London - It has often been described as the lowest form of wit.
And it seems that sarcasm becomes increasingly beneath us as we get older – with research showing cutting comments are often lost on pensioners.
An Aberdeen University study found the over-65s are less likely to recognise sarcastic statements, and tend to take them literally.
Psychologist Louise Phillips asked 116 men and women to read a series of stories and watch a selection of videos which showed conversations between friends and spouses.
Some were straightforward, but others involved sarcastic exchanges. Afterwards the volunteers, who were all aged between 18 and 86, were questioned about what they had seen. Their answers revealed that those aged 65-plus were less likely to pick up on sarcasm.
However, they were just as likely as the younger participants to grasp the meaning of the non-sarcastic scenarios.
Tests showed the phenomenon could not simply be explained away by the pensioners suffering memory problems.
Professor Phillips said: “We already know that engaging in social interactions is valuable, and we were interested in how the ageing process might affect our ability to understand subtle social cues such as sarcasm.
“Older adults have a more positive outlook on life and this may contribute to their failure to pick up on sarcastic undertones.
“However, in some situations it might be a good thing to misinterpret sarcasm, given that it can sometimes be considered nasty or derogatory.”
The professor has previously shown that we become more gullible and easier to deceive as we age.
Daily Mail