Laughter : A Scientific Investigation

Why do we laugh? Laughter has little to do with humor -- it is an ancient and unconscious behavior, a social, psychological, and biological act. In Laughter, leading researcher Robert R. Provine provides the first wide-ranging exploration of this intriguing and surprising topic.Provine reveals that laughter is mostly about social relationships, not jokes; that women laugh more at men than vice-versa; that speakers laugh more than their audiences; that tickling is a form of communication, not a reflex. Using the latest evidence, much of it presented for the first time, Provine's discussion of laughter includes such diverse material as sonic analysis and opera scores. He connects laughter to health and explores ways to increase laughter in our lives. He examines holy laughter, chimpanzee laughter, the Tanganyikan laugh epidemic that immobilized an entire school district, and much more.