Physiologically, laughing is a series of spasmodic and partly involuntary expirations with odd vocalisations, normally indicative of merriment. Often, laughing is a hysterical manifestation or a reflex result of tickling. Normal laughing is of two types:
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Mild laughter – when there is an occasion to laugh lightly or moderately Hearty laughter – when there is an occasion to laugh more vigorously
What Makes Us Laugh? Other than simple tickling, laughing is based on fear. Fear of loss of dignity, social embarrassment, exclusion from the group, being fooled/exploited, death, injury, or sex. The more anxiety-prone the subject is, the better it is as a subject for humour. Different societies find different things funny. So do different generations within a society. There is a fine line between comedy and tragedy, between the funny and the sad, between what makes us laugh and what makes us cry, between pleasure and pain. This is why watching someone slip on a banana skin is universally funny: someone else loses their dignity – and that’s better than it happening to us.In one US study, it was found that people laughed due to the following:
Of course, the sense of humor of Americans differs from that of all other peoples. For example, they think their tv sitcoms are actually funny… |
What Happens to Our Body when We Laugh?
When you give way to laughter, electrical impulses are triggered by nerves in the brain. These set off chemical reactions in the brain and elsewhere in the body. For example, your endocrine system orders your brain to secrete natural tranquilisers and painkillers. Other released chemicals aid digestion. Still others make arteries contract and relax and improve blood flow. Laughing may not be the best medicine, but it’s certainly a good one.
Why Is Laughing Important?
Among other things, laughing restores balance and equilibrium. Charles Darwin argued that it helps us discharge surplus tension and mental excitation. Freud argued that laughter helps us deal with lustful thoughts. Laughing is important to our very survival. Laughing starts when we are about six weeks old. Darwin argued that a baby laughing gives pleasure to the caretaker and thus helps lessen the likelihood of parental rejection – both aiding personal and species survival.
Who Laughs More, Men or Women?
Studies show that men and women laugh just about equally. It has been found that men tell jokes far more often than women. But women smile more often than men. (Are women smiling at the men’s jokes? Or at the men laughing at their own jokes?)
Do Groups with Jokers Get Less Work Done?
Quite the opposite. In an experiment conducted at the University of California at Los Angeles, it was found that groups that contained a frequently funny and witty person worked better on problem-solving tasks, worked better together, and were overall more productive than groups that had no “joker.”
What’s the Most Important Quality for Success in Telling a Joke Well?
First of all, the joke has to be funny. Professional comedians usually recommend that you always tell a joke while standing up. That way you can use your body much easier when you have illustrate something. Beyond this, when you tell a joke, you need a lively way of talking that’s more relaxed and varied in pitch than when you’re talking about serious matters. Of course, a sense of humour is important too, also a sense of timing, a good memory, brevity of expression (make all words count), self-confidence, an outgoing manner, a quick wit, and sensitivity to the nature of the audience. (For example, don’t make World War II jokes in Berlin. “Don’t mention the War!” as Basil Fawlty might say.)
KEEP LAUGING
