the German sample.