Unlike past sessions of Congress, representatives this year haven’t resorted to insults like “fruitcake,” “lap dog,” and “Howdy Doody-looking nimrod” to ram home their points. That’s made the 112th Congress one of the most civil “turnover” sessions in recent decades, according to a new study from the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania.

Researchers tracked lawmakers’ use of zingers in the U.S. House since the 1930s, specifically focusing on sessions in which one party took control from another. The conclusion: Despite talk about the good old days, contemporary dialogue in the chamber is far more civil than during the period directly preceding, during, and after World War II.

That isn’t to say the picture is rosy. Although House rules prohibit impermissible speech during floor debate — say, calling into question the integrity of another member — the same boundaries don’t apply outside the chamber. In other words, it’s no holds barred through email, on Facebook or Twitter, or in the media.

But when it comes to procedural dialogue, respect is the word. Researchers say there is a positive trend in civility of late.

“So far the 112th Congress has not produced the sorts of incivility that disrupted the first session of the 104th,” said lead researcher Kathleen Hall Jamieson, referring to the Republican takeover of the House in 1995.

“The historical indicators predict a higher number of incidents in which a member impugns the integrity, ideology, or patriotism of those of opposed views than we’ve seen so far,” she added. “As pundits increasingly cast the legislative and executive branches as dysfunctional, this piece of positive news is worth noting.”

The study traced the number of “take down” rulings in which a representative asked that another members’ words be recorded to determine if her or she was out of order. The 112th session has been relatively free of such instances compared to past session when control of Congress switched parties.

Even when present-day lawmakers did cross the line, skirmishes aren’t what they used to be. In 1856, a Democratic representative used his cane to beat a Republican senator on the Senate floor over the slavery question. (Call it a precursor to the Civil War).

In another instance, things got heated when a congressman in 1798 resorted to defending himself with fireplace tongs after another member attacked him with a cane. A charge of cowardice elicited the fight.

Contemporary examples of procedural malfeasance are mild by comparison. U.S. Mel Watt, a Democrat from North Carolina’s 12th Congressional District, claimed earlier this year that Republicans “just make stuff up” and “lie about it.” Also this year, Republican Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama referred to “socialist members of this body,” and Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee likened the GOP to Nazi propagandists.

So far, no one has reached for a cane. Of course, there is still time: The 112th Congress won’t adjourn officially until January 2013.

David N. Bass is an associate editor of Carolina Journal.