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The Psychology Behind Jokes and Laughter

Laughter is universal. It has nothing to do with what language we speak, which culture we were raised in, or what our religious faith is. We all laugh. Psychologists have compared laughter to speaking in tongues (говорение на (незнакомых) языках; глоссолалия - нарушение артикуляции или речи у психически больных): we can't control what we laugh at, or the sounds that come out of our mouth. All we know is that we laugh, and that laughter transcends all of our differences.

Scientists have studied laughter by going out into public places and observing people in social settings, by searching for "the perfect joke" and studying its effect on the brain of its recipient, and by hooking people up to an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging - получение изображений методом ядерного магнитного резонанса) machine and studying brain activity as they listen to both real and "fake" (jokes not meant to funny) jokes. What they've discovered about laughter is a bit surprising. And it may explain why certain people make us laugh easier than others can.

Four Facts About Laughter

1. Laughter varies by age and gender. Children laugh 400 times per day, as opposed to adults, who only laugh 15 times per day. Any parent has experienced this. Kids laugh at the weirdest things. But laughter is part of their cognitive development (когнитивное развитие). Kids who tell and listen to jokes are learning about language, connections, and irony. Those who have a well-developed sense of humor have a better outlook on life and an easier time interacting with their peers.

Women laugh more than men: about 126% more, according to an article published in Psychology Today.

Men are the biggest laugh-getters, a trait that starts early in childhood. Most likely, if you think back to the class clown in elementary or middle school, it was a boy. What makes women the laughers and men the comedians? That question is still up in the air. As we learn more about the science of laughter, hopefully the answer will unfold.

2. Laughter is a social phenomenon. Ever notice that you laugh more when watching a funny movie with your pals than you do when you watch the same movie by yourself? Psychologists have studied this phenomenon, as well as the phenomenon known as "contagious laughter" to determine why it is that we laugh more with others. It comes down to communication. Laughter is a wordless, un-fakeable demonstration of human emotion. It binds us as maybe no other force on Earth can. Television producers of the 1950's understood this before anyone studied it---they started setting sitcoms to laugh tracks to make the home audience laugh and enjoy the show more. It's also why Leno, Letterman, and Conan tape before a live studio audience. The audience laughs, and we find ourselves laughing along with them.

3. Different types of jokes affect different parts of the brain. The part of the brain that reacts to jokes is the medial ventral (внутренний, вентральный) prefrontal (префронтальный; предлобный) cortex (кора головного мозга), which is where cognitive development, personality development, and determining correct social behavior occurs. However, different types of jokes trigger different parts of the brain as we process them. Puns (игра слов; каламбур) take one path to the prefrontal cortex, for example, while story jokes take a completely different neurological path. This explains why people who have experienced brain trauma may find one type of joke funny, but find absolutely no humor in an equally funny joke of a different genre, or why they may lose their sense of humor all together.