People who are morally virtuous are ‘less likely’ to be funny, according to new research.

Based on suspicions about their moral superiors, a group of scientists from the National University of Singapore Business School investigated the link between joke appreciation, joke making and people’s sense of their own morality.

The results suggested that people with high moral standards were less likely to make jokes or laugh at other people’s jokes, subsequently making them less likeable.

“Although highly moral people are often viewed positively for displaying admirable character traits, they may also be disliked to the extent to which they are viewed as sanctimonious, prudish, or unrelatable,” the scientists write in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

“Both experimental and field data indicate that such tension not only means that morality may impinge upon humour, but that this can come at the expense of likeability and popularity.

“Thus, morality can have a downside that was previously overlooked.”

During the investigation, researchers used a series of jokes and memes to test people’s reactions.

The team tested the theory that humour which relies on violating social boundaries can lead to tension in people who strongly adhere to those rules.