Appreciation of Cartoons with Profanity in Captions

Abstract

The present study investigated sex differences in appreciation of cartoons with three levels of profanity in the captions. 111 female and 99 male students evaluated the cartoon with mild profanity in the caption as funnier than either the non-profane or strong-profanity caption. When the cartoon caption was non-profane, there was no difference between men's and women's evaluations of funniness, but when the cartoon caption included either mild or strong profanity, men found the cartoon funnier than women.