Elderly persons' perceptions of humor as a gender-linked characteristic

Attitudes toward the role that humor is supposed to play in the repertoires of men and women may explain the extent to which elderly people avail themselves of humor's potential benefits. 96 volunteers consisting of 24 men (ages 59-90 years) and 72 women (ages 51-93 years) responded to Vitulli's Humor Rating Scale. The rating scale measured attitudes toward male-oriented humor, female-oriented humor, general humor values, and an index of "differentiation of humor by gender." A 2 x 2 factorial (split-plot) analysis of variance suggested a possible interaction between gender of participant and gender-oriented scales. Elderly men and women agreed on "general humor values," and they both rated humor as an important quality for men on the male-oriented rating scale, yet a post hoc Scheffé test showed a significant gender effect on the female-oriented rating scale. Elderly women perceived humor as an important quality for women, whereas elderly men did not. Cohort effects and social situations in senior citizens' living complexes may account for some of the findings.