Why Do We Laugh In Uncomfortable Situations?

laughing-child-1

(Photo by http://keywordsuggest.org/236284-laugh.html).

If you are anything like me then you laugh when you are in an uncomfortable situation. This doesn’t happen because you are laughing at the other person or because you don’t know how to react… it’s because this is your normal reaction, but why?

Emotion Regulation is a factor in learning how to control your emotions and this can be learned, but humans express conscious and unconscious  behaviors that make it hard to regulate their emotions.

People like to mask their feelings due to not wanting others to really know how they feel- so people may laugh in times of nervousness because they are trying to balance their anxious feelings. In a study the researcher, Oriana, Aragon explains how emotion needs to be regulated because if you begin to laugh obnoxiously for no reason in a time that is not appropriate that can mean you had enough of a certain stimulus and you don’t need it anymore.

This study was experimental and observational because Aragon watched people in social situations and learned by studying their brain that the stimulus is overworked. Too many signals are being sent to the brain at one time causing the laughter to take place.

baby-laughing

(Photo by https://automaticimprov.wordpress.com/2012/09/24/beingfunn/baby-laughing/).

Neuroscientist V.S. Ramachandran explains in his book, that we signal ourselves when horrible things we’ve just encountered aren’t that bad because we want to believe this. By making ourselves believe that the situation is not that bad- it can be a defense mechanism explaining our behavior to mask what’s really going on. We decide to put a wall up because our anxiety overrides us and we do not want to look weak to others.

X Variable- Stimulus (What’s going on in your life?)

Y Variable- Laughing at inappropriate times

Confounding Variables- Did you think of something funny? Did someone look at you weird? Etc.

**This experiment can be due to chance as is every, but this one more so because people laugh at the most random things. Reverse causation isn’t present here because you can’t laugh out of nervousness and then your stimulus decides to overreact. The stimulus needs to have a reaction first and then the laughing would occur.

By looking at this theory of nervous laughter, when people are able to make light of traumatic events in their life- although it is a sign of healing, people have come to terms with the fact that they are able to be happy again. With this said- there doesn’t have to be a traumatic event in your life to have nervous laughter. This can just be who you are. Laughing makes people feel better and it is one of the few universal things in life- after all we all want to believe that everything is going to be okay.

 man-woman-laughing

(Photo by https://automaticimprov.wordpress.com/2012/09/24/beingfunn/baby-laughing/).

11 thoughts on “Why Do We Laugh In Uncomfortable Situations?

  1. Grace Anne Walker

    Good blog post! I often times laugh in the worst possible situations. When I’m with my close friends or my family I laugh at the wrong times and influence them to do the same. It’s a bad habit because it can come across as rude. Something that I questioned in the study was what do we have enough stimuli of that makes us laugh and how those are exactly related. Here is a link to why laughing helps you to live longer. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/memory-medic/201307/does-humor-make-you-live-longer

  2. Zachary Morris

    Nervous laughing is something everyone has done and seen. Whether its during an awkward silence or the scariest scene of the movie, I’ve noticed people laughing at the wrong times for a while now and always wondered why. Like most people, I just chalked it up to be some sort of a defense mechanism when someone realizes they are in an uncomfortable situation. I’m glad your article states more- that nervous laughter can also be good! I believe laughter is generally good for you and I’m relieved to see that nervous laughter isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Here’s a good article I found on why people laugh at the wrong times:
    http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150320-why-do-we-laugh-inappropriately

  3. Melissa Fraistat

    This blog was really interesting for me to read considering the fact that I never fail to laugh when I’m nervous, and I had no idea why. Like you said, I assumed it was a defense mechanism, but it’s also interesting it could be due to realizing the situation isn’t as bad as it seems, and everything will be okay. I find it really fascinating that we can subconsciously exhibit that we believe things are fine, even in bad situations.

  4. Jessy Severino

    I’m the type of person who doesn’t laugh in uncomfortable situations but I’ve always wondered why people laugh when something serious is happening. I always thought that the reason why people laugh in uncomfortable situations was because they are nervous. I don’t know if laughter in uncomfortable situations may always mean them trying to be happy. we all aren’t wired the same because not everyone laughs in uncomfortable situations people have different reactions. Laughter may mean happiness but I believe it depends on the situation.

  5. Brett Alan Merritt

    I used to laugh a lot in uncomfortable situations but have been getting better at controlling that recently. In my experience, it was due to a defensive mechanism. Laughing was easier than showing how I really felt. Do you think some people laugh in those situations because they want to purposely disrespect someone? Laughing in someone’s face when they are completely serious is a very obvious sign or disrespect.

  6. Jackie Michelle Tremblay

    I wonder what the explanation for people who don’t laugh when they’re nervous is. If laughter makes us happy in uncomfortable situations then wouldn’t everyone laugh? Maybe it only works this way for people who are more anxious. Maybe in the brain of a non- anxious person, laughter makes the situation even more uncomfortable so their body doesn’t naturally respond that way.

  7. Sabrina Chan

    It’s interesting to read the reason as to why we laugh when we’re nervous–especially because I do it so often. On the brightside, as you noted, laughing makes people feel better.

    http://www.helpguide.org/articles/emotional-health/laughter-is-the-best-medicine.htm This article says that laughter relaxes your muscles (Although in my personal experience, laughing too much can make my face muscles sore haha), releases copious amounts of endorphins, and may help you live longer among many other benefits.

    Even if this science is somehow faulty, who doesn’t love to laugh anyway, right?

    1. Sabrina Chan

      It’s interesting to read the reason as to why we laugh when we’re nervous–especially because I do it so often. On the brightside, as you noted, laughing makes people feel better.

      http://www.jsc.edu/academics/behavioral-sciences/beyond-the-classroom/the-science-of-laughing-babies/ This article also explains how laughing is so ingrained in our nature, starting from when we were simply babies. Babies don’t need to be taught to laugh–they instinctually do.

      http://www.helpguide.org/articles/emotional-health/laughter-is-the-best-medicine.htm This article says that laughter relaxes your muscles (Although in my personal experience, laughing too much can make my face muscles sore haha), releases copious amounts of endorphins, and may help you live longer among many other benefits.

      Even if this science is somehow faulty, who doesn’t love to laugh anyway, right?

      It’s great that you included the x and y variables. Good job on including class materials and using so many sources.

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