In a previous interview with Bored Panda, Janet M. Gibson, Ph.D., a Professor of Psychology at Grinnell College, explained that it actually takes quite a bit of work to get a joke. According to her, we have to use cognitive, social, and emotional brain power to form expectations of what's supposed to happen.

But that’s not all. We have to be able to “see how the punchline or unexpected event puts a playful spin on things, figure out the social context to know whether the unexpected event was intended or offensive, and we have to empathize with the joke teller, a character in the joke, or audience to know what is going on,” Prof. Gibson explained.

What’s more, in order for a joke, a prank, or a punchline to be perceived as funny, people have to be ready to have fun. It doesn’t matter whether it has to do with language, social expectations, or simply be amused by the absurdities of the situation.

“If we are lucky, there are cues to help, like the joke teller is smiling or others are laughing, and then we try to figure out why, search for alternate meanings, and pull from memory what other meanings are possible in this context,” Prof. Gibson told us.

On the other hand, as a joker or a prankster, you have to be sure that your joke is simple enough. “If the joke requires too much work to figure it out, we are likely to end up feeling puzzled rather than amused or entertained.”

There’s a belief that one's sense of humor can tell us a lot about their personality. And it’s kind of right, but not in the way you probably think. “If you like jokes that poke fun at death, this does not mean you have death anxiety or are sick. If you like the Three Stooges, it does not mean you are a knucklehead,” Prof. Gibson said.

“In fact, people who like sick jokes tend to score high on openness to experience and high on social intelligence,” she added.