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