A study conducted with 12- to 14-year-old Nigerian students showed that ridicule (and to a lesser degree insult) is an effective motivator to improved academic achievement in the classroom. It should be asked, however, whether the emotional and psychological implications of ridicule justify its use in education. (Author/GC)

Studied the role of humor, gender, and sexist attitudes toward women in the interpretation of sexist incidents. Among 30 male and 30 female Canadian college students, perceiving sexist incidents as humorous was associated with seeing the incidents as less sexist and more acceptable. Gender did not affect the interpretation. (JB)