This kinda makes sense. Subordinates will often try to inject humour in order to break a the tension in a serious situation. Superiors can't allow their subordi

This kinda makes sense. Subordinates will often try to inject humour in order to break a the tension in a serious situation. Superiors can't allow their subordinates to control the tone of the conversation like that, though, so they'll ignore it. The article ignores, however, the fact that an awful lot (the vast majority?) of joking takes place between social equals. Now I come to think of it, jokes between social equals are the only ones which are actually particularly funny -- jokes told across different social levels tend to elicit a good-natured chuckle, not uncontrollable guffawing.