On Humor

Humor is a complex cognitive function which often elicits and  leads to laughter.  Laughter is a ‘seizure-like’ activity that can be elicited by experiencing a humorous cognitive stimulus but also other stimuli, i.e., tickling. While humor and laughter are closely related, they are not synonymous.  Humor is the underlying cognitive process that frequently, but not necessarily, leads to laughter. Thus, one can laugh without a humorous stimulus and similarly one can experience humor without laughter. The basic ability to perceive humor seems “instinctive” and, thus, likely reliant on genetic machinations. Hence, whether something is funny or not, setting aside verbal phrasing, is somehow dependent on the person who is a recipient of such a stimulus.  

Humor is ubiquitous and universal, and its conspicuous presence in the behavioral repertoire of humankind invites adaptive explanations.  To our knowledge, no culture exists that is unfamiliar with humor. It appears  that all healthy individuals reliably comprehend obvious attempts at humor.

From a psychological standpoint, humor is a tool to adapt to a situation. It is a defense mechanism in itself. In a psychoanalytic sense, jokes are ‘half-meant truth’. In the same sense, we resort to humor or joke if we feel uncomfortable, incapable,  or inadequate to fully stand by what we say and do in regard to a situation or another person. But whether it is used as a healthy tool or not, that is another story.

Of the many sane and judicious things that can be uttered about humor and subsequently laughter, I would like to zero in on what to me is the healthful benefit of the latter.

Laughter lightens the soul. Laughter helps break down barriers between people. Laughter releases an endorphin that helps dull physical pain in the body. Laughter reduces feelings of stress. That is why they say that “Laughter is the best medicine."