Khaberni - Laughter is not just a personal feeling, but something we share with other mammals. Whether you like it or not, your lips have already started moving now without you realizing it.
Sitting in the audience of a comedy show, watching a funny movie, or even at an office party when your boss cracks the best "knock-knock" joke—all are places where laughter is expected and encouraged.
But what about during a quiet moment in church? The situation is different. Yet, if you hear someone else laugh, you're likely to feel the urge to laugh too—even if it's inappropriate! So do we need to control ourselves, or is laughter truly contagious? The answer, simply, is yes.
Dr. Sandi Mann, member of the British Psychological Society, explains that "laughter is contagious, and indeed all emotions are contagious. We are wired to sense others' emotions." This is part of our evolution and a behavior we share with other mammals. It has been proven that monkeys—our closest relatives—laugh in a way that is strikingly similar to humans. And if you ever get the chance to approach a bonobo to try tickling it (which isn't necessarily advisable!), you would know what we mean.
Recent research has shown that monkeys might have a sense of humor and enjoy joking with each other. A 2021 review concluded that 65 animal species exhibit vocal behaviors similar to human laughter when having fun, most of them mammals and some birds. In fact, laughter is a fundamental part of humanity, transcending language and culture, as there isn't a single group on earth that doesn't laugh.
The reason laughter spreads so easily, as Dr. Mann says, is because shared emotions strengthen social bonds. Professor Robin Dunbar from the University of Oxford added in a 2022 study that humans always laugh together, yet we rarely see someone grooming another's hair as in the past.
Dunbar explains that our ancestors used laughter to expand the size of human groups beyond the limits imposed by social grooming. Social grooming, like picking insects out of hair, raises endorphin levels in the brain, which reduces pain and makes us feel relaxed. Laughter has a similar effect, with the advantage of being less intimate and faster than social grooming. Therefore, we always laugh together, but rarely do we see anyone grooming another's hair now.
Moreover, laughter helps to relieve stress. In difficult situations, humor can reduce pressure and enhance bonding among people. Sometimes we just need a smile and a laugh to take a break from stress.
Dark humor, or "gallows humor," can be a way to relieve stress, prevalent among workers in professions regularly exposed to tough situations. As Sarah Christopher, former lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University, explained, medical and emergency workers often use humor to cope with challenging situations, boosting resilience.
Even in the darkest chapters of history, humor has helped people maintain their spirits. A study that included testimonies from Holocaust survivors illustrates how laughter helped them to persist through harsh conditions.
In the medical field, not only do medical staff benefit, but patients too. Laughter can reduce pain and stress and improve the patient's experience. For example, a study conducted in five emergency departments in Australia showed a patient named "Janet" registered 38 instances of laughter over 6.5 hours.
Conversations revealed that some doctors did not respond to her attempts at humor, but she found support from a nurse who shared laughter with her, helping to ease her stress and discomfort from being ill.
Human laughter is multifaceted. There's spontaneous laughter that requires you to be present to understand, and there's laughter at contradictions and unexpected situations. Sometimes we laugh at times we shouldn't, like after receiving bad news, but this laughter serves as a means to relieve stress.
We also laugh at ourselves, something famously known among the British, or at the misfortunes of others, what the Germans call "schadenfreude." This type of laughter is so well-known that it was included in the musical "Avenue Q".
Laughter can be key to building relationships: cracking a joke may break the ice among people, boost bonding, and perhaps open the door to a business opportunity or a second date. Studying humor in psychology opens a window onto many aspects of human personality.
Laughter, like many human emotional expressions, is contagious. But unlike diseases, this infection is worth spreading. A bit of laughter makes everyday moments lighter and happier and helps us connect with others in a natural and smooth way. As Dunbar wrote: "Conversations that lack laughter become difficult and quickly boring."
Laughter is not just a feeling; it is an evolutionary social experience that brings us together, relieves stress, and strengthens our human bonds. And every laugh, no matter how short, is worth spreading.
