Psychology of laughter

One of the most pleasant expressions in our life is laughter. It is an expression or appearance of merriment or amusement. Laughter can be warm and sincere or angry and sly; it depends on our mood, thoughts, feelings and so on. So I would like to speak about some aspects of laughter.

Speaking about nature of laughter, there are many different theories about it. One of them is the Classical theory of laughter. One of the most famous philosophers in Greece, Aristotle, was one of this theories author. He said, that human being are the only creatures that laugh. According him, mirth induced by jesting is always an expression of contempt. If we find ourselves laughing at others, it will because they exhibit some fault or mark of shame which, while not painful, makes them ridiculous.

What is more, in Renaissance the Classical theory of laughter was a little bit changed. It analyzed psychological aspects of laughter. Renaissance theorists suggested, that born of happiness and delight and passion moving us to laughter must always be related in some way to joy. What is more, they also agree with Aristotle in some aspects, that laughter always arise from contemplation of deeds or sayings which have an appearance of ugliness. After Renaissance, psychologists started to consider, that maybe our laughter is not always an expression of scorn. They suggested, that men laugh when something happens which is at once pleasant and new and our mirth ends either when the feelings novelty, or else the feeling of pleasure, wears off.

Moreover, some modern theories of laughter are more positive about mirth and predict that it is not only the human feature: some animals also laugh. Like chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, rats and dogs.

Everybody understands that laughter has good effect for us. Dr. Lee and fellow researcher Dr. Stanley have been studying the effects of laughter on the immune system. Their studies shows laughing lowers blood pressure, reduces stress hormones, increases muscles flexion and boosts immune function. Also, it produces a general sense of well-being.

To sum up, the laughter maybe and have some negative aspects of its nature, but, in my opinion, laughter arises most from some positive things and people must laugh more, because it makes our life more beautiful.

Soursces:
http://fds.oup.com/www.oup.co.uk
http://www.holisticonline.com

Psychology of conflicts

Everybody knows that unpleasant phenomenon, conflict. Conflict is a state of opposition, disagreement or incompatibility between two or more people or groups of people, which sometimes characterized by physical violence. It is a clash of two different tendencies that cause strong, unpleasant feelings. However, conflicts are part of our life that we can not avoid. But sometimes we forget that conflict has a good side also, it is a stimulus of changes and progress. During clashes we can know more about others and about ourselves.

Speaking about variations in conflicts, there are four different kinds of it: interpersonal, person – group, inter-group and internal.

Interpersonal conflict- it is disagreement between people that are reaching different goals, have different opinions and moral values. This conflict is in almost all spheres of human relationships – in family, organization or at work. Interpersonal conflicts are very emotional.

„Person – group” conflict – it is a clash, when personal and group’s motives face. It is caused by different views of person and group. The most common occur, when person does not care about group’s norms.

Inter-group conflicts – it is conflicts when groups interests, values and purposes face. It can be conflicts between school administration and teachers, between classes and so on.

Internal conflict - it does not have subject of conflict – neither persons , nor groups. Conflict is caused by different person opinions, values, needs, interests, ideals.

The most difficult kind of conflicts is internal conflict. Kurt Levine distinguished three kinds of it:

Desire – desire - conflict, when people have to choose one thing from two pleasing alternatives;

Avoidance- avoidance- it is conflicts, when person has to choose one thing from two unpleasant alternatives;

Desire – avoidance – when the same goal has two sides: good and bad.

Sometimes internal conflicts can cause phobias, depression or stress. When such kind of conflict is not solved out, person can have some psychological problems. It is very often, when person does not understand, that he has internal conflict. Sometimes this conflict can be hidden by euphoria or active work. If we want to solve out this problem, first, we have to realize that we have such conflict and then try to find the solutions.

What is more, it is very important to manage conflicts. So there two different kinds of conflicts management: constructive and unconstructive behavior.

Steps of constructive behavior:

1. When you hear a charge for you, let to say person all charges and do not disturb him.

2.You and your opponent have to concrete complaints, that it would be easier to understand situation.

3. You have to agree that opponent have right to say his charges. It does not mean to agree with charges, but agree that everybody have a right to express their opinion.

4. You should say your opinion about this situation with clear arguments.

5. Finally, you and your opponent have to analyze situation and try to find compromise. It would be easier, because after all these steps opponent calm down and think more rationally.

Also, there are steps of unconstructive behavior that are not as good as constructive one.

1. Disagreemant with charges.

2. Derogation of opponent.

3. Disregard of opponent’s charges

All these steps can make conflict more complicated; however, people often use these steps.

To sum up, I would like to say , that conflicts are not so bad if we know, how to solve it constructive or how to find it benefits.

References: http://www.crinfo.org/action/browse.jsp?nid=1999