Barzellette: comprensione e divertimento. Uno studio preliminare [Jokes: comprehension and funninness. A preliminary study]

Jokes, as a popular form of humour, are particularly suitable for empirical research, and they have been used for this introductive study. Comprehension and funniness are the main aspects taken into consideration here. Interestingly, the literature on this topic shows different and even contradictory results. For example, is it easiness or difficulty of comprehension the favorable condition for funniness? Fifteen subjects were involved in the study. To test comprehension, they were asked to choose the correct ending of a joke, given the set up, among four possible options. The next task was to rate each joke for funniness (on a scale from 1 to 5). As a result, a list of 20 jokes was selected to be employed in a subsequent experimental work. In addition, other interesting and even intriguing findings were obtained. A suggestion also emerged pointing to a potential relevant role of intelligence in processing and reacting to jokes.