Positivity And Laughs

There are several factors that influence our perception of laughter and our ability to identify group members. Some of these factors are different from those that influence the type of laughter we produce. For example, we may perceive laughter differently if we laugh when we are with an out-group member, which may explain why we perceive laughter as more positive when we are among other members of the same group. Thus, it is important to include both measures of laughter to understand group identification and perceived positivity.

Positive evaluations toward groups to which you laugh

Recent studies have found that laughter conveys a distinct social signal that participants are able to use to identify groups. Specifically, laughter signals the presence of other people, and there are differences between spontaneous laughter and volitional laughter in the way that listeners process it. In the current study, participants used laughter clips to assess the group identity of a participant. Participants also evaluated whether laughter was produced by the speaker if it was spontaneous and whether the laughter was positive or negative.

The study also found that participants in individualistic cultures have more positive evaluations of members of groups to which they laugh. Moreover, North American participants displayed a greater positivity bias toward their in-group peers than did Japanese participants. This is likely due to differences in cultural motivations for self-enhancement.

Positive evaluations toward situations in which you laugh

Researchers have found that shared laughter is a consistent relationship marker and is associated with measures of relationship well-being. In contrast, unshared laughter is more complex and has variable relational signal value. It may be interpreted as an affiliative signal or represent benign misunderstanding or mockery.

Recent research on laughter has examined its frequency, acoustics, and temporal patterning. The authors found that laughter is largely a function of the affective state associated with the situation in which it occurs. The findings suggest that the frequency of laughter has a profound effect on the affective state of the subject.

Positive evaluations toward people with whom you laugh

Studies have found that people are more likely to give positive evaluations to people with whom they laugh. This could be due to the fact that laughing is a universal human behavior, but data on the relationship-enhancing effects of laughter are scarce. Therefore, we examined the role of laughter as an objective measure of relationship quality, by coding the laughter of 71 heterosexual romantic partners during a video-recorded conversation about how the couple met. We found that the proportion of laughter experienced by romantic partners was positively related to global evaluations of relationship quality, closeness, and social support. Furthermore, we discuss the methodological implications of our findings.

Positive evaluations toward yourself

Positive evaluations of yourself can trigger laughter. The study involved 56 subjects who read bogus third-person evaluations about their personality and rated their immediate feelings. Twenty-two participants read evaluations from an unknown person and rated their feelings. When comparing the two conditions, the results showed that laughter evoked by personal evaluations was more frequent than that evoked by third-party evaluations. This suggests that laughter is not solely related to the effects of the third-party evaluation, but can also be associated with affective states.