#1245 Why do we laugh?

Why do we laugh? Nobody knows for definite, but there are several theories. One of the theories is that we laugh as an evolved response to the passing of stress to show the rest of our herd that the danger has passed.

One of the most interesting things about laughter is that it is not only a human trait. A lot of different species of animals laugh, or make a sound that is similar to laughter. It is also obviously an evolved response in humans because babies laugh before they can talk and babies that are born deaf still laugh. The fact that it goes across species demonstrates that it is something that has a use and goes beyond language.

When we laugh, a lot goes on in our bodies. 15 facial muscles contract. One of these is called the zygomaticus major muscle and it is called the laughing muscle because it runs down the cheeks and pulls up the corners of the mouth into a smile. The epiglottis half closes, causing the sound of laughter when we breathe in and out. We take in more oxygen which speeds up the heart and stimulates the lungs. Extra oxygen stimulates our muscles and makes some of them contract. Endorphins are released in the brain. These are the body’s natural painkillers and they make us feel good while relieving pain and stress. Once the period of laughter is over, our muscles relax, our heart rate goes back to normal, and our blood pressure drops. This relaxing of the body along with the endorphins gives us a great feeling of relaxation. This is one of the reasons why people say laughter is good for you.

Interestingly, unless you are completely overcome with laughter, we laugh in the pauses between phrases in our speech. This is called the punctuation effect and it is a way of being able to talk and laugh at the same time. Our brain is giving speech priority.

One of the things about laughter that gives support to the theory that it is a way of communicating with a herd is that we laugh more in groups and laughter can be contagious. Research has shown that people are 30 times more likely to laugh in a group then when they are on their own. There is a reason why a lot of sitcoms use a laugh track. We are more likely to find something funny and laugh if we can hear other people laughing. If there was a way for the producers of the sitcoms to show us the people laughing, I’m sure that they would.

One of the reasons why we laugh could be for social connection. When we see other people laughing and laugh ourselves, we create a bond between us. There is one theory that laughing replaced the act of grooming that apes use to be social. The pleasant feeling afterwards helps us feel more positive about the group as well. However, animals that don’t groom laugh, so it must have another reason.

The most prevalent theory is that we laugh to signal that a danger or a threat has passed. When we lived in forests, we had to constantly be on the alert. Any rustling of the trees would be treated like a predator. This is why we have evolved to see patterns and faces where they don’t necessarily exist. When the trees rustle, the whole tribe goes into panic mode. The first person to see that the rustling in the trees is nothing more than the wind can shout out that everything is ok, but that is only since the evolution of language. When language is unavailable, laughing can serve the same purpose. The person who realizes there is no threat laughs and the laugh spreads through the herd, passing the information on. Everybody has the same physical reaction, feels good, and experiences a sense of relief. That explains why we laugh at physical comedy. We see something that looks dangerous to us, to that person, or just an unusual situation, and we laugh when we realize that it is not dangerous. Some people laugh when they are scared or when they go on rides like rollercoasters.

It is a simple step from there to laughing at stories and jokes that are funny. Jokes are a way of breaking the norms of society, which threatens us psychologically. We have evolved to want to conform and when someone isn’t, we find it threatening. Comedians do this and we laugh when we realize that we are actually safe. This is called benign violation. When nothing is happening in a situation, it is benign. When something actually dangerous is happening, it is a violation. We find something funny when it is a violation that is actually benign. A rollercoaster seems to be dangerous, but it is not. It should be a violation, but it is benign, and so we laugh. And this is what I learned today.

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Sources

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-do-we-laugh

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laughter_in_animals