The present paper investigated the fear of being laughed at (gelotophobia) in relation to recalled experiences of having been
laughed at in the past in individuals with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS). About 45% of the individuals with AS (N = 40), but only 6% of the controls (N = 83) had at least a slight form of gelotophobia, which is the highest percentage ever found in the literature. Gelotophobia
correlated with the frequency and severity of remembered teasing and mocking situations in the past. This indicates that gelotophobia
is an important issue in individuals with AS. Furthermore, individuals with AS are less able to laugh at themselves (gelotophilia),
but enjoy laughing at others (katagelasticism, a more hostile form of humor) to the same extent as controls do.
Keywords Asperger’s syndrome – Humor – Laughter – Gelotophobia – Fear of being laughed at – Teasing