2005
DOI: 10.1086/498281
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The Evolution and Functions of Laughter and Humor: A Synthetic Approach

Abstract: A number of recent hypotheses have attempted to explain the ultimate evolutionary origins of laughter and humor. However most of these have lacked breadth in their evolutionary frameworks while neglecting the empirical existence of two distinct types of laughter--Duchenne and non-Duchenne--and the implications of this distinction for the evolution of laughter as a signal. Most of these hypotheses have also been proposed in relative isolation of each other and remain disjointed from the relevant empirical liter… Show more

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Cited by 456 publications
(455 citation statements)
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“…Based on comparative acoustic data on laugh-like vocalizations (play vocalizations induced by tickling) across several ape species, Davila-Ross et al (2009) estimated that human laughter was derived from an eggressive (i.e., produced through exhalation only) play signal in the common ancestor. The species-specific modifications of this vocal behavior might have been shaped by selection beginning 5 Ma, prior to the emergence of modern human speech (see also Gervais & Wilson, 2005). Many vocalizations in the human repertoire predate speech and exist today through evolutionarily modified vocal production systems widely shared with other species (Fitch, 2006).…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
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“…Based on comparative acoustic data on laugh-like vocalizations (play vocalizations induced by tickling) across several ape species, Davila-Ross et al (2009) estimated that human laughter was derived from an eggressive (i.e., produced through exhalation only) play signal in the common ancestor. The species-specific modifications of this vocal behavior might have been shaped by selection beginning 5 Ma, prior to the emergence of modern human speech (see also Gervais & Wilson, 2005). Many vocalizations in the human repertoire predate speech and exist today through evolutionarily modified vocal production systems widely shared with other species (Fitch, 2006).…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Some researchers have described a difference between: 1) emotionally-driven involuntary (i.e., spontaneous) laughter, and 2) volitional, non-emotional, articulated laughter (e.g., Keltner & Bonanno, 1997;Ruch & Ekman, 2001;Gervais & Wilson, 2005). Studies suggest that these laugh types depend on neurally dissociable production systems (Jurgens, 2002;Wild, Rodden, Grodd, & Ruch, 2003), but no research exists, to our knowledge, on the ability of individuals to distinguish between spontaneous and volitional laughter.…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…He works on moral psychology and crosscultural variation in moral values. Laughter and humor are ubiquitous aspects of human behavior (Gervais and Wilson 2005), and laughter at least has a very ancient origin that may even predate the origins of the hominin lineage (Davila Ross et al 2009;Dunbar et al 2012). Despite this, laughter itself has been the focus of only limited research (Provine 1996).…”
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confidence: 99%
“…More recently, however, there has been growing interest in the ultimate functions of laughter and humor. Laughter and humor may play a number of different (not always mutually exclusive) roles in human communication, including expediting courtship, facilitating the flow of an interaction/conversation, synchronizing emotional states, and social bonding (Bachorowski and Owren 2001;Bressler et al 2006;Cowan and Little 2012;Curry and Dunbar 2013;Dunbar et al 2012;Flamson and Barrett 2008;Gervais and Wilson 2005;Grammer 1990;Grammer and Eibl-Eibesfeldt 1990;Hurley et al 2011;Li et al 2009;Mehu and Dunbar 2008;Owren and Bachorowski 2003). However, the underlying cognitive mechanisms that both enable these effects to work and determine the maximum complexity of jokes are much less well understood.…”
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confidence: 99%
“…Here we see the famous crow's feet that Botox can eliminate, resulting in the inability to express a true Duchene smile and seeming very stiff and almost fake. True laughter involves the Duchene smile and reflects that true emotions are being expressed [8,9]. This Duchene laughter is the one associated with the emotional benefits of laughter [10].…”
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confidence: 99%