I have recently started watching the Netflix series Disenchantment. And I have also finished watching it recently. I find it so funny, that I quickly watched all three seasons. I noticed, however, that on occasions that my wife was also in the room, I laughed more often about the jokes in the series. Now why would that be the case? My wife thinks that Disenchantment is not even remotely funny. Am I unconsciously trying to convince her that the series is funny by laughing at it?

Golden Behaviors

– Nudges for a Healthy Lifestyle –

Reading time: 5 minutes

The evidence is quite clear: laughing is healthy for you. Studies so far have shown that laughter can help relieve pain, bring greater happiness, and even increase immunity. Laughter increases the number of antibody-producing cells we have working for us and enhances the effectiveness of T cells. All this means a stronger immune system, as well as fewer physical effects of stress.

Laughing reduces stress

Other studies show that our response to stressful events can be altered by whether we view something as a threat or a challenge. Humor can relieve this stress by giving us a different perspective and help us view events as challenges instead of a threat. This makes them less threatening and more positive.

Why things are funny

One of the earliest ideas about why things are funny are as old as Plato and Aristotle. It suggests that laughter arises from the feeling of superiority over others (superiority theory). This can explain why Mr. Bean is funny. We laugh at the misfortunes of Mr. Bean, because he behaves childishly which makes us feel somewhat superior to him. This may also explain why many people found Jackass incredibly funny. This series is about a couple of guys performing crazy stunts for our amusement. But not me, so this probably does not explain everything.

Another theory states that a surprise or inconsistency is a necessity for humor (incongruity theory). This may explain why I find some jokes insanely funny. I remember going to the cinema about a year ago. A couple of chairs away from me was a girl with a dog and every time there was a funny scene during the movie, the dog started barking. So during the break, I walked over to that girl and told her I found that rather strange. The girl agreed and said “That is very strange indeed. When he read the book he didn’t like it one bit.”

More recently, researchers for the University of Colorado Boulder proposed the theory of benign violation. They propose that when people simultaneously recognizes that an ethical, social or physical norm has been violated and that this is perceived as a minor violation, then things are funny. Someone who will perceive the violation as major, will most likely be insulted. In one experiment, participants read a story about a church that recruits people by organizing a lottery where they could win an SUV by anyone who joins in the next six months. All participants judged the situation to be incongruous, but only the participants who were non-believers judged the violation to be minor and laughed at it.

Thus, there has to be a balance between the norm and the violation. This balance may be different for my wife and me, explaining why I think Disenchantment is hilarious, whereas my wife does not even show a smirk.

Two types of laughter

The psychologists Provine and Fischer found that we are 30 times more likely to laugh if we are with others than if we are alone. This suggests that laugher may be used as a form of bonding. The evolutionary biologists Wilson and Gervais make the distinction between two different types of human laughter. One is the emotional, spontaneous, impulsive and involuntary laughter. You may recognize this in kids when they genuinely giggle when you are playing with them.

The other is an imitation of this spontaneous laughter. Adults can use this type of laughter as a social bonding strategy. This also explains why research found that there is more laughter following statements and comments in conversation, than laughter following jokes. You may recognize both. People laugh when in conversation, even when nothing particularly funny is said. Also, you may not have laughed out loud about my earlier joke about the dog in the cinema, even when you found it funny.

Social bonding

However, maybe you did laugh out loud because of this joke when you where in company at the time that you read the joke. You may have been unconsciously been trying to connect with the person(s) being in the room with you. Did anyone in the room gaze at you or asked you what made you laugh? It may have sparked a conversation with other persons in the room.

I am curious to learn when you did laugh out loud: (1) if there where any other people nearby and (2) if this resulted into a conversion – either about the joke or anything else. Also, when you did not laugh out loud, I am curious to learn (1) if there where any other people in the room. Please leave me a note in the comments.

Laughing when watching Disenchantment

So when I was watching Disenchantment, I was not – by some random chance – watching more funny episodes when my wife was around. I was trying to make a connection and indeed, more often than not this sparked a conversation. So, funny series are not the main cause for laughter. Laughter may be good for your health, but even better for your social relationships.

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Niels Vink (1975) is author of Golden Behaviors and behavioral designer. He uses insights from the behavioral sciences to explain why people often act against their own interests. As a behavioral expert, he explores how you can nudge your behavior for a healthy lifestyle. He has Master degrees in Social Psychology (Leiden University) and Industrial Design Engineering (Delft University of Technology) and holds a PhD in Consumer Behavior.

When you have been inspired to start and maintain your Golden Behaviors, reach out to me.

Source of top image: Netflix


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