Why We Laugh At Inappropriate Moments

Have you ever laughed at someone else’s pain? What about chuckling at a joke you didn’t actually think was funny or even understand? The list goes on and on when we’re talking about situations when we laugh, but they don’t have anything to do with something being funny. The real question is, “Why do we do it?”
Laughing in the awkward, negative sense often helps us deal with things that mostly stem from fear. Dr. Margee Kerr, a sociologist from the University of Pittsburgh who specializes in the study of fear and wrote a book called, "Scream: Chilling Adventures in the Science of Fear," says that “we laugh at things like this because they violate our expectations.” Basically, we get scared when things don’t go as we expect them to. In an extreme sense, we could actually be laughing because we’re in physical shock and are in denial about the situation we’re witnessing.
TIMESTAMPS:
What percentage of laughter is a genuine response to a joke? 1:20
Why do we sometimes laugh when we’re uncomfortable? 2:19
What is the relationship between fear and laughter? 3:15
Why do certain types of laughter scare us? 4:08
Why do we sometimes laugh when we’re sad? 5:08
What the Inappropriate Effect is 6:13
How laughter ups our tolerance for pain 8:15
#laughing #laughter #psychology
Music by Epidemic Sound
SUMMARY:
- Researchers found that only 10 to 20% of laughter is a genuine response to a shared joke. So, that 80-90% of unaccounted for laughter is when people are laughing because something isn’t funny.
- We get scared when things don’t go as we expect them to. In an extreme sense, we could actually be laughing because we’re in physical shock and are in denial about the situation we’re witnessing.
- It’s a way to mentally run away from our fear and literally “laugh it off.” It’s a comforting mechanism to calm down our mind in a high-stress situation.
- It’s said that fear and laughter are very closely related when we’re talking about mental state. The brain might use these two things interchangeably in this highly charged state.
- We also sometimes laugh when we’re sad. Our brain responds to this emotional overload by releasing stress in the form of laughter.
- There’s actually a term in psychology for this laugh reaction. It’s aptly called the Inappropriate Effect. By allowing us to laugh in the face of a stressor, our subconscious is trying to soothe us and assure us that everything is fine.
- Psychologically speaking, motivations for nervous laughter can be for reasons like embarrassment, discomfort, or confusion. It’s a verifiable physical reaction to anxiety, stress, tension, and disorientation.
- Laughter has also been known to up our tolerance for pain. This means that laughter really is the best medicine!
Subscribe to Bright Side :
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our Social Media:
Facebook:
Instagram:
5-Minute Crafts Youtube:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more videos and articles visit: