Gaby
If you roll your eyes at your dad’s cheesy puns at family gatherings, relax. A new twin study suggests you probably won’t inherit your parents’ sense of humor.
A university team led by evolutionary psychologist Gil Greengross says that, unlike intelligence or eye color, comedic talent isn’t passed down genetically.
What Did the Scientists Discover?
In the first study of its kind to examine genetic and environmental influences on comedic ability, researchers asked more than a thousand twins to write funny captions for cartoons. The team found no evidence that participants inherited their humor skills, as reported by the Daily Mail.
The study included both identical twins, whose DNA is identical, and fraternal twins, whose DNA matches about 50 percent.
If comedic ability were strongly hereditary, the researchers expected greater similarities in humor between identical twins than between fraternal twins. Instead, they found similar levels of comedic ability across both types of twin pairs.
According to the researchers, this suggests a person’s sense of humor is shaped more by environment than by genetics. They do not rule out a small genetic contribution, however. Why someone is funny may be more complex to measure than other cognitive skills.
Dr. Greengross said, “The finding that humor is not inherited is surprising, because it contradicts much of the research on the heritability of cognitive abilities such as creativity and mathematical skill. Since this is the first study of its kind, the results should be interpreted with caution.”
He added that while the ability to tell a joke may seem simple, a good sense of humor is a complex trait influenced by many psychological qualities and personality traits. “It manifests differently in various social situations, like on a date or during entertainment,” the researcher continued. “What’s intriguing is that if our sense of humor isn’t passed down from our parents but comes from our environment, what exactly makes us funny?”
He said the results “also challenge the widely accepted evolutionary basis of humor.”
“A great sense of humor can relieve tension in dangerous situations, foster cooperation, break down interpersonal barriers, and attract partners — all factors that can contribute to survival and reproduction,” Dr. Greengross pointed out. Previous studies have shown that women value comedic talent in a partner more than men do, while men value a woman’s ability to appreciate their sense of humor.
“Men experience stronger selective pressure to be funny to impress women, resulting in a slightly higher average humor ability among men. Our study also confirmed this finding,” the researcher explained.
The results were published in the journal Twin Research and Human Genetics.
