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The science of laughter - Sasha Winkler

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Isn’t it odd that, when something’s funny, you might show your teeth, change your breathing, become weak and achy in some places, and maybe even cry? In other words, why do we do this bizarre thing that is laughter? Since there’s no archaeological record of laughter, it’s impossible to say exactly how and why it evolved, but scientists have some theories. Sasha Winkler digs into the reflex.

Additional Resources for you to Explore

To learn more, watch neuroscientist Sophie Scott discuss the science of laughter or check out this Radiolab podcast episode all about laughter. Listen here to learn about a recent UCLA study that identified 65 species of animals who communicate vocally during play. Some of the best studied animal play vocalizations are in rats—see how scientists record these vocalizations by tickling rats here. Listen to Marina Davila-Ross, an expert on great ape laughter, describe her groundbreaking research which reinforced the evidence linking human and great ape laughter. Want to know more about the experiments discussed in this video? Read some of the original research papers about how people around the world can tell the difference between spontaneous and “faked” laughs, how even infants can detect friends versus acquaintances by listening to their laughs, and about how laughing increases pain tolerance

Humor is an important trigger for laughter. Scientists are still not sure whether animals have humor, but have some theories about the psychology of humor and why it evolved. Want to incorporate more laughter into your life? Try a laughter yoga class, attend a comedy show, or take this Master class on stand-up from Judd Apatow. Still, we laugh most often during conversation, so even just chatting with your friends and family will increase laughter in your day!

Animal vocalization sounds are courtesy of Dr. Jaak Panksepp, Schwing, R., Nelson, X. J., Wein, A., & Parsons, S. (2017). Positive emotional contagion in a New Zealand parrot. Current Biology, 27(6), R213-R214.

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TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Sasha Winkler
  • Director Hanna Rybak
  • Narrator Susan Zimmerman
  • Music Jarrett Farkas
  • Sound Designer and Mixer Weston Fonger
  • Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
  • Producer Sazia Afrin
  • Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
  • Editorial Producer Cella Wright
  • Script Editor Alex Gendler

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