That's Not Funny... Or is it? The Dynamics of Laughter and Humour
This piece first appeared in my email newsletter on July 20, 2020. If you’d like to receive pieces like this weeks before I publish them, as well as book recommendations and my latest updates, sign up here. If you’re into human behaviour, psychology, philosophy and the millennial experience, I’d love you to join me.
The average adult laughs about 17 times a day.
Research suggests we can gain psychological and physical benefits from laughter and humour. There are theories that laughter can help reduce stress; decreasing cortisol levels and other elements associated with the stress response, and releasing endorphins. We now even have services providing therapies like “laugher yoga”, which uses simulated laughter to try and enhance participants’ moods.
In other words, as your grandma always knew, laughter is good for the soul.
But what actually makes us laugh?
Research in the area has shed light on laughter as a tool for social engagement. According to one study from 1989, we are 30 times more likely to laugh when with other people than when alone without media.
Laughter is a social activity, sending a message to others. Sometimes we laugh to ease tension, to demonstrate empathy, or to show someone we like and approve of them. Social reciprocity and emotional resonance are inherently entwined with laughter: It’s a tool for belonging.
And whether one joins in might say a bit about them. One 2017 study found that developing boys more at risk for antisocial behaviour and psychopathy were less likely to join in laughing with others, for example.
Laugh Tracks
Have you ever tried to watch a sitcom without a laugh track? Try this clip of the Big Bang Theory. It’s awkward as hell.
Laugh tracks have been shown to make viewers laugh more. In fact, when a joke is accompanied by laughter – even fake laughter – you’re more likely to find the joke funnier. This makes sense when we think about the inherent social nature of humour. It also shows why, for comedians, warming up a crowd seems pretty important.
Humour Theories
Which brings us to our next question. What makes a joke funny?
I asked this on Instagram and had some interesting responses. My favourite was
“Just like orange drink, 5% of it is real and the rest is just sugar and additives.”
There were also many references to relatability and self-degradation.
Of course, people have different senses of humour. I went to school at what felt like the height of the ‘dead baby’ joke trend, and I struggled to find them funny. But many, many people did. At the same time, I’m a Simpsons fanatic – but many will stare blankly if you tell them you’re better than dirt. Well, most kinds of dirt, not that fancy store-bought dirt.
And some people, frankly, don't seem to find anything funny at all.
There are many theories of humour. This includes the superiority idea, where we laugh at someone’s failure or problem. It’s like when your token friend-you-don’t-like-that-much-but-for-some-reason-you’re-still-friends-with-probably-because-it’s-convenient makes a joke at your expense followed by, ‘oh I was just kidding!’
It can be a way to mask something more underhanded. Self-degradation can come in here too, which often involves laughing at our former, inferior selves.
Another notion is incongruence theory. Kant explained it as “the sudden transformation of strained expectation into nothing.” The audience expects a story to go in a certain direction, and when it doesn’t it surprises us.
I like this one as what I think would be an example, which according to this article was also voted the funniest joke in the world:
A couple of New Jersey hunters are out in the woods when one of them falls to the ground. He doesn’t seem to be breathing and his eyes have rolled back in his head. The other guy whips out his mobile phone and calls the emergency services. He gasps to the operator: “My friend is dead! What can I do?”
The operator, in a soothing voice, says: “Just take it easy. I can help. First, let’s make sure he’s dead.” There is a silence, then a shot is heard. The guy’s voice comes back on the line. He says: “OK, now what?”
And the other big guy in the theories is relief theory. It’s Freud’s idea, based on the concept of laughter as relieving pent up nervous energy. Psychological tension is built, then relieved, and with relief comes laughter. Perhaps this links to jokes about controversial and taboo topics, toilet humour and observational humour.
Relief theory also brings to mind the ‘awkward laughers’ of the world, who end up laughing at severely inappropriate times because they’re nervous.
Of course, there’s also the saying that every joke carries with it some honesty. One paper in 2008 proposed the encryption theory of humour: That jokes aren’t funny because of their surface content alone, but “a relationship between the surface content and one or more unstated implicatures which are known by both the sender and receiver”… “…rendering humor a means of assessing shared underlying knowledge, attitudes and preferences.”
So, according to some of these theories, you might be laughing because the joke makes you feel superior to someone; it surprised you; it was controversial enough to conjure up some conscious or unconscious tension; or the underlying message connected with you and the sender of the joke. There’s dark humour, satire and parody, dad humour, slapstick humour, farce, punny humour… I mean, it goes on and on, right?
Turns out there are many more humour theories, too… bit off a bit more than I could chew this week.
After considering these ideas, I think my personal view is that the best humour addresses things on the cusp of social acceptance, or otherwise analyses social norms and human behaviour in a way we don’t usually consider. Self-degradation is also hilarious.
I’d love to know what you think the best humour looks like!
Ancient Philosophical Humour?
Interestingly, we don’t see much from the ancient Greco-Roman philosophers on humour. Many of them saw laughter as a way to scorn others, so it was inherently mean or mocking. This would align with the superiority theory. And laughter also demonstrates, because of its uninhibited nature, a lack of self-control. So there were a few negative ideas of humour.
Maybe if they’d seen some of the cat TikTok videos we’re blessed with now, they’d have a different view.
At the same time, many of the writing of ancient philosophers is infused with irony and wit, and we still see some nice quotes about humour, like Seneca here: “It is more fitting for a man to laugh at life than to lament over it.”