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Ageing does not depress humour: Study
Washington, Aug 25: The ability to enjoy a good laugh doesn`t die with growing age, say researchers. A new Canadian study of humour has revealed that even aged people can appreciate and react to humour like young people do.
Washington, Aug 25: The ability to enjoy a good laugh doesn't die with growing age, say researchers. A new Canadian study of humour has revealed that even aged people can appreciate and react to humour like young people do.
However, the ability to comprehend more complex forms of humour diminishes in later years, findings published in the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society reveal.
Lead researcher Dr Prathiba Shammi, a psychologist with Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, conducted the study under the supervision of Dr Donald Stuss, psychologist and Director of The Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest.
In this study, Shammi and Stuss explored the effects of normal aging on humour comprehension and appreciation. Humour 'comprehension' is defined as the ability to cognitively or intellectually understand humorous material, which may be assessed by the ability of the responder to select appropriate punch lines to jokes or provide appropriate logical reasoning as to why a stimulus is humorous.
Humour 'appreciation' is the affective or emotional response to humorous stimuli (such as smiling, laughing) once the humour has been cognitively processed and understood at some level.
"The good news is that aging does not affect emotional responses to humour - we'll still enjoy a good laugh when we get the joke," says Dr Shammi. "This preserved affective responsiveness is important because it is integral to social interaction and it has long been postulated that humour may enhance quality of life, assist in stress management, and help us cope with the stresses of aging." However, results from the study also suggest that the ability to comprehend more complex forms of humour may diminish in our later years. Because the cognitive abilities required for humour comprehension include abstract reasoning, mental flexibility and working memory - all are complex, higher mental functions believed to be associated with the frontal lobes.
Biological evidence suggests that the brain's frontal functions may be the first to deteriorate with aging. While scientists continue to debate this evidence, it may explain why older adults can have difficulty understanding more complex forms of humour. Bureau Report
Lead researcher Dr Prathiba Shammi, a psychologist with Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, conducted the study under the supervision of Dr Donald Stuss, psychologist and Director of The Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest.
In this study, Shammi and Stuss explored the effects of normal aging on humour comprehension and appreciation. Humour 'comprehension' is defined as the ability to cognitively or intellectually understand humorous material, which may be assessed by the ability of the responder to select appropriate punch lines to jokes or provide appropriate logical reasoning as to why a stimulus is humorous.
Humour 'appreciation' is the affective or emotional response to humorous stimuli (such as smiling, laughing) once the humour has been cognitively processed and understood at some level.
"The good news is that aging does not affect emotional responses to humour - we'll still enjoy a good laugh when we get the joke," says Dr Shammi. "This preserved affective responsiveness is important because it is integral to social interaction and it has long been postulated that humour may enhance quality of life, assist in stress management, and help us cope with the stresses of aging." However, results from the study also suggest that the ability to comprehend more complex forms of humour may diminish in our later years. Because the cognitive abilities required for humour comprehension include abstract reasoning, mental flexibility and working memory - all are complex, higher mental functions believed to be associated with the frontal lobes.
Biological evidence suggests that the brain's frontal functions may be the first to deteriorate with aging. While scientists continue to debate this evidence, it may explain why older adults can have difficulty understanding more complex forms of humour. Bureau Report