Laughter as social lubricant - Mark van Vugt

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LAUGHTER AS SOCIAL LUBRICANT Abstract We test the hypothesis that laughter acts as a social lubricant to enhance a sense of group membership through the release of endorphins. Using a public good game, we show that laughter increases social bonding and cooperation between strangers and that it increases the subjective experience of positive affect, while reducing negative affect. We also show that laughter stimulates the release of endorphins (as indexed by levels of pain tolerance) and that endorphin release is approximately proportional to the amount of laughter performed. We propose a biosocial hypothesis of laughter which addresses both the ultimate and proximate functions of laughter for connecting individuals within groups. 2
LAUGHTER AS SOCIAL LUBRICANT Laughter as Social Lubricant: A Biosocial Hypothesis about the Pro-social Functions of Laughter and Humor “In laughter we emit sounds and express emotions that come from deep within our biological being—grunts and cackles from our animal unconscious. But what do these vocalizations signify? More than 2,000 years of the contemplation of laughter by some of history’s great philosophers, writers, scientists, and physicians certify the importance of the question but provide only the vaguest of answers.” --- R. Provine (2000; p. 2) Humans are a uniquely social species. They are able to empathize and form deep emotional connections with non-kin (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). They come to the rescue of complete strangers in need (Becker & Eagly, 2004). And, they are capable of sacrificing themselves for the welfare of others in sometimes very large groups (Van Vugt & Van Lange, 2006). Humans are also unique in their capacity to laugh, talk, sing and dance (Dunbar, 2004a). These social capacities are not unrelated. The scale and intensity of human cooperation requires mechanisms to facilitate communication and affective bonding between people. Here we propose one such bonding mechanism, human laughter. We develop a biosocial theory of laughter in which we argue that laughter promotes psychological well-being, which in turn enables individuals to cooperate and function better in groups. The effects of laughter are complex and diverse. At the basic physiological level, we suggest that laughter is involved in the release of endorphins, which create the experience of positive affect. At the individual psychological level, we predict that laughter elicits positive mood states while decreasing their negative mood. At the 3
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Laughter as social lubricant - Mark van Vugt

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