A recent scientific study has revealed that men and women have inherently different senses of humour. The research, led by Professor Robin Dunbar of the University of Oxford and published in the journal HUMOR, revealed that men tend to lean more towards slapstick humour whereas women appreciate observations about their domestic and personal life as well as political humour. The findings are based on the data collected by observing a sample size of 3,380 people who attended an exhibition of print cartoons dating from 1930-2010 at London’s Cartoon Museum. The museum’s curator Emma Stirling-Middleton aided Professor Dunbar in his research. The humour in the 18 pairs of cartoons shown to the attendees came from the visual aspect with the text adding more context and delivering the punchline.

“Of all the results, it is perhaps the gender differences that are the most surprising: we did not anticipate that these would be as large as they are,” concluded the study. “This contrast may reflect differences in the way the two genders manage their relationships. Women’s relationships are generally more complex than men’s… [their] friendships are created and maintained principally through conversation, whereas men’s are more activity-based, where conversation is used more to trigger laughter than discuss emotional issues. We argue that these differences in humour preference arise from the remarkable differences in social style of the two sexes.”

While the participants’ ages didn’t affect how funny they found a particular cartoon, the joke’s complexity and depth played a role in its perception with more nuanced and intricate cartoons drawing preference.