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1. Laughter
Laughter has social and health benefits. There are several theories on what makes different people laugh and why they laugh. Laughter is even being used as therapy to help patients.
2. Benefits of Laughter
* Provine Study
People are about 30 times more likely to laugh when they are in a social situation than when they are alone (Robert R. Provine)
In a study conducted by Provine he surveyed 1200 natural occurrences of human laughter. He eavesdropped on many conversations and he found that less than 20 percent of the laughter was a response to anything resembling a formal effort at humor.
The average speaker laughs about 46 percent more often than the audience. Females laugh more often than males.
3. The American Association for Therapeutic Humor
* What's funny to whom?
1. Toddlers and children find small simple things to be funny
2. Pre-teens and teens tend to laugh at jokes that have to do with sex, food, authority figures, and any subject an adult considers off limits. They use humor to protect themselves or feel superior
3. Adults basically laugh at issues that stress them out. They tend to laugh at similar things that happened in their culture, such as political or economic issues.
3. Most researchers on humor agree on 3 basic theories:
* The incongruity theory suggests that humor arises when things that don't normally go together replace logic and familiarity. Researcher Thomas Veatch says a joke becomes funny when we expect one outcome and get another.
Laughter has social and health benefits. There are several theories on what makes different people laugh and why they laugh. Laughter is even being used as therapy to help patients.
2. Benefits of Laughter
* Provine Study
People are about 30 times more likely to laugh when they are in a social situation than when they are alone (Robert R. Provine)
In a study conducted by Provine he surveyed 1200 natural occurrences of human laughter. He eavesdropped on many conversations and he found that less than 20 percent of the laughter was a response to anything resembling a formal effort at humor.
The average speaker laughs about 46 percent more often than the audience. Females laugh more often than males.
3. The American Association for Therapeutic Humor
* What's funny to whom?
1. Toddlers and children find small simple things to be funny
2. Pre-teens and teens tend to laugh at jokes that have to do with sex, food, authority figures, and any subject an adult considers off limits. They use humor to protect themselves or feel superior
3. Adults basically laugh at issues that stress them out. They tend to laugh at similar things that happened in their culture, such as political or economic issues.
3. Most researchers on humor agree on 3 basic theories:
* The incongruity theory suggests that humor arises when things that don't normally go together replace logic and familiarity. Researcher Thomas Veatch says a joke becomes funny when we expect one outcome and get another.