Abbott and Costello

Tickle, Magic, Funnybone

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

William “Bud” Abbott and Lou Costello were an Americancomedy duo whose work in vaudeville and on stage, radio, film and television made them the most popular comedy team during the 1940s and early 1950s. Their patter routine “Who’s on First?” is considered one of the greatest comedy routines of all time and set the framework for many of their best-known comedy bits.

Early years

Bud Abbott (1895–1974) was a veteran burlesque entertainer from a show business family. He worked at Coney Island and ran his own burlesque touring companies. At first he worked as a straight man to his wife Betty, then with veteran burlesque comedians like Harry Steppe and Harry Evanson. When he met his future partner in comedy, Abbott was performing in Minsky’s Burlesque shows.

Lou Costello (1906–1959) had been a burlesque comic since 1930 after failing to…

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Theories of humor

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There are many theories of humor which attempt to explain what humor is, what social functions it serves, and what would be considered humorous. Among the prevailing types of theories that attempt to account for the existence of humor, there are psychological theories, the vast majority of which consider humor to be very healthy behavior; there are spiritual theories, which may—for instance—consider humor to be a gift from “God”; and there are also theories that consider humor to be an inexplicable mystery, very much like a mystical experience.^[1] Although various classical theories of humor and laughter may be found, in contemporary academic literature, three theories of humor appear repeatedly: relief theory, superiority theory, and incongruity theory.^[2] Among current humor researchers, there is no consensus about which of these three theories of humor is most viable.^[2] Proponents of each one originally claimed their theory to be capable of explaining all cases of humor,^[2][3]however, they now acknowledge that although each theory generally covers its own area of focus, many instances of humor can be explained by more than one theory.^[2][3][4][5] Incongruity and superiority theories, for instance, seem to describe complementary mechanisms which together create humor.^[6]

Relief theory

Relief theory maintains that laughter is a homeostatic mechanism by which psychological tension is reduced.^[2][3][7] Humor may thus for example serve to facilitate relief of the tension caused by one’s fears.^[8] Laughter and mirth, according to relief theory, result from this release of nervous energy.^[2] Humor, according to relief theory, is used mainly to overcome sociocultural inhibitions and reveal suppressed desires. It is believed that this is the reason we laugh whilst being tickled, due to a build up of tension as the tickler “strikes”.^[2][9]

Superiority theory

The superiority theory of humor traces back to Plato and Aristotle, and Thomas Hobbes‘ Leviathan. The general idea is that a person laughs about misfortunes of others (so called schadenfreude), because these misfortunes assert the person’s superiority on the background of shortcomings of others.^[10] Socrates was reported by Platoas saying that the ridiculous was characterized by a display of self-ignorance.^[11] For Aristotle, we laugh at inferior or ugly individuals, because we feel a joy at feeling superior to them.^[12]

Incongruity theory

Further information: ridiculousness

The incongruity theory states that humor is perceived at the moment of realization of incongruity between a concept involved in a certain situation and the real objects thought to be in some relation to the concept.^[10]

Since the main point of the theory is not the incongruity per se, but its realization and resolution (i.e., putting the objects in question into the real relation), it is often called the incongruity-resolution theory.^[10]

Francis Hutcheson expressed in Thoughts on Laughter (1725) what became a key concept in the evolving theory of the comic: laughter as a response to the perception of incongruity.^[13] Arthur Schopenhauer wrote that the perceived incongruity is between a concept and the real object it represents. Hegel shared almost exactly the same view, but saw the concept as an “appearance” and believed that laughter then totally negates that appearance. According to Herbert Spencer, laughter is an “economical phenomenon” whose function is to release “psychic energy” that had been wrongly mobilized by incorrect or false expectations. The latter point of view was supported also by Sigmund Freud.

The first formulation of the incongruity theory is attributed to the Scottish poet Beattie.^[14]

The most famous version of the incongruity theory, however, is that of Kant, who claimed that the comic is “the sudden transformation of a strained expectation into nothing.” Henri Bergson attempted to perfect incongruity by reducing it to the “living” and “mechanical”.^[15]

An incongruity like Bergson’s, in things juxtaposed simultaneously, is still in vogue. This is often debated against theories of the shifts in perspectives in humour; hence, the debate in the series Humor Research between John Morreall and Robert Latta.^[16] Morreall presented mostly simultaneous juxtapositions,^[17] with Latta focusing on a “cognitive shift” created by the sudden solution to some kind of problem.

Humour frequently contains an unexpected, often sudden, shift in perspective, which gets assimilated by the Incongruity Theory. This view has been defended by Latta (1998) and by Brian Boyd (2004).^[18] Boyd views the shift as from seriousness to play. Nearly anything can be the object of this perspective twist; it is, however, in the areas of human creativity (science and art being the varieties) that the shift results from “structure mapping” (termed “bisociation” by Koestler) to create novel meanings.^[19] Arthur Koestler argues that humour results when two different frames of reference are set up and a collision is engineered between them.

General Theory of Verbal Humor

The General Theory of Verbal Humor (GTVH) proposed by Victor Raskin and Salvatore Attardo in 1991 (an extension of the Semantic Script Theory of Humor [SSTH] which Raskin proposed in 1985) identifies a semantic model capable of expressing incongruities between semantic scripts in verbal humor; this has been seen as an important recent development in the theory of laughter.^{[20][clarification needed]}

Computational-Neural Theory of Humor

The Computer Model of a Sense of Humor theory was suggested by Suslov in 1992.^[21] Investigation of the general scheme of information processing shows the possibility of a specific malfunction, conditioned by the necessity of a quick deletion from consciousness of a false version. This specific malfunction can be identified with a humorous effect on psychological grounds: it exactly corresponds to incongruity-resolution theory. However, an essentially new ingredient, the role of timing, is added to the well-known role of ambiguity. In biological systems, a sense of humor inevitably develops in the course of evolution, because its biological function consists of quickening the transmission of the processed information into consciousness and in a more effective use of brain resources. A realization of this algorithm in neural networks^[22] justifies naturally Spencer’s hypothesis on the mechanism of laughter: deletion of a false version corresponds to zeroing of some part of the neural network and excessive energy of neurons is thrown out to the motor cortex, arousing muscular contractions.

The theory treats on equal footing the humorous effect created by the linguistic means (verbal humor), as well as created visually (caricature, clown performance) or by tickling. The theory explains the natural differences in susceptibility of people to humor, absence of humorous effect from a trite joke, the role of intonation in telling jokes, nervous laughter, etc. According to this theory, humor has a pure biological origin, while its social functions arose later. This conclusion corresponds to the known fact that monkeys (as pointed out by Charles Darwin) and even rats (as found recently) possess a sense of humor.^[23]

A practical realization of this algorithm needs extensive databases, whose creation in the automatic regime was suggested recently.^[24]

Ontic-Epistemic Theory of Humor

The Ontic-Epistemic Theory of Humor (OETC) proposed by P. Marteinson (2006) asserts that laughter is a reaction to a cognitive impasse, a momentary epistemological difficulty, in which the subject perceives that Social Being itself suddenly appears no longer to be real in any factual or normative sense. When this occurs material reality, which is always factually true, is the only percept remaining in the mind at such a moment of comic perception. This theory posits, as in Bergson, that human beings accept as real both normative immaterial percepts, such as social identity, and neological factual percepts, but also that the individual subject normally blends the two together in perception in order to live by the assumption they are equally real. The comic results from the perception that they are not. This same result arises in a number of paradigmatic cases: factual reality can be seen to conflict with and disprove social reality, which Marteinson calls Deculturation; alternatively, social reality can appear to contradict other elements of social reality, which he calls “Relativisation”. Laughter, according to Marteinson, serves to reset and re-boot the faculty of social perception, which has been rendered non-functional by the comic situation: it anesthetizes the mind with its euphoria, and permits the forgetting of the comic stimulus, as well as the well-known function of communicating the humorous reaction to other members of society.^[25]

Sexual selection

See also: Sexual selection in human evolution

Evolutionary psychologist Geoffrey Miller contends that, from an evolutionary perspective, humour would have had no survival value to early humans living in the savannas of Africa. He proposes that human characteristics like humor evolved by sexual selection. He argues that humour emerged as an indicator of other traits that were of survival value, such as human intelligence.^[26]

Detection of mistaken reasoning

In 2011, three researchers, Hurley, Dennett and Adams, published a book that reviews previous theories of humor and many specific jokes. They propose the theory that humor evolved because it strengthens the ability of the brain to find mistakes in active belief structures, that is, to detect mistaken reasoning.^[27] This is somewhat consistent with the sexual selection theory, because, as stated above, humor would be a reliable indicator of an important survival trait: the ability to detect mistaken reasoning. However, the three researchers argue that humor is fundamentally important because it is the very mechanism that allows the human brain to excel at practical problem solving. Thus, according to them, humor did have survival value even for early humans, because it enhanced the neural circuitry needed to survive.

Misattribution theory

Misattribution is one theory of humor that describes an audience’s inability to identify exactly why they find a joke to be funny. The formal theory is attributed to Zillmann & Bryant (1980) in their article, “Misattribution Theory of Tendentious Humor”, published in Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. They derived the critical concepts of the theory from Sigmund Freud‘s Wit and Its Relation to the Unconscious (note: from a Freudian perspective, wit is separate from humor), originally published in 1905.

Benign Violation Theory

The benign violation theory (BVT) is developed by researchers A. Peter McGraw and Caleb Warren.^[28] The BVT integrates seemingly disparate theories of humor to predict that humor occurs when three conditions are satisfied: 1) something threatens one’s sense of how the world “ought to be”, 2) the threatening situation seems benign, and 3) a person sees both interpretations at the same time.

From an evolutionary perspective, humorous violations likely originated as apparent physical threats, like those present in play fighting and tickling. As humans evolved, the situations that elicit humor likely expanded from physical threats to other violations, including violations of personal dignity (e.g., slapstick, teasing), linguistic norms (e.g., puns, malapropisms), social norms (e.g., strange behaviors, risqué jokes), and even moral norms (e.g., disrespectful behaviors). The BVT suggests that anything that threatens one’s sense of how the world “ought to be” will be humorous, so long as the threatening situation also seems benign.

There is also more than one way a violation can seem benign. McGraw and Warren tested three contexts in the domain of moral violations. A violation can seem benign if one norm suggests something is wrong but another salient norm suggests it is acceptable. A violation can also seem benign when one is psychologically distant from the violation or is only weakly committed to the violated norm.

For example, McGraw and Warren find that most consumers were disgusted when they read about a church raffling off a Hummer SUV to recruit new members. However, many consumers were simultaneously amused. Consistent with the BVT, people who attended church were less likely to be amused than people who did not. Churchgoers are more committed to the belief that churches are sacred and, consequently, were less likely to consider the church’s behavior benign.

Humor as defense mechanism

According to George Eman Vaillant‘s (1977) categorization, humor is level IV defense mechanism: overt expression of ideas and feelings (especially those that are unpleasant to focus on or too terrible to talk about) that gives pleasure to others. Humor, which explores the absurdity inherent in any event, enables someone to “call a spade a spade”, while “wit” is a form of displacement (level 3). Wit refers to the serious or distressing in a humorous way, rather than disarming it; the thoughts remain distressing, but they are “skirted round” by witticism.

Sense of humor, sense of seriousness

One must have a sense of humor and a sense of seriousness to distinguish what is supposed to be taken literally or not. An even more keen sense is needed when humor is used to make a serious point.^[29][30] Psychologists have studied how humor is intended to be taken as having seriousness, as when court jesters used humor to convey serious information. Conversely, when humor is not intended to be taken seriously, bad taste in humor may cross a line after which it is taken seriously, though not intended.^[31]

Metaphor and metonymy

Tony Veale, who takes a more formalised computational approach than Koestler, has written on the role of metaphor and metonymy in humour,^[32][33][34] using inspiration from Koestler as well as from Dedre Gentner‘s theory of structure-mapping, George Lakoff and Mark Johnson‘s theory of conceptual metaphor, and Mark Turner and Gilles Fauconnier‘s theory of conceptual blending.

Humor (positive psychology)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Humor is defined as “the tendency of particular cognitive responses to provoke laughter, physical reaction, and provide amusement.” Humor is experienced across all ages and cultures. In positive psychology, humor is studied in a variety of functions, particularly as a coping mechanism and as a character strength in the broaden-and-build theory. An empirical definition of humor remains elusive due to its dependence on and variance across cultures. However, humor is correlated with good self-efficacy^[1] and resilience.

Positive Psychological Theory

There are two dominating views and a plethora of methodological approaches to measuring humor. The aesthetic view defines humor as a specific subset of amusing and playful behavior (among wit, sarcasm, irony, satire, and like traits of a comic). The other, more popular view in American psychology conceptualizes humor as an umbrella term for all that is considered laughable.^[2]:585 In positive psychology, humor is synonymous with playfulness. One of its marked characteristics is not only laughter, but smiling.^[2]:583 Presently, there is no agreed upon terminology and no consensual definition in either psychology or positive psychology.

In constructing methodologies for measuring humor, there are nearly as many measuring systems as definitions. Popular measuring systems include Martin’s Situational Humor Response Questionnaire (SHRQ), which focuses on human mirth in daily life, and the Coping Humor Scale (CHS), which deals more with humor being used as a coping measure for stress.^[2]:588 Other important humor scales are the Humorous Behavior Q-Sort Deck, Humor Styles Questionnaire (HSQ), WD Test of Humor Appreciation, and the State-Trait Cheerfulness Inventory (STCI).^[2]:589-590 The different humor tests are indicative of the underlying diversity and lack of consensus in defining humor.

Humor itself eludes concrete and empirical definition for a number of reasons which stem from its identity as a trait, underlying behavior, or emotion, and the diversity in which it expresses itself in different cultures and societies. Sociologically, humor expresses itself differently across gender, culture, nationality, age, social setting, and a number of other factors amongst individuals.^{[citation needed]}

Major Empirical Findings

Humor and Laughter

One of the main focuses of modern psychological humor theory and research is to establish and clarify the correlation between humor and laughter. The major empirical findings here are that laughter and humor do not always have a one-to-one association. While most previous theories assumed the connection between the two almost to the point of them being synonymous, psychology has been able to scientifically and empirically investigate the supposed connection, its implications, and significance.

In 2009, Diana Szameitat conducted a study to examine the differentiation of emotions in laughter. They hired actors and told them to laugh with one of four different emotional associations by using auto-induction, where they would focus exclusively on the internal emotion and not on the expression of laughter itself. They found an overall recognition rate of 44%, with joy correctly classified at 44%, tickle 45%, schadenfreude 37%, and taunt 50%.^[3]:399 Their second experiment tested the behavioral recognition of laughter during an induced emotional state and they found that different laughter types did differ with respect to emotional dimensions.^[3]:401-402 In addition, the four emotional states displayed a full range of high and low sender arousal and valence.^[3]:403 This study showed that laughter can be correlated with both positive (joy and tickle) and negative (schadenfreude and taunt) emotions with varying degrees of arousal in the subject.

This brings into question the definition of humor, then. If it is to be defined by the cognitive processes which display laughter, then humor itself can encompass a variety of negative as well as positive emotions. However, if humor is limited to positive emotions and things which cause positive affect, it must be delimited from laughter and their relationship should be further defined.

Humor and Health

Humor has shown to be effective for increasing resilience in dealing with distress and also effective in undoing negative affects.

Madeljin Strick, Rob Holland, Rick van Baaren, and Ad van Knippenberg (2009) of Radboud University conducted a study that showed the distracting nature of a joke on bereaved individuals.^[4]:574-578 Subjects were presented with a wide range of negative pictures and sentences. Their findings showed that humorous therapy attenuated the negative emotions elicited after negative pictures and sentences were presented. In addition, the humor therapy was more effective in reducing negative affect as the degree of affect increased in intensity.^[4]:575-576 Humor was immediately effective in helping to deal with distress. The escapist nature of humor as a coping mechanism suggests that it is most useful in dealing with momentary stresses. Stronger negative stimuli requires a different therapeutic approach.^{[citation needed]}

Humor is an underlying character trait associated with the positive emotions used in the broaden-and-build theory of cognitive development.

Studies, such as those testing the undoing hypothesis,^[5]:313 have shown several positive outcomes of humor as an underlying positive trait in amusement and playfulness. Several studies have shown that positive emotions can restore autonomic quiescence after negative affect. For example, Frederickson and Levinson showed that individuals who expressed Duchenne smiles during the negative arousal of a sad and troubling event recovered from the negative affect approximately 20% faster than individuals who didn’t smile.^[5]:314

Humor can serve as a strong distancing mechanism in coping with adversity. In 1997 Kelter and Bonanno found that Duchenne laughter correlated with reduced awareness of distress.^[6] Positive emotion is able to loosen the grip of negative emotions on peoples’ thinking. A distancing of thought leads to a distancing of the unilateral responses people often have to negative arousal. In parallel with the distancing role plays in coping with distress, it supports the broaden and build theory that positive emotions lead to increased multilateral cognitive pathway and social resource building.

Humor and Aging

Humor has been shown to improve and help the aging process in three areas. The areas are improving physical health, improving social communications, and helping to achieve a sense of satisfaction in life.

Studies have shown that constant humor in the aging process gives health benefits to individuals. Such benefits as higher self-esteem, lower levels of depression,anxiety, and perceived stress, and a more positive self-concept as well as other health benefits which have been recorded and acknowledged through various studies.^[7][8] Even patients with specific diseases have shown improvement with aging using humor.^[9] Overall there is a strong correlation through constant humor in aging and better health in the individuals.

Another way that research indicates that humor helps with the aging process, is through helping the individual to create and maintain strong social relationship during transitory periods in their lives.^[9] One such example is when people are moved into nursing homes or other facilities of care. With this transition certain social interactions with friend and family may be limited forcing the individual to look else where for these social interactions. Humor has been shown to make transitions easier, as humor is shown reduce stress and facilitate socialization and serves as a social bonding function.^[10] Humor may also help the transition in helping the individual to maintain positive feelings toward those who are enforcing the changes in their lives. These new social interactions can be critical for these transitions in their lives and humor will help these new social interactions to take place making these transitions easier.

Humor can also help aging individuals maintain a sense of satisfaction in their lives. Through the aging process many changes will occur, such as losing the right to drive a car. This can cause a decrease in satisfaction in the lives of the individual. Humor helps to alleviate this decrease of satisfaction by allowing the humor to release stress and anxiety caused by changes in the individuals life.^[9] Laughing and humor can be a substitute for the decrease in satisfaction by allowing individuals to feel better about their situations by alleviating the stress.^[7] This, in turn, can help them to maintain a sense of satisfaction toward their new and changing life style.

Applications

Positive psychology in particular holds that humor, as a specific character trait, serves to increase Psychological resilience in coping with adversity and also helps in cognitive development to increase both creativity and generativity by encouraging multiple pathway solutions and analysis of challenges.

To enjoy the benefits of humor, many programs have been designed to cultivate humor and playfulness for use in hospital, educational, and counseling settings, among other places.^[2]:596 A representative example is found in Mcghee (1999). In his program, he outlines an eight-step program that encompass a range of difficulties.^[2]:597Although no published data exists on it, Simone Sassenrath reported that a group of adults had increased self-reported changes in humor, playfulness, and positive mood at one month after the end of the program.^[2]:597

Conclusions

Humor can serve multiple psychological functions, whether it is conceptualized as a personality trait, a strength of character, a coping mechanism, a world view, an attitude, an emotion-based temperament, an aesthetic preference, an ability and competence, or a virtue.^[11] As a character strength and virtue, humor is especially applicable in psychology. Because of the great cultural and individual variation of what people find humorous, and because of the ambivalence of how humor itself is defined in a cognitive and social sense, a great variety of measuring methods have developed for humor. However, despite how the different methods have shaped how humor is measured and its effects, its major correlation with resilience to adversity and long-term creativity and generativity in cognitive development render it an invaluable trait in the field of positive psychology. As a coping mechanism, it is apparent that the merely distracting nature of humor makes other methods desirable for more negative stimuli. Cultivating humor may prove to be a valuable approach to helping individuals strive for happiness and to help cope with daily stresses.

Gelotology

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Two girls laughing.

Gelotology (from the Greek gelos, meaning laughter) is the study of laughter and its effects on the body, from a psychologicaland physiological perspective. Its proponents often advocate induction of laughter on therapeutic grounds in complementary medicine. The field of study was pioneered by William F. Fry of Stanford University.^[1]

History

Gelotology was first studied by psychiatrists, although some doctors in antiquity recommended laughter as a form of medicine. It was initially deprecated by most other physicians, who doubted that laughter possessed analgesic qualities. One early study that demonstrated the effectiveness of laughter in a clinical setting showed that laughter could help patients with atopic dermatitis respond less to allergens.^[2] Other studies have shown that laughter can help alleviate stress and pain, and can assistcardiopulmonary rehabilitation.^[3]

Types of therapy

Several types of therapy have emerged which use laughter to help patients.

• Humor and Laughter Therapy consist of the use of humorous materials such as books, shows, movies, or stories to encourage spontaneous discussion of the patients’ own humorous experiences. This can be provided individually or in a group setting. The process is facilitated by a clinician.^[4] It can also be used in conversation between medical professionals and patients.^[5]

• Laughter Meditation possesses similarities to traditional meditation. However, it is the laughter that focuses the person to concentrate on the moment. Through a three-stage process of stretching, intentional laughing, and a period of meditative silence. It is sometimes done in group settings.^[6]

• Laughter Yoga is somewhat similar to traditional yoga, it is an exercise which incorporates breathing, yoga, and stretching techniques, along with laughter. The structured format includes several laughter exercises for a period of 30 to 45 minutes facilitated by a trained individual. It can be used as supplemental or preventative therapy.^[7]

Pathological laughing and crying

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pseudobulbar affect

Pseudobulbar affect (PBA), emotional lability, labile affect or emotional incontinence refers to a neurologic disorder characterized by involuntary crying or uncontrollable episodes of crying and/or laughing, or other emotional displays.^[1] PBA occurs secondary to neurologic disease or brain injury. Patients may find themselves crying uncontrollably at something that is only moderately sad, being unable to stop themselves for several minutes. Episodes may also be mood-incongruent: a patient might laugh uncontrollably when angry or frustrated, for example.

Terminology

Historically there have been a variety of terms used, including pseudobulbar affect, pathological laughter and crying, emotional lability, emotionalism, emotional dysregulation, or, more recently, involuntary emotional expression disorder (IEED).^[2]

Terms such as forced crying, involuntary crying, pathological emotionality, and emotional incontinence have also been used, although less frequently.^[3]

Clinical presentation

The cardinal feature of the disorder is a pathologically lowered threshold for exhibiting the behavioral response of laughter, crying, or both. An affected individual exhibits episodes of laughter and/or crying without an apparent motivating stimulus or in response to stimuli that would not have elicited such an emotional response before the onset of their underlying neurologic disorder. In some patients, the emotional response is exaggerated in intensity but is provoked by a stimulus with an emotional valence congruent with the character of the emotional display. For example, a sad stimulus provokes a pathologically exaggerated weeping response instead of a sigh, which the patient normally would have exhibited in that particular situation.

However, in some other patients, the character of the emotional display can be incongruent with, and even contradictory to, the emotional valence of the provoking stimulus or may be incited by a stimulus with no clear valence. For example, a patient may laugh in response to sad news or cry in response to stimuli with no emotional undertone, or, once provoked, the episodes may switch from laughing to crying or vice versa.^[4]

Characteristics

The symptoms of PBA can be severe, with persistent and unremitting episodes.^[3] Characteristics include:

• the onset can be sudden and unpredictable, and has been described by some patients as coming on like a seizure;
• the outbursts have a typical duration of a few seconds to several minutes; and,
• the outbursts may happen several times a day.

Background and current understanding

Many patients with neurologic disorders exhibit uncontrollable episodes of laughing, crying, or both that are either exaggerated or contradictory to the context in which they occur. Where patients have significant cognitive deficits (e.g., Alzheimer’s) it can be unclear whether it is true PBA as opposed to a grosser form of emotional dysregulation, but patients with intact cognition often report the symptom as disturbing. Patients report that their episodes are at best only partially amenable to voluntary control, and unless they experience a severe change of mental status, they often have insight into their problem and judge their emotional display as inappropriate and out of character. The clinical impact of PBA can be severe, with unremitting and persistent symptoms that can be disabling to patients, and may significantly impact quality of life for caregivers.

Causes

The specific pathophysiology involved in this frequently debilitating condition is still under investigation; the primary pathogenic mechanisms of PBA remain controversial.^[5] One hypothesis, established by early researchers such as Wilson and Oppenheim, placed emphasis on the role of the corticobulbar pathways in modulating emotional expression in a top-down model, and theorized that PBA occurs when bilateral lesions in the descending corticobulbar tract cause failure of voluntary control of emotion, which leads to the disinhibition, or release, of laughing/crying centers in the brainstem.^[6] Other theories implicate the prefrontal cortex.^[7]

A secondary condition

Pseudobulbar affect is a condition that occurs secondary to neurological disease or brain injury, and is thought to result from disruptions of neural networks that control the generation and regulation of motor output of emotions. PBA is most commonly observed in people with neurologic injuries such as traumatic brain injury (TBI) andstroke,^[8][9] and neurologic diseases such as dementias including Alzheimer’s disease, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), ^[10][11][12] multiple sclerosis (MS),amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Lyme Disease, PANDAS in children and adults, and Parkinson’s disease (PD).

PBA has also been observed in association with a variety of other brain disorders, including brain tumors, Wilson’s disease, syphilitic pseudobulbar palsy, and variousencephalitides. Rarer conditions associated with PBA include gelastic epilepsy, dacrystic epilepsy, central pontine myelinolysis, olivopontinocerebellar atrophy, lipid storage diseases, chemical exposure (e.g., nitrous oxide and insecticides), fou rire prodromique, and Angelman syndrome.

It is hypothesized that these primary neurologic injuries and diseases impact chemical signaling in the brain, which in turn disrupts the neurologic pathways that control emotional expression.^[13][14][15]

Other effects

Impact on social life

While not as profoundly disabling as the physical symptoms of these diseases, PBA can have a significant impact on individuals’ social functioning and their relationships with others. Such sudden, frequent, extreme, uncontrollable emotional outbursts may lead to social withdrawal and interfere with activities of daily living, social and professional pursuits, and have a negative impact on overall healthcare. For example, patients with ALS and MS are often cognitively normal. However, the appearance of uncontrollable emotions is commonly associated with many additional neurologic diseases such as Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder;^[16]Parkinson’s disease,^[17] Cerebral Palsy,^[18]Autism,^[19]Epilepsy,^[20] & Migraine,^[21] this may lead to severe embarrassment and avoidance of social interactions for the patient, which in turn has an impact on their coping mechanisms and their careers.^{[3][22][23][24][25]}

Several criteria exist to differentiate between PBA and depression

Depression: distinct or coexisting

PBA may often be misdiagnosed as clinical depression; however, many clear distinctions exist.

In depression and grief syndromes, crying is typically a sign of sadness, whereas the pathological displays of crying which occur in PBA are often in contrast to the underlying mood, or greatly in excess of the mood or eliciting stimulus. In addition, a key to differentiating depression from PBA is duration: PBA episodes are sudden, occurring in a brief episodic manner, while crying in depression is a more sustained presentation and closely relates to the underlying mood state. The level of control that one has over the crying episodes in PBA is minimal or nonexistent, whereas for those suffering from depression, the emotional expression (typically crying) can be modulated by the situation. Similarly, the trigger for episodes of crying in patients with PBA may be nonspecific, minimal or inappropriate to the situation, but in depression the stimulus is specific to the mood-related condition. These differences are outlined in the adjacent Table.

In some cases, depressed mood and PBA may co-exist. In fact, depression is one of the most common emotional changes in patients with neurodegenerative disease or post-stroke sequelae. As a result, it is often comorbid with PBA. Comorbidity implies that depression is distinct from PBA and is not necessary for, nor does it exclude, a diagnosis of PBA.^[2]

Prevalence of PBA symptoms

Prevalence estimates place the number of people with PBA between 1.5 and 2 million in the United States alone. Some argue that the number is probably higher and that clinicians underdiagnose PBA.^[26][27] However, the prevalence estimate of 2 million is based on an online survey. Self-selected computer savvy patients in at-risk groups evaluated their own symptoms and submitted their self-diagnoses. No doctor or clinic confirmed the data. Motivation to participate could have been influenced by the presence of symptoms, which would have skewed the results. The actual prevalence could very well be quite a bit lower than estimated.^[28]

Prevalence in patients with stroke

PBA is one of the most frequently reported post-stroke behavioral syndromes, with a range of reported prevalence rates from 28% to 52%.^[29][30][31] The higher prevalence rates tend to be reported in stroke patients who are older and/or who have a history of prior stroke.^[32][33] The relationship between post-stroke depression and PBA is complicated, because the depressive syndrome also occurs with high frequency in stroke survivors. Post-stroke patients with PBA are more depressed than poststroke patients without PBA, and the presence of a depressive syndrome may exacerbate the weeping side of PBA symptoms.^[29][34]

Prevalence in patients with multiple sclerosis

Recent studies suggest that approximately 10% of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) will experience at least one episode of emotional lability.^[35][36] PBA is generally associated with later stages of the disease (chronic progressive phase).^[31] PBA in MS patients is associated with more severe intellectual deterioration, physical disability, and neurological disability.^[37]

Prevalence in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

A study designed specifically to survey for prevalence found that 49% of patients with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) also had PBA.^[22] PBA does not appear to be associated with duration of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.^[38][39] It is a symptom of ALS that many patients are unaware of and do not get information about by their physician.^[40]

Prevalence in patients with traumatic brain injury

One study of 301 consecutive cases in a clinic setting reported a 5% prevalence. PBA occurred in patients with more severe head injury, and coincided with other neurological features suggestive of pseudobulbar palsy.^[41]

The Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) indicates that approximately 80% of survey respondents experience symptoms of an additional neurologic condition called pseudobulbar affect (PBA).^[42]

Results from a recent investigation estimates the prevalence of pseudobulbar affect associated with traumatic brain injury to exceed more than 55% of survivors.^[43]

Treatment

Recognition is crucial for the treatment of PBA. Education of patients, families, and caregivers is an important component of the appropriate treatment of PBA. Crying associated with PBA may be incorrectly interpreted as depression; laughter may be embarrassing. It is therefore critical for families and caregivers to recognize the pathological nature of PBA and the reassurance that this is an involuntary syndrome that is manageable. Traditionally, antidepressants such as sertraline,^[44]fluoxetine,^[45][46] citalopram,^[47] nortriptyline^[48] and amitriptyline^[49] have been prescribed with some efficacy.

Dextromethorphan/quinidine

Dextromethorphan/quinidine (trade name: Nuedexta) is the first FDA-approved drug for the treatment of PBA. Treatment with dextromethorphan/quinidine significantly decreased laughing and crying episodes in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or multiple sclerosis (MS) as compared with placebo in a 12-week, randomized, double-blind study (n=326).^[50]

Charles Darwin

The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals by Charles Darwin was published in 1872.^[51] In Chapter VI “Special Expressions of Man: Suffering and Weeping” Darwin discusses cultural variations in the acceptability of weeping and the wide differences in individual responses to suffering. The chapter contains the following sentence:

We must not, however, lay too much stress on the copious shedding of tears by the insane, as being due to the lack of all restraint; for certain brain-diseases, as hemiplegia, brain-wasting, and senile decay, have a special tendency to induce weeping.^[52]

Laughter in animals

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An orangutan“laughing”

Laughter in animals other than humans describes animal behavior which resembles human laughter.

Numerous species demonstrate vocalizations similar to human laughter. A significant proportion of these are mammals, including non-human primates, which suggests that the neurological functions involved in expressing cheer occurred early in the process of mammalian evolution. ^[1]

Non-human primates

Chimpanzees, gorillas, bonobos and orangutans show laughter-like vocalizations in response to physical contact, such as wrestling, play chasing, or tickling. This is documented in wild and captive chimpanzees. Chimpanzee laughter is not readily recognizable to humans as such, because it is generated by alternating inhalations and exhalations that sound more like breathing and panting. It sounds similar to screeching. The differences between chimpanzee and human laughter may be the result of adaptations that have evolved to enable human speech. It is hard to tell, though, whether or not the chimpanzee is expressing joy. There are instances in which non-human primates have been reported to have expressed joy. One study analyzed and recorded sounds made by human babies and bonobos (also known as pygmy chimpanzees) when tickled. It found that although the bonobo’s laugh was a higher frequency, the laugh followed the same spectrographic pattern of human babies to include as similar facial expressions. Humans and chimpanzees share similar ticklish areas of the body such as the armpits and belly. The enjoyment of tickling in chimpanzees does not diminish with age.

Research has noted the similarity in forms of laughter among humans and apes (chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, orangutans) when tickled, suggesting that laughter derived from a common origin among primate species, and has subsequently evolved prior to the origin of humans.^[2][3]

Rats

Brown rat

It has been discovered that rats emit long, high frequency, ultrasonic, socially induced vocalization during rough and tumble play and when tickled. The vocalization is described as distinct “chirping”. Humans cannot hear the “chirping” without special equipment. It was also discovered that like humans, rats have “tickle skin”. These are certain areas of the body that generate more laughter response than others. The laughter is associated with positive emotional feelings and social bonding occurs with the human tickler, resulting in the rats becoming conditioned to seek the tickling. Additional responses to the tickling were that those that laughed the most also played the most, and those that laughed the most preferred to spend more time with other laughing rats. This suggests a social preference to other rats exhibiting similar responses. However, as the rats age, there does appear to be a decline in the tendency to laugh and respond to tickle skin. The initial goal ofJaak Panksepp and Jeff Burgdorf’s research was to track the biological origins of joyful and social processes of the brain by comparing rats and their relationship to the joy and laughter commonly experienced by children in social play. Although, the research was unable to prove rats have a sense of humor, it did indicate that they can laugh and express joy.^[4] Chirping by rats is also reported in additional studies by Brian Knutson of the National Institutes of Health. Rats chirp when wrestling one another, before receiving morphine, or when mating. The sound has been interpreted as an expectation of something rewarding.^[5] High frequency ultrasonic vocalizations serve an important communicative function, namely to elicit social approach behavior in the recipient.^[6]

Dogs

A dog laugh sounds similar to a normal pant. By analyzing the pant using a sonograph, this pant varies with bursts of frequencies, resulting in a laugh. When this recorded dog-laugh vocalization is played to dogs in a shelter setting, it can initiate play, promote pro-social behavior, and decrease stress levels. In a study by Simonet, Versteeg, and Storie, 120 subject dogs in a mid-size county animal shelter were observed. Dogs ranging from 4 months to 10 years of age were compared with and without exposure to a dog-laugh recording. The stress behaviors measured included panting, growling, salivating, pacing, barking, cowering, lunging, play-bows, sitting, orienting and lying down. The study resulted in positive findings when exposed to the dog laughing: significantly reduced stress behaviors, increased tail wagging and the display of a play-face when playing was initiated, and the increase of pro-social behavior such as approaching and lip licking were more frequent. This research suggests exposure to dog-laugh vocalizations can calm the dogs and possibly increase shelter adoptions.^[7]

Death from laughter

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chrysippus allegedly died of laughter.

Der Tod des Dichters Pietro Aretinoby Anselm Feuerbach.

Death from laughter refers to a rare instance of death, usually resulting from cardiac arrest or asphyxiation, caused by a fit oflaughter. Instances of death by laughter have been recorded from Ancient Greece to the modern day.

Pathophysiology

Death may result from several pathologies that deviate from benign laughter. Infarction of the pons and medulla oblongata in the brain may cause pathological laughter.^[1]

Laughter can cause atonia and collapse (“gelastic syncope“),^[2][3][4][5] which in turn can cause trauma. See also laughter-induced syncope, cataplexy, and Bezold-Jarisch reflex. Gelastic seizures can be due to focal lesions to the hypothalamus.^[6]Depending upon the size of the lesion, the emotional lability may be a sign of an acute condition, and not itself the cause of the fatality. Gelastic syncope has also been associated with the cerebellum.^[7]

Historical deaths attributed to laughter[edit]

• Zeuxis, a 5th-century BC Greek painter, is said to have died laughing at the humorous way he painted the goddess Aphrodite – after the old woman who commissioned it insisted on modeling for the portrait.^[8]
• One ancient account of the death of Chrysippus, the 3rd century BC Greek Stoic philosopher, tells that he died of laughter after he saw a donkey eating his figs; he told a slave to give the donkey neat wine to drink to wash them down with, and then, ‘…having laughed too much, he died’ (Diogenes Laertius 7.185).^[9]
• In 1410, King Martin of Aragon died from a combination of indigestion and uncontrollable laughter.^[10]
• In 1556, Pietro Aretino “is said to have died of suffocation from laughing too much”.^[11]
• In 1660, Thomas Urquhart, the Scottish aristocrat, polymath and first translator of François Rabelais‘s writings into English, is said to have died laughing upon hearing that Charles II had taken the throne.^[12][13]
• In 1893, Farmer Wesley Parsons laughed to death over a joke told in Laurel, Indiana. He laughed for nearly an hour. He then perished two hours after the incident.^[14]
• On 24 March 1975, Alex Mitchell, from King’s Lynn, England, died laughing while watching the “Kung Fu Kapers” episode ofThe Goodies, featuring a kilt-clad Scotsman with his bagpipes battling a master of the Lancastrian martial art “Eckythump”, who was armed with a black pudding. After 25 minutes of continuous laughter, Mitchell finally slumped on the sofa and died from heart failure. His widow later sentThe Goodies a letter thanking them for making Mitchell’s final moments of life so pleasant.^{[15][16][17][18][19]} Diagnosis of his granddaughter in 2012 of having the inheritable long QT syndrome (a heart rhythm abnormality) suggests that Mitchell may have died of a cardiac arrest caused by long QT syndrome.^[20]
• In 1989, Ole Bentzen, a Danish audiologist, died laughing while watching A Fish Called Wanda. His heart was estimated to have beaten at between 250 and 500 beats per minute, before he succumbed to cardiac arrest.^[21]
• In 2003, Damnoen Saen-um, a Thai ice cream salesman, is reported to have died while laughing in his sleep at the age of 52. His wife was unable to wake him, and he stopped breathing after two minutes of continuous laughter. He is believed to have died of either heart failure or asphyxiation.^[15]

Fictional deaths attributed to laughter[edit]

• J. P. Cubish from Daffy Duck’s Quackbusters.
• The Toon Patrol in Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
• In one of the Give Yourself Goosebumps books^[which?] by R. L. Stine, it is possible to get an ending where chimpanzees tickle your feet until you die of laughter.
• Kenny McCormick, a character on South Park, suffers said fate in the fifth-season episode “Scott Tenorman Must Die” while he watched a video of Cartman singing “I’m a Little Piggy” and oinking.
• Ana in the play, The Clean House, by Sarah Ruhl.
• Jerry’s friend, Fulton, in the Seinfeld episode entitled “The Stand-In“.
• In the Batman franchise, famed villain The Joker often kills his victims using a poison that causes uncontrollable and quickly fatal fits of manic laughter – the victim’s corpse is often left with a huge ghastly smile reminiscent of the Joker’s own. In the 1989 film, a news broadcast reporting a scheme involving this very toxin (named “Smilex” in this film) is cut short when one of the reporters begins laughing hysterically, as if amused by the sinister plot, before collapsing dead with the characteristic rictus.
• At the end of the film Mary Poppins, Mr. Dawes, Sr. (Dick Van Dyke) is said to have literally died laughing after being told a joke: “I know a man with a wooden leg named Smith.” “Really? What’s the name of his other leg?”
• In the musical and film Little Shop of Horrors, a character asphyxiates on Nitrous Oxide (laughing gas) and his last words are “I’ve laughed myself to death”.
• In the Six Feet Under episode “Parallel Play”, a teenage girl dies laughing after making a prank phone call.
• In Episode 12 of Season 1 of 1000 Ways to Die, a man dies after laughing continuously for 36 hours at an unknown joke.
• In Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs where the heroes cross the “Chasm of Death”. The chasm is filled with gas fumes (a mixture of helium and laughing gas, causing anyone who breathes in it to laugh uncontrollably while speaking in a high-pitched voice). Although the gas is not the actual cause of death, victims usually cannot stop laughing and thus die while trying to cross the chasm.
• In the Monty Python sketch The funniest joke in the world, the British win the Second World War by translating a lethally funny joke into German and transmitting it to German troops and two Gestapo officers.
• In the book “Double Dare to be Scared” in the story “Laughter” the boy which the story is about literally laughing his head off after getting touched by a fairy.
• In Coleman Barks‘ translation of Jelaluddin Rumi‘s poem “Dying, Laughing”. From his collection of poems The Essential Rumi. “He opened like a rose that drops to the ground and died laughing.”^[22]
• 22 men in a London club, and all the people in a courtroom, in The Three Infernal Jokes by Lord Dunsany. The joke-teller was immune.^[23]
• Pecos Bill died of laughter upon seeing a “city-slicker” try to swagger into a bar.^[24]

Laughter

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Actress Goldie Hawn laughing

Laughing is a physical reaction in humans, consisting typically of rhythmical, often audible contractions of the diaphragm and other parts of the respiratory system. It is a response to certain external or internal stimuli. Laughter can arise from such activities as being tickled,^[1] or from humorous stories or thoughts.^[2] Most commonly, it is considered a visual expression of a number of positive emotional states, such as joy, mirth, happiness, relief, etc. On some occasions, however, it may be caused by contrary emotional states such as embarrassment, apology, or confusion “nervous laughter” or courtesy laugh. Factors such as age, gender, education, language, and culture are factors^[3] as to whether a person will experience laughter in a given situation.

Laughter is a part of human behavior regulated by the brain, helping humans clarify their intentions in social interaction and providing an emotional context to conversations. Laughter is used as a signal for being part of a group — it signals acceptance and positive interactions with others. Laughter is sometimes seen as contagious, and the laughter of one person can itself provoke laughter from others as a positive feedback.^[4] This may account in part for the popularity of laugh tracks in situation comedy television shows.

The study of humor and laughter, and its psychological and physiological effects on the human body, is called gelotology.

Nature

Infants typically laugh regularly beginning around 4 months of age.

Children are said to laugh a great deal more than adults: an average baby laughing 300-400 times a day compared to an average adult laughing only 15-20 times a day;^{[citation needed]} however the cited article, written by one of the two top humor researches in the world, establishes that there is no real basis for this claim.^[5] Laughter might be thought of as an audible expression or appearance of excitement, an inward feeling of joy and happiness. It may ensue from jokes, tickling, and other stimuli completely unrelated to psychological state, such as nitrous oxide. One group of researchers speculated that noises from infants as early as 17 days old may be vocal laughing sounds or laughter,^[6] however the weight of the evidence supports its appearance at 15 weeks to four months of age.

Laughter researcher Robert Provine said: “Laughter is a mechanism everyone has; laughter is part of universal human vocabulary. There are thousands of languages, hundreds of thousands of dialects, but everyone speaks laughter in pretty much the same way.” Babies have the ability to laugh before they ever speak. Children who are born blind and deaf still retain the ability to laugh.^[7]

Provine argues that “Laughter is primitive, an unconscious vocalization.” Provine argues that it probably is genetic. In a study of the “Giggle Twins”, two happy twins who were separated at birth and only reunited 43 years later, Provine reports that “until they met each other, neither of these exceptionally happy ladies had known anyone who laughed as much as they did.” They reported this even though they both had been brought together by their adoptive parents, who they indicated were “undemonstrative and dour.” He indicates that the twins “inherited some aspects of their laugh sound and pattern, readiness to laugh, and maybe even taste in humor.”^[8]

Norman Cousins developed a recovery program incorporating megadoses of Vitamin C, along with a positive attitude, love, faith, hope, and laughter induced by Marx Brothers films. “I made the joyous discovery that ten minutes of genuine belly laughter had an anesthetic effect and would give me at least two hours of pain-free sleep,” he reported. “When the pain-killing effect of the laughter wore off, we would switch on the motion picture projector again and not infrequently, it would lead to another pain-free interval.”^[9][10]

Scientists have noted the similarity in forms of laughter induced by tickling among various primates, which suggests that laughter derives from a common origin among primate species.^[11][12]

A very rare neurological condition has been observed whereby the sufferer is unable to laugh out loud, a condition known as aphonogelia.^[13]

The brain

A man laughing

Neurophysiology indicates that laughter is linked with the activation of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, that produces endorphins.^[14] Scientists have shown that parts of the limbic system are involved in laughter. This system is involved in emotions and helps us with functions necessary for humans’ survival. The structures in the limbic system that are involved in laughter: the hippocampus and the amygdala.^[15]

The December 7, 1984, Journal of the American Medical Association describes the neurological causes of laughter as follows:

“Although there is no known ‘laugh center’ in the brain, its neural mechanism has been the subject of much, albeit inconclusive, speculation. It is evident that its expression depends on neural paths arising in close association with the telencephalic and diencephalic centers concerned with respiration. Wilson considered the mechanism to be in the region of the mesial thalamus, hypothalamus, and subthalamus. Kelly and co-workers, in turn, postulated that the tegmentum near the periaqueductal grey contains the integrating mechanism for emotional expression. Thus, supranuclear pathways, including those from the limbic system that Papez hypothesised to mediate emotional expressions such as laughter, probably come into synaptic relation in the reticular core of the brain stem. So while purely emotional responses such as laughter are mediated by subcortical structures, especially the hypothalamus, and are stereotyped, the cerebral cortex can modulate or suppress them.”

Health

A link between laughter and healthy function of blood vessels was first reported in 2005 by researchers at the University of Maryland Medical Center with the fact that laughter causes the dilatation of the inner lining of blood vessels, the endothelium, and increases blood flow.^[16] Drs. Michael Miller (University of Maryland) and William Fry (Stanford), theorize that beta-endorphin like compounds released by the hypothalamus activate receptors on the endothelial surface to release nitric oxide, thereby resulting in dilation of vessels. Other cardioprotective properties of nitric oxide include reduction of inflammation and decreased platelet aggregation.^[17][18]

Laughter has also been shown to have beneficial effects on various other aspects of biochemistry. For example, laughter has been shown to lead to reductions in stress hormones such as cortisol and epinephrine. When laughing the brain also releases endorphins that can relieve some physical pain.^[19] Laughter also boosts the number of antibody-producing cells and enhances the effectiveness of T-cells, leading to a stronger immune system.^[20]

In interaction

A number of studies using methods of conversation analysis and discourse analysis have documented the systematic workings of laughter in a variety of interactions, from casual conversations to interviews,meetings, and therapy sessions.^[21] Working with recorded interactions, researchers have created detailed transcripts that indicate not only the presence of laughter but also features of its production and placement.

These studies challenge several widely held assumptions about the nature of laughter. Contrary to notions that it is spontaneous and involuntary, research documents that laughter is sequentially-organized and precisely placed relative to surrounding talk. Far more than merely a response to humor, laughter often works to manage delicate and serious moments. More than simply an external behavior “caused” by an inner state, laughter is highly communicative and helps accomplish actions and regulate relationships.

Causes

Laughter is a common response to tickling

See also: Theories of humor

Common causes for laughter are sensations of joy and humor; however, other situations may cause laughter as well.

A general theory that explains laughter is called the relief theory. Sigmund Freud summarized it in his theory that laughter releases tension and “psychic energy”. This theory is one of the justifications of the beliefs that laughter is beneficial for one’s health.^[22] This theory explains why laughter can be used as a coping mechanism when one is upset, angry or sad.

Philosopher John Morreall theorizes that human laughter may have its biological origins as a kind of shared expression of relief at the passing of danger. Friedrich Nietzsche, by contrast, suggested laughter to be a reaction to the sense of existential loneliness and mortality that only humans feel.

For example: a joke creates an inconsistency and the audience automatically try to understand what the inconsistency means; if they are successful in solving this ‘cognitive riddle‘ and they realize that the surprise was not dangerous, they laugh with relief. Otherwise, if the inconsistency is not resolved, there is no laugh, as Mack Sennett pointed out: “when the audience is confused, it doesn’t laugh.” This is one of the basic laws of a comedian, referred to “exactness”. It is important to note that sometimes the inconsistency may be resolved and there may still be no laugh.^{[citation needed]} Because laughter is a social mechanism, an audience may not feel as if they are in danger, and the laugh may not occur. In addition, the extent of the inconsistency (and aspects of it timing and rhythm) has to do with the amount of danger the audience feels, and how hard or long they laugh.

Laughter can also be brought on by tickling. Although most people find it unpleasant, being tickled often causes heavy laughter, thought to be an (often uncontrollable) reflex of the body.^[23][24]

Types

Two laughing men by Hans von Aachen, circa 1574

Laughter can be classified according to intensity: the chuckle, the titter, the giggle, the chortle, the cackle, the belly laugh, the sputtering burst.^[25][26] According to the overtness: snicker, snigger, guffaw. According to the respiratory pattern involved: snort. According to the emotion it is expressed with: relief, mirth, joy, happiness, embarrassment, apology, confusion, nervous laughter, paradoxical laughter, courtesy laugh, evil laughter. Laughter can be classified also according to the sequence of notes or pitches it produces.

Human laugh structure and anatomy

A normal laugh has the structure of “ha-ha-ha” or “ho-ho-ho.” It is unnatural, and one is physically unable, to have a laugh structure of “ha-ho-ha-ho.” The usual variations of a laugh most often occur in the first or final note in a sequence- therefore, “ho-ha-ha” or “ha-ha-ho” laughs are possible. Normal note durations with unusually long or short “inter-note intervals” do not happen due to the result of the limitations of our vocal cords. This basic structure allows one to recognize a laugh despite individual variants.^[27]

It has also been determined that eyes moisten during laughter as a reflex from the tear glands.^[20]

Negative aspects

Laughter is not always a pleasant experience and is associated with several negative phenomena. Excessive laughter can lead to cataplexy, and unpleasant laughter spells, excessive elation, and fits of laughter can all be considered negative aspects of laughter. Unpleasant laughter spells, or “sham mirth,” usually occur in people who have a neurological condition, including patients with pseudobulbar palsy, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease. These patients appear to be laughing out of amusement but report that they are feeling undesirable sensations “at the time of the punch line.”

Excessive elation is a common symptom associated with manic-depressive psychoses and mania/hypomania. Those who suffer from schizophrenic psychoses seem to suffer the opposite—they do not understand humor or get any joy out of it. A fit describes an abnormal time when one cannot control the laughter or one’s body, sometimes leading to seizures or a brief period of unconsciousness. Some believe that fits of laughter represent a form of epilepsy.^[28]

Laughter therapy

Laughter has been used as a therapeutic tool for many years because it is a natural form of medicine. Laughter is available to everyone and it provides benefits to a person’s physical, emotional, and social well being. Some of the benefits of using laughter therapy are that it can relieve stress and relax the whole body. It can also boost the immune system and release endorphins to relieve pain. Additionally, laughter can help prevent heart disease by increasing blood flow and improving the function of blood vessels. Some of the emotional benefits include diminishing anxiety or fear, improving overall mood, and adding joy to one’s life.

Laughter therapy also has some social benefits, such as strengthening relationships, improving teamwork and reducing conflicts, and making oneself more attractive to others. Therefore, whether a person is trying to cope with a terminal illness or just trying to manage their stress or anxiety levels, laughter therapy can be a significant enhancement to their life.^[29][30]

In literature

Late 19th century or early 20th century depiction of different stages of laughter on advertising cards

Laughter in literature, although considered understudied by some,^[31] is a subject that has received attention in the written word for millennia. The use of humor and laughter in literary works has been studied and analyzed by many thinkers and writers, from the Ancient Greek philosophers onward. Henri Bergson’s Laughter: An Essay on the Meaning of the Comic (Le rire, 1901) is a notable 20th-century contribution.

For the Greeks

Herodotus

For Herodotus, laughers can be distinguished into three types:^[32]

• Those who are innocent of wrongdoing, but ignorant of their own vulnerability
• Those who are mad
• Those who are overconfident

According to Donald Lateiner, Herodotus reports about laughter for valid literary and historiological reasons. “Herodotus believes either that both nature (better, the gods’ direction of it) and human nature coincide sufficiently, or that the latter is but an aspect or analogue of the former, so that to the recipient the outcome is suggested.”^[32] When reporting laughter, Herodotus does so in the conviction that it tells the reader something about the future and/or the character of the person laughing. It is also in this sense that it is not coincidental that in about 80% of the times when Herodotus speaks about laughter it is followed by a retribution. “Men whose laughter deserves report are marked, because laughter connotes scornful disdain, disdain feeling of superiority, and this feeling and the actions which stem from it attract the wrath of the gods.”^[32]

Modern laughter and humor

Hobbes

Thomas Hobbes understood the superiority of the laugher in a much wider sense than the aesthetic and quasi-moral sense of Aristotle, the seeds of the superiority theory are definitely Greek.^[33] In Hobbes’ own words: “The passion of laughter is nothing else but sudden glory arising from sudden conception of some eminency in ourselves, by comparison with the infirmity of others, or with our own formerly.”

Schopenhauer

Philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer devotes the 13th chapter of the first part of his major work, The World as Will and Representation, to laughter.

Nietzsche

Friedrich Nietzsche distinguishes two different purposes for the use of laughter. In a positive sense, “man uses the comical as a therapy against the restraining jacket of logic morality and reason. He needs from time to time a harmless demotion from reason and hardship and in this sense laughter has a positive character for Nietzsche.”^[34] Laughter can, however, also have a negative connotation when it is used for the expression of social conflict. This is expressed, for instance, in The Gay Science: “Laughter — Laughter means to be schadenfroh, but with clear conscience.”^[35]

“Possibly Nietzsche’s works would have had a totally different effect, if the playful, ironical and joking in his writings would have been factored in better”^[36]

Bergson

Presidents Boris Yeltsin and Bill Clinton laughing together

In Laughter: An Essay on the Meaning of the Comic, French philosopher Henri Bergson, renowned for his philosophical studies on materiality, memory, life and consciousness, tries to determine the laws of the comic and to understand the fundamental causes of comic situations.^[37] His method consists in determining the causes of comic instead of analyzing its effects. He also deals with laughter in relation to human life, collective imagination and art, to have a better knowledge of society.^[38] One of the theories of the essay is that laughter, as a collective activity, has a social and moral role, in forcing people to eliminate their vices. It is a factor of uniformity of behaviours, as it condemns ludicrous and eccentric behaviours.^[39]

In this essay, Bergson also asserts that there is a central cause that all comic situations are derived from: that of mechanism applied to life. The fundamental source of comic is the presence of inflexibility and rigidness in life. For Bergson, the essence of life is movement, elasticity and flexibility, and every comic situation is due the presence of rigidity and inelasticity in life. Hence, for Bergson the source of the comic is not ugliness but rigidity.^[40] All the examples taken by Bergson (such as a man falling in the street, one person’s imitation of another, the automatic application of conventions and rules, absent-mindedness, repetitive gestures of a speaker, the resemblance between two faces) are comic situations because they give the impression that life is subject to rigidity, automatism and mechanism.

Bergson closes by noting that most comic situations are not laughable because they are part of collective habits.^[41] He defines laughter as an intellectual activity that requires an immediate approach to a comic situation, detached from any form of emotion or sensibility.^[42] A situation is laughable when the attention and the imagination are focused on the resistance and rigidity of the body. Thus somebody is laughable when he or she gives the impression of being a thing or a machine.

Comedy film

Comedy is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. These films are designed to entertain the audience through amusement, and most often work by exaggerating characteristics of real life for humorous effect.^[1] Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (the black comedy being an exception). One of the oldest genres in film, some of the very first silent movies were comedies, as slapstick comedy often relies on visual depictions, without requiring sound.^[2] During the 1930s, the silent film comedy was replaced by dialogue from film comedians such as the W. C. Fields and the Marx Brothers. In the United Kingdom, film adaptations of stage farces were popular in the early 1930s. By the 1950s, the television industry had become a serious competition for the movie industry. The 1960s saw an increasing number of broad, star-packed comedies. In the 1970s, black comedies were popular. Leading figures in the 1970s were Woody Allen and Mel Brooks. Most British comedy films of the early 1970s were spin-offs of television series. One of the major developments of the 1990s was the re-emergence of the romantic comedy film. Another development was the increasing use of “gross-out humour“. Since the late 2000s, the live-action comedy film has entered a period of severe decline, with studios green-lighting far fewer of them each year.

Comedy, unlike other film genres, puts much more focus on individual stars, with many former stand-up comics transitioning to the film industry due to their popularity. While many comic films are lighthearted stories with no intent other than to amuse, others contain political or social commentary (such as Wag the Dog and Man of the Year). There are a number of hybrid comedy genres, including action comedy, comedy horror, sci-fi comedy and military comedy.

Types

A Comedy of manners film satirises the manners and affectations of a social class, often represented by stock characters. Also, the plot of the comedy is often concerned with an illicit love affair or some other scandal. However, the plot is generally less important than its witty dialogue. This form of comedy has a long ancestry, dating back at least as far as Much Ado about Nothing created by William Shakespeare.

Slapstick (The Three Stooges is an excellent example of this kind of comedy) relies predominately on visual depictions of events, and therefore does not require sound. Accordingly, the subgenre was ideal for silent movies.

In a fish out of water comedy film, the main character or character finds himself in an unusual environment, which drives most of the humour. Situations can be swapping gender roles, as in Tootsie (1982); an age changing role, as in Big (1988); a freedom-loving individual fitting into a structured environment, as in Police Academy (1984); a rural backwoodsman in the big city, as in “Crocodile” Dundee, and so forth. The Coen Brothers are known for using this technique in all of their films, though not always to comic effect. Some films including people fitting the “fish-out-of-water” bill include The Big Lebowski and A Serious Man.

A parody or spoof film is a comedy that satirizes other film genres or classic films. Such films employ sarcasm, stereotyping, mockery of scenes from other films, and the obviousness of meaning in a character’s actions. Examples of this form include Blazing Saddles (1974), Airplane! (1980), Young Frankenstein (1974) and Scary Movie (2000).

The anarchic comedy film, as its name suggests, is a random or stream-of-consciousness type of humour which often lampoons a form of authority.^[3] The genre dates from the silent era, and the most famous examples of this type of film would be those produced by Monty Python.^[4] Others include Duck Soup (1933) and National Lampoon’s Animal House .

The black comedy film deals with normally taboo subjects, including, death, murder, sexual relations, suicide and war, in a satirical manner. Examples include Arsenic and Old Lace (1944), Monsieur Verdoux (1947), Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), The Ladykillers (1955), Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), The Loved One (1965), MASH (1970), Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life (1983), Brazil (1985), The War of the Roses (1989), Heathers (1989), Your Friends & Neighbors (1998), Keeping Mum (2005), and Burn After Reading (2008).

Gross out films are a relatively recent development, and rely heavily on vulgar, sexual or “toilet” humour. Examples include Porky’s (1982), Dumb and Dumber (1994), There’s Something About Mary (1998), and American Pie (1999).

The romantic comedy film sub-genre typically involves the development of a relationship between a man and a woman. The stereotyped plot line follows the “boy-gets-girl”, “boy-loses-girl”, “boy gets girl back again” sequence. Naturally there are innumerable variants to this plot, and much of the generally light-hearted comedy lies in the social interactions and sexual tensions between the pair. Examples of this style of film include It’s a Wonderful World (1939), The Shop Around the Corner (1940), Sabrina (1954), Annie Hall (1977), When Harry Met Sally… (1989), Pretty Woman (1990), and Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994).

It was not uncommon for the early romantic comedy film to also be a screwball comedy film. This form of comedy film was particularly popular during the 1930s and 1940s. There is no consensus definition of this film style, and it is often loosely applied to slapstick or romantic comedy films. Typically it can include a romantic element, an interplay between people of different economic strata, quick and witty repartee, some form of role reversal, and a happy ending. Some examples of the screwball comedy are: It Happened One Night (1934), Bringing Up Baby (1938), Philadelphia Story (1940), His Girl Friday (1940), and more recently What’s Up, Doc? (1972).

Hybrid genres

Action comedy

Films in this sub-genre blend comic antics and action where the film stars combine wit and one-liners with a thrilling plot and daring stunts. The genre became a specific draw in North America in the eighties when comedians such as Eddie Murphy started taking more action oriented roles such as in 48 Hrs. and Beverly Hills Cop. These type of films are often buddy films, with mismatched partners such as in Midnight Run, Rush Hour, 21 Jump Street, Bad Boys, and Hot Fuzz. Slapstick martial arts films became a mainstay of Hong Kong action cinema through the work of Jackie Chan among others. It may also focus on superheroes such as The Incredibles, Hancock or Kick-Ass.

Comedy horror

Comedy horror is a type of horror film in which the usual dark themes are treated with a humorous approach. These films are either use goofy horror clichés such as in Scream, Young Frankenstein, Little Shop of Horrors, Haunted Mansion and Scary Movie where campy styles are favoured. Some are much more subtle and don’t parody horror, such as An American Werewolf In London. Another style of comedy horror can also rely on over the top violence and gore such as in Dead Alive (1992), Evil Dead (1981), and Club Dread – such films are sometimes known as splatstick, a portmanteau of the words splatter and slapstick. It would be reasonable to put Ghostbusters in this category.

Fantasy comedy

Fantasy comedy films are types of films that uses magic, supernatural and or mythological figures for comic purposes. Most fantasy comedy includes an element of parody, or satire, turning many of the fantasy conventions on their head such as the hero becoming a cowardly fool, the princess being a klutz. Examples of these films include Being John Malkovich, Night at the Museum, Groundhog Day, Click and Shrek.

Sci-fi comedy

Sci-fi comedy films, like most hybrid genre of comedy use the elements of science fiction films to over the top extremes and exaggerated science fiction stereotypical characters. Examples of these types of films include Back to the Future, Spaceballs, Ghostbusters, Evolution, Innerspace, Galaxy Quest, Mars Attacks!, Men in Black and The World’s End.

Military comedy

Military comedy films involve comic situations in a military setting. When a film is primarily about the experience of civilians called into military service and still feeling out of place, it may be referred to as a “service comedy”. Because war is such a grim subject, many military comedies are set in peacetime or during wartime but away from battle zones. Military and service comedies include:

“Shoulder Arms“ Buck Privates Carry On Sergeant Catch-22 Delta Farce the Flagg and Quirt series the Francis (1950 film) series Good Morning, Vietnam How I Won the War I Was a Male War Bride M*A*S*H Mister Roberts No Time for Sergeants Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.

Operation Petticoat Major Payne Private Benjamin The Private War of Major Benson The Secret War of Harry Frigg See Here, Private Hargrove Stripes Teahouse of the August Moon Tropic Thunder Up the Academy McHale’s Navy What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? Forrest Gump Enlisted

History

1895–1930[edit]

Comic films began to appear in significant numbers during the era of silent films, roughly 1895 to 1930. The visual humour of many of these silent films relied on slapstick and burlesque. A very early comedy short was Watering the Gardener (1895) by the Lumière brothers. In American film, the most prominent comic actors of the silent era were Charlie Chaplin (although born in England, his success was principally in the U.S.), Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd. In his native France and throughout the world, Max Linder was a major comic feature and might qualify as the first true film star.

A popular trend during the 1920s and afterward was comedy in the form of animated cartoons. Several popular characters of the period received the cartoon treatment. Among these were Felix the Cat, Mickey Mouse, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, and Betty Boop.

1930–1950s

Toward the end of the 1920s, the introduction of sound into movies made possible dramatic new film styles and the use of verbal humour. During the 1930s, the silent film comedy was replaced by dialogue from film comedians such as the W. C. Fields and the Marx Brothers. Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, who had made a number of very popular short silent films, used the arrival of sound to deepen their well-formed screen characterizations and enhance their visual humour, and went on to great success in talking films. The comedian Charlie Chaplin was one of the last silent film hold-outs, and his films during the 1930s were devoid of dialogue, although they did employ sound effects.

Screwball comedies, such as produced by Frank Capra, exhibited a pleasing, idealized climate that portrayed reassuring social values and a certain optimism about everyday life. Movies still included slapstick humour and other physical comedy, but these were now frequently supplemental to the verbal interaction. Another common comic production from the 1930s was the short subject. Hal Roach Studio specialized in this form. While Columbia was prolific, producing 190 Three Stooges releases, alone. These non-feature productions only went into decline in the 1950s when they were migrated to the television.

In the United Kingdom, film adaptations of stage farces were popular in the early 1930s, while the music hall tradition strongly influenced film comedy into the 1940s with Will Hay and George Formby among the top comedy stars of the time. In England in the late 1940s, Ealing Studios achieved popular success as well as critical acclaim with a series of films known collectively as the “Ealing comedies”, from 1947 to 1957. They usually included a degree of social comment, and featured ensemble casts which often included Alec Guinness or Stanley Holloway. Among the most famous examples were Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), The Lavender Hill Mob (1951) and The Ladykillers (1955).

With the entry of the United States into World War II, Hollywood became focused on themes related to the conflict. Comedies portrayed military themes such as service, civil defense, boot-camp and shore-leave. The war-time restrictions on travel made this a boom time for Hollywood, and nearly a quarter of the money spent on attending movies.

The post-war period was an age of reflection on the war, and the emergence of a competing medium, the television. In 1948, television began to acquire commercial momentum and by the following year there were nearly a hundred television transmitters in American cities.

By the 1950s, the television industry had become a serious competition for the movie industry. Despite the technological limitations of the TV medium at the time, more and more people chose to stay home to watch the television. The Hollywood studios at first viewed the television as a threat, and later as a commercial market. Several comic forms that had previously been a staple of movie theaters transitioned to the television. Both the short subject and the cartoon now appeared on the television rather than in the theater, and the “B” movie also found its outlet on the television.

As television became filled with family-oriented comedies, the 1950s saw a trend toward more adult social situations. Only the Walt Disney studios continued to steadily release family comedies. The release of comedy films also went into a decline during this decade. In 1947 almost one in five films had been comic in nature, but by 1954 this was down to ten percent.

The 1950s saw the decline of past comedy stars and a certain paucity of new talent in Hollywood. Among the few popular new stars during this period were Judy Holliday and the comedy team phenom of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Lewis followed the legacy of such comedians as Keaton and Harold Lloyd, but his work was not well received by critics in the United States (in contrast to France where he proved highly popular.)

The British film industry produced a number of highly successful film series, however, including the Doctor series, the St. Trinian’s films and the increasingly bawdy Carry On films. John and Roy Boulting also wrote and directed a series of successful satires, including Private’s Progress (1956) and I’m All Right, Jack (1959). As in the United States, in the next decade much of this talent would move into television.

A number of French comedians were also able to find an English speaking audience in the 1950s, including Fernandel and Jacques Tati.

1960s–1980s

The next decade saw an increasing number of broad, star-packed comedies including It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965) and The Great Race (1965). By the middle of the decade, some of the 1950s generation of American comedians, such as Jerry Lewis, went into decline, while Peter Sellers found success with international audiences in his first American film The Pink Panther. The bumbling Inspector Clouseau was a character Sellers would continue to return to over the next decade.

Toward the end of the 1950s, darker humour and more serious themes had begun to emerge, including satire and social commentary. Dr. Strangelove (1964) was a satirical comedy about Cold War paranoia, while The Apartment (1960), Alfie (1966) and The Graduate (1967) featured sexual themes in a way that would have been impossible only a few years previously.

In 1970, the black comedies Catch 22 and M*A*S*H reflected the anti-war sentiment then prevalent, as well as treating the sensitive topic of suicide. M*A*S*H would be toned down and brought to television in the following decade as a long-running series.

Among the leading lights in comedy films of the next decade were Woody Allen and Mel Brooks. Both wrote, directed and appeared in their movies. Brooks’ style was generally slapstick and zany in nature, often parodying film styles and genres, including Universal horror films (Young Frankenstein), westerns (Blazing Saddles) and Hitchcock films (High Anxiety). Following his success on Broadway and on film with The Odd Couple playwright and screenwriter Neil Simon would also be prominent in the 1970s, with films like The Sunshine Boys and California Suite. Other notable film comedians who appeared later in the decade were Richard Pryor, Steve Martin and Burt Reynolds.

Most British comedy films of the early 1970s were spin-offs of television series, including Dad’s Army and On the Buses. The greatest successes, however, came with the films of the Monty Python team, including And Now for Something Completely Different (1971), Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) and Monty Python’s Life of Brian in 1979.

In 1980, the gag-based comedy Airplane!, a spoof of the previous decade’s disaster film series was released and paved the way for more of the same including Top Secret! (1984) and the Naked Gun films. Popular comedy stars in the 1980s included Dudley Moore, Tom Hanks, Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd. Many had come to prominence on the American TV series Saturday Night Live, including Bill Murray, Steve Martin and Chevy Chase. Eddie Murphy made a success of comedy-action films including 48 Hrs. (1982) and the Beverly Hills Cop series (1984–1993).

Also popular were the films of John Hughes such as Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. He would later become best known for the Home Alone series of the early 1990s. The latter film helped a revival in comedies aimed at a family audience, along with Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and its sequels.

1990s–2010s

One of the major developments of the 1990s was the re-emergence of the romantic comedy film, encouraged by the success of When Harry Met Sally… in 1989. Other examples included Sleepless in Seattle (1993), Clueless (1995) and You’ve Got Mail (1998) from the United States, and Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Sliding Doors (1998) and Notting Hill (1999) from the United Kingdom. Spoofs remained popular as well, especially with the Scary Movie series and Not Another Teen Movie series.

Probably more representative of British humour were the working class comedies Brassed Off (1996) and The Full Monty (1997). Other British comedies examined the role of the Asian community in British life, including Bhaji on the Beach (1993), East Is East (1999), Bend It Like Beckham (2002), Anita and Me (2003) and Death at a Funeral.

Also there were “stoner” comedies, which usually involve two guys on an adventure with random things happening to them along the way. Big movies of this sub-genre would be “The Big Lebowski“, Dude, Where’s My Car, Big Nothing, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, and Pineapple Express. These movies usually have drug-related jokes and crude content.

Another development was the increasing use of “gross-out humour” usually aimed at a younger audience, in films like There’s Something About Mary, American Pie and its sequels, and Freddy Got Fingered. In mid-2000s, the trend of “gross-out” movies is continuing, with adult-oriented comedies picking up the box office. But serious black comedies (also known as dramatic comedies or dramedies) were performing also well, such as The Weather Man, Broken Flowers and Shopgirl. In late 2006, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan blended vulgar humour with cultural satire.

Since the late 2000s, the live-action comedy film has entered a period of severe decline, with studios green-lighting far fewer of them each year.^[5] The problem is that faced with brutal competition in developed markets in the same timeframe, major film studios became dependent upon distributing their films to increasingly diverse international audiences in emerging markets to maintain their profits; but the humor in most comedy films is tightly bound to the home culture of the films’ creators and does not translate well.^[5]

Slapstick

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Slapstick is the recourse to humor involving exaggerated physical activity which exceeds the boundaries of common sense.

Origins

Charlie Chaplin

The name “slapstick” comes from the Italian language word batacchio or bataccio — called the “slap stick” in English — a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in commedia dell’arte. When struck, the battacchio produces a loud smacking noise, though little force transfers from the object to the person being struck. Actors may thus hit one another repeatedly with great audible effect while causing very little actual physical damage. Along with the inflatable bladder (of which the whoopee cushion is a modern variant), it was among the earliest special effects that a person could carry.

History

Slapstick comedy’s history is measured in centuries. Shakespeare incorporated many chase scenes and beatings into his comedies, such as in his play The Comedy of Errors. Building on its later popularity in the nineteenth and early twentieth-century ethnic routines of the American vaudeville house, the style was explored extensively during the “golden era” of black and white, silent movies directed by figures Mack Sennett and Hal Roach and featuring such notables as Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, the Marx Brothers, the Keystone Cops, the Three Stooges, and Chespirito. Slapstick is also common in Tom and Jerry and Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies. Silent slapstick comedy was also popular in early French films and included films by Max Linder and Charles Prince.

Slapstick continues to maintain a presence in modern comedy that draws upon its lineage, running in film from Buster Keaton and Louis de Funès to Mel Brooks to the television series Jackass movies to the Farrelly Brothers, and in live performance from Weber and Fields to Jackie Gleason to Rowan Atkinson. Slapstick has remained a popular art form to the present day.