Laughter is a social structure, something that connects humans with one another in a profound way. People usually are 30 percent more likely to laugh in a social setting that warrants it than when alone with humor-inducing media. That means that you're more likely to laugh with friends while watching a comedy together than when you're watching the same show or movie by yourself.
There are many ways to laugh, from giggles to guffaws and from chuckles to cackles. Humans laugh for many reasons, some of them odd. About 90 percent of our laughter is related to jokes or humor.
There are some of the different types and reasons for all the laughter.
Belly Laughter
Belly laughter is considered the most honest type of laughter. It may also be the hardest type to experience, because we have to find something truly hilarious before we'll let go with the kind of laughter that has us clutching our bellies and gasping for air. Of course, that's not the only description for true belly laughter; as you might guess, we all laugh differently. Researchers found that men are more likely to grunt or snort at something they find funny, while women let loose with giggles and chuckles.
It's good to take note of what tickles your funny bone, however, because it just might save your life. The laughter can be used to fight near incurable illness. Ten minutes of genuine belly laughter had an anesthetic effect and can give at least two hours of pain-free sleep.
Etiquette Laughter
At the end of a long day, you and your colleague together in the elevator. Instead of talking up your latest accomplishments, though, you find yourself laughing at everything you are talking about. You sounded like a fool and you did just fine. People rely on laughter to get along with others, so whether we're with our colleagues or friends, we tend to laugh at things that just aren't funny.
In a study of laughter episodes, is found that people tend to laugh at perfectly bland statements like "Can I join you?" or "See you later". Laughter could have developed in our ancestors before full speech, so the sound is merely a way to communicate and show agreement.
We tend to laugh with anyone who can help us out, which is why a group of undergraduate students may guffaw at a professor's bad joke, while a job applicant's attempts at humor may fall flat with those who are already gainfully employed.
Contagious Laughter
You're out for dinner with a group of friends. Someone tells a joke and gets one person laughing, which gets a second person laughing, and so on. Catching laughter is like catching a cold. It's very likely. In research experiment is found that nearly half of his 128 undergraduate students giggled on first response to a simulated laugh. And they did this despite knowing the source to be an artificial laugh-simulator.
Contagious laughter raises the possibility that humans have laugh detectors. In other words, people are made to respond with laughter on hearing laughter itself, much like the mystery of spreading a yawn. Contagious laughter isn't necessarily a laughing matter. Laughter among the group can spread to the much wider community. And it suspected to be a case of mass hysteria.
Nervous Laughter
There are times when we need to project dignity and control, like during presentations to the CEO or during a funeral. Unfortunately, these are the times when uncontrollable nervous laughter is likely to strike.
During times of anxiety, we often laugh in a subconscious attempt to reduce stress and calm down. However, nervous laughter usually just heightens the awkwardness of the situation.
Nervous laughter is often considered fake laughter. Researchers advised women to stop this kind of laughter immediately. Researches recommended spanking young girls who were developing such a bad habit, told women that once they broke themselves of nervous laughter, they would wonder how people even stood their company before.
Silent Laughter
Those of us who work in cubicles may think that silent laughter is a skill we've perfected. Mindfully practicing silent laughter, though, can have real benefits because it involves the same type of deep breathing that comes with belly laughter.
Teaching sick kids the art of silent laughter enabled them to go back to sleep after waking up from a bad dream. The children got the calming benefits of the rhythmic exhalations without waking up any roommates.
This type of laughter is also practiced in laughter yoga and laughter therapy, where it's often called joker's laughter. To try it on your own, freeze your face into a smile, and then let your belly do the work of pushing air in and out as if you were laughing out loud.
Stress-relieving Laughter
Laughter is a skill we've perfected. Let's face it, life can be tough sometimes. The end of a workday doesn't mean everything's peachy keen. Muscles are still tight. It's a sign you're still carrying the stress of the day. Stress is one of the most important reasons to find something humorous. Laughter is a sure cure for stress. Stress builds tension in the human body, and that tension has to go somewhere. Usually it's the muscles. So what to do? Yes, you could get a massage, but have you ever considered a good laugh? Stress-relieving laughter can encompass many forms, but it's usually found in an outburst, much like belly laughing.
Pigeon Laughter
Say you're out for a walk with a friend when something falls from the sky: pigeon droppings. You're splattered, but your friend is untouched. This event is anything but funny to you, yet your friend can't stop laughing. This is not pigeon laughter. Pigeon laughter, which is often practiced in laughter therapy or laughter yoga, involves laughing without opening your mouth. By keeping your lips sealed, the laughter produces a humming sound, much like the noises a pigeon makes. It's also been compared to the humming of bees, so if you're still angry at those darn pigeons for dropping poop on you, feel free to call it bees' laughter.
Snorting Laughter
When you aren't actively trying to practice the art of silent laughter, odds are some kind of sound will occur when something strikes your funny bone. Most laughter is, after all, a string of vocal ha-has or ho-hos. But what if you're one of the roughly 25 percent of women or 33 percent of men who laugh through the nose? Then you'd be a snorter.
We all knew the kid in elementary school, the one who blew milk out his nose when the class clown cracked jokes in the cafeteria. You can guess his kind of laughter.
If this is your kind of laughter, you're either blowing air out or sucking it in through the nose when you laugh. There's nothing wrong with this - but you may want to drink in sips for those times when your friends try to catch you off guard with a new joke.
Canned laughter is another term for what's commonly referred to as the "laugh track." Canned laughter is real laughter - it just happens to be laughter taken completely out of one context and placed in another.
Because of laughter's social connection, television producers understand that placing canned laughter over the soundtrack to programming increases the chance of an audience finding humor in the material - or at least laughing in response to it. Of course, the laughter has to "sound" genuine to the audience; humans can quickly tell the difference between genuine and fake laughter.
Cruel Laughter
You've probably heard some motherly person say, "It isn't polite to laugh at others' expense." That probably hasn't always stopped you, either. Let's face it: Whether you were a bully in school or the kid getting picked on, you've found yourself breaking this rule at some point. We may think of cruel laughter as insensitive and out of touch today, but it's been around for a long time.
Add to that derisive laughter's place in ancient texts. Cruel laughter isn't just a thing of the ancient past. In cultures like the Inuit of Greenland, contests of derision and ridicule were their only judicial procedure, even for serious cases.
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