DISGUST IN HUMOR - ITS APPEAL TO ADOLESCENTS

Respondents were exposed to humorous episodes devoid of disgust, invol ving some degree of disgust, or involving highly disgusting events. Hi ghly disgust-sensitive respondents were less amused by the humorous ma terial, taken together, than were their less squeamish counterparts. I n contrast, highly rebellious respondents tended to be more amused by these materials than were respondents exhibiting comparatively little tr air rebelliousness. Pronounced gender differences in reacting to di sgusting humor emerged. Compared with males, females rated humorous ep isodes less amusing, the more disgust they involved. Additionally, com pared with females, males facially expressed more amusement in respons e to the humorous episodes the more disgust they involved.