Why not fool anyone with your fake laugh

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

There is new evidence that we are good at distinguishing between genuine and fake laughter. In this article, we'll share a study that shows this. Next time, laughing at an unfunny joke, think about whether it is worth doing.

This happened a few years ago when I was studying at the university. Our group wanted to belatedly mark the "equator" - the date marking the middle of the training. We decided to rent a house, and it so happened that I had to communicate with the owner of the house. It was terrible. I've never met people who love to talk so much. Moreover, it was out of the question to talk - to shut up and let the interlocutor say at least a word.

It came to incidents. He hounded "funny" jokes, and since I was in a desperate situation, I had to laugh. More precisely, imitate laughter. It seemed to me that I became a professional in this matter, until after one of my fake chuckles he looked at me in such a way that I understood:

I won't laugh any more falsely. I was discovered.

It is not difficult for your interlocutor to understand how sincere your laugh is. And if you don’t believe my negative experience, then you will surely believe Greg Bryant.

Bryant is a PhD in Psychology and a professor at the University of California. A recent study he conducted with colleagues proves that fake laughter is a habit that should be kicked out.

Laughter is a reaction to fun. It triggers the release of endorphins, which makes us feel better. There is even evidence that our muscles relax when we laugh. It is a body gesture that shows that we are not prone to aggression and attack.

Fake laughter is an imitation of real laughter that is created using several different muscles and originates in a different part of the brain. The result boils down to the fact that artificial laughter sounds like spoken language and people subconsciously understand this.

The University of California has had several. One of them was as follows:

Scientists have slowed down the audio recording of sincere and fake laughter by 2, 5 times. It turned out that sincere laughter in slow motion is similar to the sound made by an animal, while fake laughter clearly resembles slow human speech.

After allowing the subjects to compare these records, they made sure that everyone noticed it. Scientists asked respondents to answer who makes this sound: an animal or a person. The respondents could not answer correctly in the case of sincere or spontaneous laughter, but they almost always correctly guessed the source of artificial laughter.

The second experiment was simpler and more convincing. Participants in the experiment were turned on recordings of sincere and fake laughter and were asked to determine what kind of laughter they were hearing now. V 70% of casesparticipants identified fake and sincere laughter correctly.

In the case of laughter, we can still distinguish the original from the fake. Laughter is one of the oldest emotional responses, and it’s no surprise that we’ve learned to tell when it’s insincere. So the next time someone tells you an unfunny joke, it’s better to honestly say that it’s unfunny. Indeed, at best, they simply won't believe you. At worst, you will have to listen to this in the future.