Did you hear about the guy who invented the knock-knock joke? He won the ‘no-bell’ prize. Well, did that make you chuckle, but have you ever wondered why? Why is it that a twist of the phrase makes one feel cheerful all of a sudden? The answer lies in the psychology of humor and the many benefits of laughter.
Humor can be viewed as not only the ability to have a good laugh, but as a psychological and universal phenomena that can successfully function beyond the cultural barriers and language differences. Whether it be a wisecrack, a wordplay or even a joke, laughter is something that links us together and lifts our spirits. However, only in the recent past, the importance of humor has increased, not only while interacting but also while studying its effects on the mental health of an individual.
This blog will explore the role of humor and laughter in our psychological health and the benefits of laughter.
The Psychology of Humor: Understanding the Science Behind the Smile
What Is Humor?
Humor is a psychological concept that entails perceiving either incongruities or the ability to discover associations that are not apparent and which results in amusement. It comes in various forms:
- Affiliative Humor: Enhances social relations, such as when people share jokes that are understood within a group.
- Self-Enhancing Humor: Often perceived as humor that strengthens the ability to handle stress and look for the humorous side of tasks.
- Aggressive Humor: Such as using sarcasm or ridicule in forms that can damage the relationship between people.
- Self-Defeating Humor: It involves making jokes that are self-disparaging in a bid to please others, which is often a sign of low self-esteem.
Why Do We Laugh?
Laughter is the body manifestation of jokes that goes hand in hand with cognitive and emotional functions. Our brain immediately evaluates an object or an event, and if it is associated with humor, endorphins are produced and we begin feeling happy.
Humor is perhaps most genetically hardwired from an evolutionary point of view; it seems to have been used to build bonds and decrease aggression. Alliance through the common recognition of humor enhanced the group formation, meaning that their chances of survival were high. Today, humor continues to connect us, ease tensions, and enhance mental well-being.
The Benefits of Laughter: More Than Just Fun
In addition to increasing happiness, laughter has some significant positive impact on one’s physical health. When you laugh, various positive changes occur in your body. It can strengthen the immunity system by enhancing the manufacture of antibodies plus initiating immune cells for the time of disease. Another advantage associated with laughter is the fact that it reduces pain through the release of endorphins which are natural pain fighters in the body. These endorphins create a sense of wellness and act as natural painkillers for a while.
Laughter is the best stress buster, anxiety reducer, and mood elevator. Laughter makes you feel good, releases endorphins in the brain, reducing the likelihood of stress and thus improving your mood. Laughter also reduces the level of cortisol, the stress hormone, decreasing anxiety and making you feel calm.
Psychological benefits of laughter includes:
- Increased Pain Tolerance: Surprisingly, in a study with sample of 200 subjects, the group that saw a comedy film could endure a painful stimulus for 30 minutes longer than those who did not see the film. Another study showed that, for increasing pain thresholds, a laughter-induction narrative was more effective than the other distractions.
- Reduced Anxiety and Stress: In another study done with 53 subjects, anxiety levels went down and stress responses were kept low as they listened to a funny tape despite the expectations of getting an electric shock.
- Cardiovascular Benefits: It has been found that short bursts of laughter are similar to the effects of light exercise, it will increase the stroke volume, cardiac output, while decreasing oxygen consumption and total peripheral resistance.
- Vasodilation and Long-Lasting Effects: Laughter can trigger vasodilation – the blood vessels expand or widen for up to an hour after watching a comic movie and reduces cardiovascular load.
How Humor and Comedy Enhance Mental Health
Humor can be used as a means of putting their people at ease and establishing a friendly relationship with them. Applying humor in a session is also fitting as it can lighten the impact of contentious topics and make the clients view matters that are unpleasant to them differently. For instance, a doctor might make a joke to enable the patient to be more comfortable talking about the issues, thus improving the communication.
Humor Therapy in Dementia: In the SMILE study, humor therapy was shown to decrease agitation by up to 20% among dementia sufferers and is as effective as antipsychotic drugs but without side effects. This psychology of humor approach was delivered by trained “Laughter Bosses” who used comedy to improve mood and reduce tension, with such effects being evident at 26 weeks of follow-up.
The Psychological Benefits of Laughter
Social Connection
Everyone enjoys good humor; therefore when people laugh aloud, they are producing something which brings people together as a result of familiarity. Laughter also results in people being closer or having a feeling of connectedness in each other. Humor helps one to overcome barriers and facilitates better establishment of rapport with other people. For example, jokes that are only understandable by friends or workmates become one of the foundations of these relationships and help build a strong team.
A study conducted by R. I. M. Dunbar in 2022 also indicates that early human beings had to find a way to solve the problem of how to form larger bonds and therefore laughter was one of the ways of bonding. Humor, which originates from primate play vocalizations, activates the brain’s endorphin system and increases social bonding.
Coping Mechanism
A sense of humor can act as a valuable resource that can effectively assist a person in dealing with problems. Humor can help people emotionally detach which makes the stress factors seem less daunting. That ability to laugh, to find humor in a situation not only decreases short-term stress but also fosters overall resilience.
Kuiper, Martin and Olinger’s (1993) study examined the relationship between humor and stress and specifically, how these impact cognitive evaluations of stress, specifically academic tests. A higher humor score was associated with perceiving the exam as a more positive challenge than was the case with a lower humor score.
Enhancing Creativity and Problem-Solving
Humor can help break set mentalities and facilitate search for new approaches and solutions to issues. Relaxation of the mind and having a light-heartedness inspires new and different ways of thinking. Social humor often liberates the mind as it enables the people to view issues from more than one perspective, and therefore, arrive at unique solutions.
Research was conducted on how humor influences the teaching and learning of mathematics among students. By employing surveys for 344 students and interviews of 6 participants, it has identified that students prefer to have humor in their Maths classes, yet the humor used by the teachers does not always regulate this preference. However, humor was found to have a positive relationship with motivation of the students.
Conclusion: Embracing Humor for a Happier Life
For a long time, humor and laughter have been considered as mere moments of sheer delight, however, research shows that they are vital for improvement of mental and physiological health. They increase endurance to pain, decrease stress and enhance social relations. According to Norman Cousins, “Laughter is an instant vacation.” To get these benefits, try to incorporate humor into your lifestyle by watching comedies, exchanging funny stories or allowing yourself to laugh more often.
By understanding the psychology of humor and embracing the benefits of laughter, we can build a more fulfilling life filled with resilience, positivity, and joy. It’s very important, especially when going through difficulties.
References
Louie D, Brook K, Frates E. The Laughter Prescription: A Tool for Lifestyle Medicine. Am J Lifestyle Med. 2016 Jun 23;10(4):262-267. doi: 10.1177/1559827614550279. PMID: 30202281; PMCID: PMC6125057.
Kuiper, N. A., Martin, R. A., & Olinger, L. J. (1993). Coping humor, stress, and cognitive appraisals.Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science / Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 25(1), 81–96. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0078791
Lovorn, M. G. (2008). Humor in the Home and in the Classroom: The Benefits of Laughing While We Learn. Journal of Education and Human Development, 2, 300-312.
Dunbar, R. I. M. (2022). Laughter and its role in the evolution of human social bonding. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 377(1840), 20210176. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2021.0176
