Have you heard the one about the Victorian sense of humour?
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Articles on Laughter
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In this episode of the podcast, we take in the history of Victorian humour, why kids find poo so hilarious and whether academics should try and be funny.
Laughing at inappropriate moments could be an early sign of dementia, while injury to the front part of the brain could make you lose your sense of sarcasm.
One viral video might leave you in stitches; another leaves you cold. Psychology researchers have worked out several theories of humor to explain why.
From Alfonso the Wise’s bawdy songs of slander to Ronald Reagan’s sunny smile, politics and humor have gone hand-in-hand for centuries. But no one seems to be laughing anymore.
The most famous moment in sports commentary tells us a lot about getting the giggles.
Why do we laugh? Evolutionarily speaking, it’s so we could survive – and similar rules apply today.
We start laughing at around 3 months of age. Women laugh more than men, but blokes tell more jokes. As the Melbourne International Comedy Festival begins, here’s the latest on mirth.
Shakespeare didn’t ‘lol,’ but he did ‘ha, ha, he.’
It was Victor Borge, the famous Danish comedian, to whom we can attribute the quote: “Laughter is the shortest distance between two people”. And he was right, laughter is universal in human cultures and…
There’s nothing quite like overhearing a hearty belly-laugh, unless perhaps it’s having a good chortle yourself. The happy likelihood is that, in any case, one guffaw will lead to the other. Laughter is…
Top contributors
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Senior Lecturer in History, Edge Hill University
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Professor of Pediatrics, Università di Siena
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Lecturer in Psychology, Aberystwyth University
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Honorary Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne
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Professor of Media Studies, Penn State
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PhD Candidate, University of Leeds
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Director, Office of Scholarly Communication and Publishing, University of Pittsburgh
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Senior Clinical Lecturer in Child Psychiatry, University of Aberdeen
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PhD Researcher, Nature and Function of Human Nonverbal Vocalisations, University of Sussex
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Professor of Cognitive Psychology, Grinnell College
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Professor of History, Hofstra University
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Professor of Cognitive Psychology, UCL
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Assistant Professor of Psychology, Fort Lewis College
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Associate Professor in Cognitive Neuroscience, Sheffield Hallam University
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Professor in Professional Education and Leadership, School of Social Sciences, University of Stirling., University of Stirling
