October 09, 2015
It's really unfortunate, how we tend to laugh when people tripped or hit themselves in the groin, even if we do not want to! Scientists however now confirmed something we all probably know - we are not bad people, something inside our body is making us laugh.
Sometimes, we wonder why we are so entertained with shows like "America's Funniest Home Videos" and "Impractical Jokes" when most of the time, the videos feature someone who accidentally tripped, fell, bumped their head and many other painful things we do not wish to befall us. Once or twice, someone will even self-righteously tell you to quit watching these videos because you are laughing at the expense of others. Scientists now say true...but you cannot necessarily help it.
According to experts, even though each person has his or her own sense of humor, it is a common reaction for most to laugh when someone trips or get hit in the groin. The look of pain does not even deter us from grinning like fools.
Dr. William Dry, a psychiatrist and founder of gelotology, or the science of laughter, claimed that the concept of "play frame" is at play on these situations. The concept puts a real life event in a non-serious context that would prompt a person to react unusually. Laughing at someone who accidentally trips is associated with the idea of incongruity as well. People would tend to laugh at something that seems logically impossible.
Some neurologists suggested that laughing is only natural when we someone trips or accidentally hurt themselves because our brains have mirror neurons. It makes us feel as if we are the ones falling or hurting ourselves accidentally and make us laugh at what we imagined.
For philosopher Henri Bergson on the other hand, said that when people laugh at others, this is society's way of reminding people to observe the guidelines and rules of the society. Laughter can shame others to be more careful. Some philosophists also suggested that we laugh at others' pain because it makes us feel superior.
