The 7 types of laughter

Laughter is one of the most enigmatic manifestations that human beings develop. The problem with understanding it is that we express it in different contexts: when we are happy, sad, alone, in company, in funny situations and also in unpleasant ones.

Besides, laughter has a strong social component. Experts say that it is an evolutionary mechanism to connect emotionally and socially with our parents during our first months of life and is refined as we grow until we develop different types of laughter.

On the other hand, researchers have found that Different types of laughter are related to different brain connections. At the same time, and as the evidence indicates, the perception and brain processing of laughter are also conditioned by laughter.

Below we explain what are the most common types of laughter and their characteristics.

1. Contagious laughter

As with yawning, laughter can also be contagious. In fact, It is very likely that you will have an episode of almost uncontrollable laughter at some point in your life.regardless of whether you know the context that motivated it.

For example, if you walk into a room where several friends or family members are laughing, chances are you will immediately develop an involuntary laugh (or at least a smile) as well.

As a curiosity, we cannot fail to mention the laughter epidemic in Tanganyika that occurred in 1962. It is a well-documented case in which thousands of people were affected for months. Experts associate this episode with a motor variant of massive psychogenic illness.

Contagious laughter is considered one of the most authentic, since it brings numerous neural structures into play.

2. Nervous laughter

Nervous laughter is what we develop in contexts that are not fun. It is considered an involuntary reaction to stress, tension and anxiety to minimize an unpleasant or embarrassing situation. For example, when you laugh in the middle of a crying episode for no apparent reason.

Paradoxically, nervous laughter does not seek to relax the person, but rather produces the opposite effect: it stresses the person even more. Very shy or introverted people can manifest it when they are the center of attention, at least more than extroverts.

3. Silent laughter

Normally, we associate laughter with a sound expression. Also with facial and body movements that denote or give it away. However, among the types of laughter we find that which manifests itself silently. That is to say, does not generate a sound expression and is not accompanied by movements of the face, torso or arms beyond a slight grimace.

We can all develop this laughter, although it is more common in certain contexts. For example, introverts often opt for it, partly because it is an excellent way to go unnoticed. It is also used in funny situations that may be socially disapproved: a black humor joke. Some express it in suggestive contexts or erotic insinuations.

4. Mocking laughter

That laugh is called mocking laughter. whose explicit intention is to make fun of a person. As is well known, mockery is one of the ways used to ridicule a person for their appearance, what they say or what they do. Whoever appeals to mocking laughter seeks to humiliate, ridicule and despise someone.

Given its characteristics, this type of laughter is usually very explicit. It is accompanied by laughter, a powerful sound and body gestures that seek to accuse the person it is directed at.. When it is reciprocal or bidirectional, it stops being an act of cruelty or humiliation and becomes one of the many innocuous manifestations of humor.

5. Tickling laughter

Tickle laughter develops in some people when they are tickled. Broadly speaking, two types of tickling are distinguished: knismesis and gargalesis. The first does not produce a sound reaction, but rather a slight itching. The second does and is generally uncontrollable and can even anticipate contact with the sensitive area.

According to researchers, tickling laughter manifests itself due to the intervention of the hypothalamus. The biological function of this reaction is not well known. but it is known that it is more powerful when it is produced by intimate people. For example, you are more likely to develop a ticklish laugh if it comes from a friend than if it comes from a stranger.

6. Social laughter

All types of laughter have a social component, although in this case we use this name to refer to the laughter we force to avoid being excluded from a group. For example, if you are in a group and a person tells a joke that makes everyone laugh, you will also be forced to laugh even if you didn’t find the joke funny or you didn’t understand it.

We can manifest social laughter to be part of a group, to avoid making others feel bad or simply to avoid an uncomfortable moment. We tend to use it in front of people we esteem more, while we discard it in front of those we do not esteem.

In fact, you will always use social laughter when faced with hilarious comments from your boss, but not when faced with a colleague who you do not tolerate at work.

Social laughter is not usually genuine, but it has a clear communicative purpose.

7. Friendly laughter

The last of the types of laughter that you should know is friendly laughter. It is the one that you only develop with a slight movement of your lips or through an explicit smile. We use it as a sign of gratitude, empathy, to flirt or to connect with a person whom we esteem. It is not accompanied by a sound expression and is generally very subtle.

Although we can of course mention other types of laughter, these are the most common and most used in our day. Determining the context in which we can use one or the other is essential, since the degree of social acceptance depends on it. For example, it is frowned upon to laugh at work just as much as it is not to laugh socially at your boss’s jokes.

You might be interested…