Comedians score high on psychotic traits

Perhaps the reason comedians make us laugh is because they show high levels of psychotic traits, suggests new research from the University of Oxford in the UK.

They also score high on introverted and extroverted personality traits, say the researchers.

Writing in the latest online issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry, the researchers explain how the popular belief that creativity is linked to madness has led to many studies, yet despite comedy being a prime example of creativity, little research has been done specifically on comedy and humor.

Co-author Gordon Claridge, Emeritus Professor of Abnormal Psychology at Oxford's department of Experimental Psychology, describes what they found:

"The creative elements needed to produce humour are strikingly similar to those characterising the cognitive style of people with psychosis - both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder."

But while schizophrenic psychosis itself can be detrimental to humor, its lesser form can help people "think outside the box" and associate ideas in odd or unusual ways, he explains, and adds:

"Equally, manic thinking, which is common in people with bipolar disorder, may help people combine ideas to form new, original and humorous connections."

Study measured aspects of psychosis in comedians, actors and public

For their study, Prof. Claridge and colleagues invited 523 comedians, mainly from the UK, US and Australia - 404 men and 119 women - to fill in an online questionnaire used to assess psychotic traits in healthy people.