A person might ask: what is laughter? How does it work? My last post, Why do people laugh?, describes the different types of laughter and what triggers them. There still might be lingering questions about the anatomy of laughter, curiosity that I strive to quench. Why is it so easy to detect when laughter is feigned? And, why does it seem impossible to stifle laughter when you find something amusing?
Firstly, laughter is the physiological response to humor. It's the body's way of coping with an intense flood of emotions. Sometimes there isn't even a real explanation. Nevertheless, some aspects of it can be explained scientifically.
The lungs are the larynx are the mechanisms used when coughing or speaking. They also create the sound of our laugh. Normally, air passes freely through our open vocal cords in the larynx. When they close, air cannot pass through them and when they're partially open, some sort of sound is generated. Laughter is the result when we exhale through closed or partially open vocal cords. The respiratory muscles periodically activate to produce the characteristic sound of laughter.
Why is it so difficult to fake laughter? It seems as if feigned laughter stands out clearly and makes an awkward situation even more awkward. This is because, besides the fact that laughing can sometimes be completely involuntary, it involves the movement of a complex series of muscles to produce a proper, genuine laugh. A simulated one, however, doesn't quite sound the same, in part because the same muscles are not being triggered. It requires an active effort to feign laughter. Furthermore, the risorius muscle and the zygomaticus muscle are both used in smiling and, therefore, laughing. Since the risorius muscle affects a smaller portion of the face than the zygomaticus muscle, it is easier to control and is therefore commonly used to feign amusement, hence why fake laughter is easy to detect.
Similarly, it is so hard to suppress laughter for this reason; laughter is often involuntary and involves the moving of a complex series of muscles. Laughter may seem uncontrollable at times. Particularly laughter caused from amusement.
The study of laughter and its effects on the human body, both psychologically and physiologically, is called gelotology. Sometimes it's useful, and sometimes it's just fun. Or perhaps, ironically, funny.
Showing posts with label amusing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label amusing. Show all posts
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Why do people laugh?
A person might ask: what causes laughter? Why do people laugh? Why does your body react the way it does when you're being tickled, and how come you can't tickle yourself? What emotions trigger our bodies to dive into a condition of uncontrollable hysterics? There are seven types of humor, but there are even more types of laughter. Whether you're confused, nervous, or happy, laughing can always seem like a solution.
On the subject of the cause of laughter, the answer isn't a simple one. It depends. Laughter is categorized in three ways. The first instance: a person telling a joke, cracking a smile that soon turns into an insane path of laughter. The second instance: a person that feigns a soft chuckle, either from embarrassment or pretending to be amused at a joke that they don't find all that funny. The third instance: someone being tickled, choking on gasps of laughter. So, ultimately, there is laughter caused from amusement, fake laughter, and laughter caused from someone being tickled. Multiple different types of laughter can fall into each group.
What is the difference between these three different categories of laughter? Aren't they all the same thing?
First, I'll delve into the category that seems to get the least amount of attention, and for good reason. Feigned laughter. It can almost always be spotted when it occurs, despite how convincing of an actor the sound is coming from. People may imitate laughter for a variety of different reasons, including being distracted from the topic of conversation (or just not in the mood) but not wanting to stand out by being the only one not laughing at a joke, embarrassment, or from being nervous.
Oppositely, laughter caused from happiness or amusement is completely genuine and extremely difficult to fake. This particular type of laughter, sometimes known as "happy laughter" or "hysterical laughter", can be triggered from intense emotions ranging from amusement to satisfaction to confusion to relief. Regardless of the reason, it is typically a pleasant sound and elicits smiles or similar laughter from people around the room.
Laughter from being tickled might be a completely different experience than amused laughter to some people. It might bring a smile to your face, but not necessarily a smile of happiness. Many people hate being tickled, and for good reason. The act of tickling triggers a sensation that activates part of the brain that copes with pain. Have you ever wondered why we have certain "ticklish" spots on our bodies? If you notice, most people are ticklish in their weakest spots, such as their feet, neck, or stomach. This results in our "fight or flight" mechanism being triggered, leading to what we know as ticklish laughter. Unlike genuinely funny laughter, tickling causes the hypothalamus - which controls instinctive reactions (think fight or flight) - to activate. The hypothalamus also controls body temperature, hunger, and tiredness. Some people start to laugh at merely the mention of being tickled. In someone being tickled, their unmyelinated nerve fibers that cause pain are being stimulated. This is the reason why people are known to lash out at their attacker when being tickled. This also explains why you can't tickle yourself; your brain is aware that there is no need to produce a response to the action because it knows you don't need protection and aren't in any danger. Tickling may be playful to some people, but to others is can just be painful.
So, those are the three categories and a basic summary of what they entail. The causes and triggers of laughter have been listed and details about each category of laughter have been explained. Next time you want to get even with an enemy, who would have thought tickling would be an option?
On the subject of the cause of laughter, the answer isn't a simple one. It depends. Laughter is categorized in three ways. The first instance: a person telling a joke, cracking a smile that soon turns into an insane path of laughter. The second instance: a person that feigns a soft chuckle, either from embarrassment or pretending to be amused at a joke that they don't find all that funny. The third instance: someone being tickled, choking on gasps of laughter. So, ultimately, there is laughter caused from amusement, fake laughter, and laughter caused from someone being tickled. Multiple different types of laughter can fall into each group.
What is the difference between these three different categories of laughter? Aren't they all the same thing?
First, I'll delve into the category that seems to get the least amount of attention, and for good reason. Feigned laughter. It can almost always be spotted when it occurs, despite how convincing of an actor the sound is coming from. People may imitate laughter for a variety of different reasons, including being distracted from the topic of conversation (or just not in the mood) but not wanting to stand out by being the only one not laughing at a joke, embarrassment, or from being nervous.
Oppositely, laughter caused from happiness or amusement is completely genuine and extremely difficult to fake. This particular type of laughter, sometimes known as "happy laughter" or "hysterical laughter", can be triggered from intense emotions ranging from amusement to satisfaction to confusion to relief. Regardless of the reason, it is typically a pleasant sound and elicits smiles or similar laughter from people around the room.
Laughter from being tickled might be a completely different experience than amused laughter to some people. It might bring a smile to your face, but not necessarily a smile of happiness. Many people hate being tickled, and for good reason. The act of tickling triggers a sensation that activates part of the brain that copes with pain. Have you ever wondered why we have certain "ticklish" spots on our bodies? If you notice, most people are ticklish in their weakest spots, such as their feet, neck, or stomach. This results in our "fight or flight" mechanism being triggered, leading to what we know as ticklish laughter. Unlike genuinely funny laughter, tickling causes the hypothalamus - which controls instinctive reactions (think fight or flight) - to activate. The hypothalamus also controls body temperature, hunger, and tiredness. Some people start to laugh at merely the mention of being tickled. In someone being tickled, their unmyelinated nerve fibers that cause pain are being stimulated. This is the reason why people are known to lash out at their attacker when being tickled. This also explains why you can't tickle yourself; your brain is aware that there is no need to produce a response to the action because it knows you don't need protection and aren't in any danger. Tickling may be playful to some people, but to others is can just be painful.
So, those are the three categories and a basic summary of what they entail. The causes and triggers of laughter have been listed and details about each category of laughter have been explained. Next time you want to get even with an enemy, who would have thought tickling would be an option?
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