09 March 2008

British humour is in the genes? Shurely shome joke?

It would appear that the British have a talent for caustic satire and painful put-downs may in fact have a hereditary basis: A survey of more than 4,000 twins suggests that humour regarded as typically British – sarcasm and self-deprecation – is linked to genes found in British men and women, but not shared, for instance, by Americans (surely they jest?).

While telling jokes and looking on the bright side of life – which researchers dubbed positive humour – is common to both sides of the Atlantic, only in the UK did they discover genetic links with negative humour – biting sarcasm and teasing. Experts admit that the results have left them baffled. "It is possible that differences exist between these nations in their sense of humour and that these may be the result of different genetic and environmental influences," said Dr Rod Martin, one of the researchers.

He highlighted the difference between Ricky Gervais's dreadful character David Brent and his much less embarrassing US counterpart played by Steve Carell. "The British may have a greater tolerance for a wide range of expressions of humour, including what many Americans might consider aggressively sarcastic or denigrating: like Fawlty Towers and Blackadder. In the North American version of The Office the lead character is much less insensitive and intolerant than in the original UK version," he added.

The study looked at genetic and environmental contributions to humour in nearly 2,000 pairs of UK twins. A second US study examined the humour of 500 sets of North American twins. The results revealed that positive humour – saying funny things, telling jokes, a humorous outlook on life – was linked to genes and was shared by twins in the UK and US. However, negative humour – teasing and ridicule – appeared to be genetically linked only in Britain.

Dr Martin, from the University of Western Ontario, said the aim was to find out whether humour has a genetic basis. "In North American families, there was a genetic basis to positive humour, but negative humour seems to be entirely learned. Growing up in a family where negative humour was practised was important in the development of that sense of humour. "In the UK, both positive and negative styles had a genetic basis in the sample. The genetic basis to negative humour in the UK was close to 50 per cent. Certainly in the UK, TV humour is more biting, whereas in North America it tends to be blander. One theory is that these styles of humour are associated with other personality traits that probably have a genetic basis. Self-defeating humour tends to be highly correlated with neuroticism. People who tend to be more negative, depressed and anxious tend to use that kind of humour."

A genetic link to humour? Is the scientist having a laugh? Is the “My dog has no nose” joke hard wired into our DNA? Do we have a primal urge when two or more are gathered to recite the Parrot sketch? Or should he have stuck to the Biochemists’ song book? (I can assure everyone that I never purchased a copy of this book when a Physiology and Biochemistry undergraduate way back when dinosaurs roamed the earth)

10 comments:

Sean Jeating said...

And, Jams? Do you still own your humour gene, or has it already been patented? :)

jams o donnell said...

I doubt anyone would make much out of my humour gene Sean!

The Lone Beader® said...

We Bostonians are wicked sarcastic, and I think somewhere there is written proof that we inherited it from the British. ;)

Frank Partisan said...

British humor in the US, is thought of as Benny Hill and Monty Python.

I get several hits from this site. Everyone should trade links with Jams.

jams o donnell said...

Ah LB! so the Boston tea party was a surreal sketch that got out of hand. Instead of getting laughs you got independence?????

I see Eddie Izzard and Billy Connolly have had some success in the US and some British sitcoms have been remade in the US.. All in the Family, Sandford and son and three's company spring to mind. Others probably would not go down as well. Black Adder, League of Gentlemen and Father Ted probably would not have gone down as well Ren. Thanks for the endorsement!

elasticwaistbandlady said...

All you really needed for that study was a good epidemiologist to show that the British have a thicker skin. :)

Anonymous said...

There seems to be proportion of cruel , continental style humor(!) in the Srates - the hideous My Family and American Dad spring to mind. The Three Stooges - yuk! Yet as a child I loved Abbot and Costello. Danny Kaye could have me in paroxysms.
It's all crap this research - nice way to get your funding though. You will be aware of a generational gap here...
A.

Unknown said...

English humour and American humour both have their ups and downs. I have known some British to have outstanding humour, even by American standards. As an example: I am in the yacht repair and restoration business. One year, around July 1st, a Brit sailed into Pensacola, Florida, to have some yacht work done. He asked me about a time frame for the work. I told him, "The 4th of July is a holiday here in the United States". His dry reply was, "It's a holiday in England too; we call it 'Give away a colony day'.

Anonymous said...

Hee at the last comment!

I love Blackadder, does that make me a genetically bad person?

jams o donnell said...

Of course it Aileni. It still amused me though!


Ah that's a good one Brother Tim. I love it!

It means you're irredeemably bad Alison!