The old jokes may be the best, but according to a psychological study conducted in the United States, our ability to even spot a one-liner deteriorates as we age.
Researchers at Washington University in St Louis asked one group of people aged from 65 to their late 80s and another in their early 20s the same opening lines of a series of jokes and asked them to pick one of four endings.
While one answer was the expected punch line, the other three included a humorous answer that bore no relation to the start of the joke, a totally straight response and a complete non sequitur.
PHOTO: AFP
According to Wingyun Mak, the graduate student behind the study, the older group was noticeably less likely to spot the punch line. "These are statistically significant differences," she said.
"Our study basically gets at this idea of the relationship between mental abilities and how well someone understands humor," Mak said.
"People know that there are certain mental abilities that decline as we get older. Our memory at 80 is probably not going to be as good as our memory when we're 20."
The study builds on earlier research on aging and humor, but differentiates between finding a joke funny and merely identifying one. "They don't have to find it funny, but they have to understand how it works," she said.
"However, just because you're an older adult does not mean that you can't understand humor. All hope is not lost," she added. "This is just the first step in understanding how humor comprehension functions in older adults."
老笑話或許最讓人捧腹，但美國一項心理學研究發現，隨著年紀漸長，我們對笑話的敏銳度也會走下坡。
美國聖路易市華盛頓大學的研究人員針對六十五至八十多歲的一群老人，與另一群二十出頭的年輕人，問他們相同一系列的笑話，再請他們從四個結尾中選出一個。
其中一個解答就是笑點所在。至於另外三個，一個是與笑話本身無關的逗趣解答，一個是過於直接的解答，另一個則完全牛馬不相干。
研究員之一的研究生麥穎欣說，年長的一群很明顯較無法選出笑點所在。她說︰「統計上有明顯差異。」
麥穎欣說︰「對於心智能力與幽默感理解力的關係，我們的研究得到了基本概廓。」
「人們都知道年齡漸長，一些心智能力就會衰退。八十歲大概就不如二十歲時的記憶力好。」
這份研究是基於先前有關老化與幽默感的研究，但在覺得笑話好笑、與知道這是笑話之間做一區別。她說︰「他們不一定要覺得笑話好笑，但必須了解為什麼好笑。」
「不過，年長不代表沒有幽默感，並非全無希望，」她補充說︰「這只是了解年長者的幽默理解力如何運作的第一步。」
（法新社/翻譯︰賴美君）
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