Running head: Research Project

Research Project
The Evolution of Laughter
Holly Tyler
ANTH-2410-001-F14

EVOLUTION OF LAUGHTER

Humans are emotional creatures, when we are first born our primal instinct is to open our
mouths so that we can scream and cry because we do not have the necessary communication
tools. After we grow accustomed to our surroundings we learn many other emotional
communication vehicles such as anger, fear, aggression, sadness and a list of others. Out of all of
these emotions that are internally wired, why would we learn how to laugh? Laughter does not
tell our caregivers that we are hungry, hurt, sad, or in need of a diaper change, so why is it that
once we are about three months old we feel the need to laugh? Research suggests that laughter
has far greater implications than just a reaction to certain stimuli such as slipping on a banana
peel or listening and watching a comedian perform. This paper will explore why laughter is
important for humans' growth and development by exploring the physical and the
psychological/emotional/social effects while also comparing research involving other mammals
(specifically primates).
Lets first define the physical basics of laughter and how it benefits us in a physiological
way. Laughter is a spontaneous rhythmic response of the body. Vocalized bursts that come out in
vowel sounds such as "ha ha ha" or "ho ho ho" are muscle contractions that force our face into a
smile (Brian 2000). This reaction produces chemicals and as a result we become happy but there
is more to happiness/laughter than meets the eye with a grin. Although laughing will not burn
the calories off of one's mid section and give you six-pack abdominals, true laughter can a raise
the heart rate, respiratory rate, increase oxygen levels and lower blood pressure which can
decrease stress hormones that help you live a healthier life (Bennett, Lengacher, 2007). This
decrease of stress hormones is attributed to an array of cells that produce antibodies to attack
unwanted organisms that harm our bodies such as viruses (Hasan & Hasan. 2009). This research
proves that laughter helps build our immune system and combat diseases. Laughter is a

EVOLUTION OF LAUGHTER

vasodilator and increases respiration rates, therefore, laughing promotes a higher volume of
oxygenated blood to flow through our cardiovascular and pulmonary systems thereby healing our
bodies. As they say, laughter is the best medicine. With a healthy body comes a healthy mind,
now we look into how laughter is developed in humans psychologically and emotionally.
The body is a vessel for the mind and it interprets all that we perceive. As the brain
processes information certain stimuli produces laughter for different reasons, in other words,
whether a situation can actually be viewed as an humorous event or just a knee-jerk reaction to a
situation the brain has a difficult time processing. All of this information and the mind's
interpretation of it helps to shape not only the individual but society as a whole.
We know that we laugh there exists some sort of trigger that warrants the said response
and there have been multiple theories that attempt to define the meaning behind laughter and its
effects. The Superiority theory comes into play when we laugh at someone else's misfortune or a
mistake that they made, in other words, we laugh because we believe that we hold a knowledge
that another person lacks. We end up experiencing a detachment from what a person is
experiencing and in turn we are able to laugh at the situation such as a person falling off of their
bike. What we find to be humorous helps to define our personality. However, laughter can come
with a price, often times what we think is funny may not be amusing to others.
This phenomena can be seen in early childhood, exacerbated in adolescence and can
eventually lead to gelotophobia which is the fear of being laughed at (Titze. 2009). This can have
a profound effect on an individual because being bullied or ridiculed molds an individual's
mannerisms and behaviors (e.g. avoiding socials events and crowds). As a result a person can
develop a nervous laughter which is used as a defense mechanism for uncomfortable situations.
Knowing this, one should strive to avoid the use of laughter to belittle or hurt others. But one can

EVOLUTION OF LAUGHTER

take solace in the fact that even though laughter can ostracize and alienate people it can also
bring people together and collectively shape us in a positive manner because shared experiences
are bonding experiences.
The Relief theory, one that we experience on a daily basis, is best portrayed by
Hollywood as they have honed these comedic situations into a nearly exact science. The relief
occurs when the tension is at its climax and at just the right moment something funny happens
thereby allowing the viewer to gain closure and feel better about what they had almost witnessed.
It is thought that the first laughter from humans came from a gesture of shared relief of barely
escaping dangerous situations e.g. being trampled while hunting for meat (Bardon. 2005) . In
some cultures people will laugh as opposed to showing anger and gritting one's teeth e.g. the
Spartans were known to make light of imminent doom thus creating a bond and making
themselves stronger as a result.
Lastly we come to the incongruity theory, which is when one expects something to occur
in a certain order. Humans are hard wired to think logically meaning we try to predict an end
result before it happens (cause and effect), however, there are far too many variables to consider
which results in people sometimes finding comedic relief in a scenario. It seems as if both the
relief theory and the incongruity theory are inextricably linked in some ways. Both pose an
unexpected outcome to a linear type of thinking. So when these theories are paired with a
collective mindset, humor is found and laughter is produced thereby bringing people together.
This begets the sculpting of the psychological, emotional and social framework that we have
come to understand presently. All of the preceding information is fairly new. Studies on the
significance of laughter had not been conducted until the mid-twentieth century, however,
theories of evolution and the corresponding disciplines have existed since the mid-nineteenth

EVOLUTION OF LAUGHTER

century. The marriage of these many fields has lead to some veritable evidence regarding the
study of laughter.
The most experimented way that we are able to research laughing is by tickling; There
are two kinds of tickling, knismesis, which is when someone or something that touches the skin
with a light caress, and gargalesis, a hard consistent gesture that is aimed at sensitive parts of the
skin. Great apes (including humans) are the only mammals known to be able to laugh and
through observation we are able to see how laughter affects our lives both physically, mentally
and socially (Leavens 2009). Just as humans do, the lesser apes have been known to use tickling
as a form of bonding to solicit their playful side. Davia Roass and others conducted an
experiment using the infants and 22 apes showing similarities to how humans laugh compared to
ours. This study showed that humans have the most vocalized developed laugh of our fellow
primates, next to bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas and lastly orangutans. When studying the
vocalization of laughter by tickling, humans produced a whooping sound, pleasure cries and hics
when they were tickled. Bonobos and chimpanzees were closest to humans with laughter sounds
as well as action related differences after being tickled; orangutans seem to have the least
common sound using mostly squeaking that sounds more or less like a certain bat nicknamed the
"flying fox". (Ross, Owren, Zimmermann. 2010). Some studies indicate why our laughter is close
buy yet so far from our fellow primates, Robert Provine suggests that an ancestral condition with
neuromuscular constraint affects an apes' vocal folds (or vocal cords) created by walking on all
fours which constricts the amount of air coming in and leaving that vocal folds (Provine, 2000).
Laughter is a funny thing because, like all research suggests and potentially confirms,
there is much we have to learn. Nevertheless there is a plethora of information stating that
laughter is just as integral to the development of the individual and his/her physiology,

EVOLUTION OF LAUGHTER

psychology and social adaptation as all the other components that makes up the psyche. On the
grand scale studies have shown how individuals turn to small groups and these lesser populations
blossom into societies and thereby portray a collective mindset i.e. the one and the many. The
evolution of laughter, like the majority of evolution, may or may not have been a mistake but the
outcome is undeniable. Laughter is a way that we are able to see the world so that we are able to
physically, psychological, emotionally and socially able to see something in a different aspect. It
is a valve that our brain turns on so our health is not in jeopardy from stress so that we are able to
cope with the things that life throws in our way, it creates bonding experiences with others that
surround us so that we are able to live together as a society and overall helps us strive to keep
moving forward otherwise I strongly believe that we as human race would not have moved
forward as far as we have.

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7
References

Bardon, A. (2005). The philosophy of humor. Connecticut: Greenwood press.

Bennett, M. P., Lengacher, C. Humor and laughter may influence health: III. Laugher and health
outcomes. (2007). 5(1)37-40.
Brain, Marshall. How Laughter Works. (2000). HowStuffWorks.com. 13 April 2015.
Hasan, H. & Hasan, T. F. (2009). Laugh yourself into a healthier person: A cross culture analysis
of the effects of varying levels of laughter on health. Int. J. Med. Sci.6(4):200-201.
Leavens, D. A., Animal communication: Laughter is the shortest distance between two apes.
(2009). Current Biology. R511
Provine, R. R. (2000). Laughter: A scientific investigation. New York Viking press.
Ross, M, D., Owren, M. J., Zimmermann, E. The evolution of laughter in the great apes and
humans. (2010). Communicative & integrative Biology; 3(2): 191-194.
Titze, M. (2009). Gelotophobia: The fear of being laughed at. Humor: International Journal of
Humor Research, 22, 27-48.