Bias: Funny Because It's True

Snickering at a joke you consider offensive is one of the more confusing experiences humans endure. Am I a bad person? Am I uptight for thinking I'm a bad person? Why is the joke even funny?

Prepare to feel wicked. Robert Lynch of Rutgers showed a risque stand-up routine to individual undergrads and analyzed their facial reactions for signs of genuine laughter. The subjects also took two Implicit Association Tests that measured subtle biases against blacks and women. While you may laugh in part at the abstract structure of a racist joke, or at a caricature of racism, or merely at the shock of a taboo broken, Lynch's studies reveal that finding a racial joke funny correlates with actual prejudice. The same applies to gender-based humor. Lynch confirms the old saying: Things really are funny because (we think) they're true.

The Truth Hurts

Sometimes jokes hit too close to home. PT affiliates weigh in.

• "I was analyzing data and the researcher I was working with made a joke about the 'dum-dums' in the sample. Their IQs were about what mine was as a child. I bit my lip and didn't say a word."—Scott Barry Kaufman, contributor
• "My college roommates used to joke that I was 'half-robot,' in reference to the fact that they thought I had a monotone voice. I never thought it was that funny."—Jay Dixit, editor
• "I was presenting research on afterlife beliefs to faculty and graduate students. Several faculty members joked that people who believe in God are fools. Apparently, I must be foolish then!"—Nathan Heflick, blogger