Social laughter is correlated with an elevated pain threshold.
Although laughter forms an important part of human non-verbal communication, it has received rather less attention than it deserves in both the experimental and the observational literatures. Relaxed social (Duchenne) laughter is associated with feelings of wellbeing and heightened affect, a proxima...
| Hlavní autoři: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Médium: | Journal article |
| Jazyk: | English |
| Vydáno: |
2012
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| _version_ | 1826281702669942784 |
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| author | Dunbar, R Baron, R Frangou, A Pearce, E van Leeuwen, E Stow, J Partridge, G MacDonald, I Barra, V van Vugt, M |
| author_facet | Dunbar, R Baron, R Frangou, A Pearce, E van Leeuwen, E Stow, J Partridge, G MacDonald, I Barra, V van Vugt, M |
| author_sort | Dunbar, R |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | Although laughter forms an important part of human non-verbal communication, it has received rather less attention than it deserves in both the experimental and the observational literatures. Relaxed social (Duchenne) laughter is associated with feelings of wellbeing and heightened affect, a proximate explanation for which might be the release of endorphins. We tested this hypothesis in a series of six experimental studies in both the laboratory (watching videos) and naturalistic contexts (watching stage performances), using change in pain threshold as an assay for endorphin release. The results show that pain thresholds are significantly higher after laughter than in the control condition. This pain-tolerance effect is due to laughter itself and not simply due to a change in positive affect. We suggest that laughter, through an endorphin-mediated opiate effect, may play a crucial role in social bonding. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T00:32:47Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:80630dbe-2b9e-4f41-a47c-80c9995efc07 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T00:32:47Z |
| publishDate | 2012 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:80630dbe-2b9e-4f41-a47c-80c9995efc072022-03-26T21:23:00ZSocial laughter is correlated with an elevated pain threshold.Journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:80630dbe-2b9e-4f41-a47c-80c9995efc07EnglishSymplectic Elements at Oxford2012Dunbar, RBaron, RFrangou, APearce, Evan Leeuwen, EStow, JPartridge, GMacDonald, IBarra, Vvan Vugt, MAlthough laughter forms an important part of human non-verbal communication, it has received rather less attention than it deserves in both the experimental and the observational literatures. Relaxed social (Duchenne) laughter is associated with feelings of wellbeing and heightened affect, a proximate explanation for which might be the release of endorphins. We tested this hypothesis in a series of six experimental studies in both the laboratory (watching videos) and naturalistic contexts (watching stage performances), using change in pain threshold as an assay for endorphin release. The results show that pain thresholds are significantly higher after laughter than in the control condition. This pain-tolerance effect is due to laughter itself and not simply due to a change in positive affect. We suggest that laughter, through an endorphin-mediated opiate effect, may play a crucial role in social bonding. |
| spellingShingle | Dunbar, R Baron, R Frangou, A Pearce, E van Leeuwen, E Stow, J Partridge, G MacDonald, I Barra, V van Vugt, M Social laughter is correlated with an elevated pain threshold. |
| title | Social laughter is correlated with an elevated pain threshold. |
| title_full | Social laughter is correlated with an elevated pain threshold. |
| title_fullStr | Social laughter is correlated with an elevated pain threshold. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Social laughter is correlated with an elevated pain threshold. |
| title_short | Social laughter is correlated with an elevated pain threshold. |
| title_sort | social laughter is correlated with an elevated pain threshold |
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