Can your sense of humour tell us how clever you are? Read this dark joke to find out

Do you have a dark sense of humour? And what does this tell us about your personality? See if you find this funny:

A businessman in a suit has just hanged himself from a light-fitting with his tie. His wife and her friend come in and find him. The man’s wife turns to her friend and says: “I can’t believe it. A green tie with a blue suit.”

What do you think of this joke? a) Really hate it, b) Don’t like it, c) Like it, d) Love it.

If you said c) or d) you are more likely to be better educated and cleverer than people who said a) or b). If you said a) or b), then you are likely to be less emotionally stable and more aggressive than people who said c) or d).

Researchers for a recent study at the Medical University of Vienna gave this and 11 other sick jokes (in cartoon form) to 156 participants. Although preference for black humour did not vary by age or gender, they did find the above differences.

So why the link between intelligence and enjoyment of black humour? One possibility is that you have to be clever to understand the joke, although most of the jokes were uncomplicated. Perhaps more intelligent people are better able to rationalise away outrage – “the existence of this joke does not harm anyone” – that might otherwise get in the way of their enjoyment.

One thing is clear: given the negative link between black humour and aggression, anyone who argues that a mean sense of humour leads to meanness in real life must be joking.

A fully referenced version of this article is available at benambridge.com. Order Psy-Q by Ben Ambridge (Profile Books, £8.99) for £6.99 at bookshop.theguardian.com