When will we laugh?

When relating laughter to time, it is easy to overlook all those times that we're being exposed to a funny situation yet don't know when we actually are going to laugh. Usually, we laugh in situations that we know are going to be funny or are supposed to be funny, but we all know there are those times where we are expecting something funny and are completely let down. This is different from the obligatory laughter I referenced in my first post because in these situations, we continue to wait for the moment in which we are expected to laugh but it never comes. Because this moment is inevitably awkward for both people involved, we are forced to act as though we didn't know the moment was building up to be something "funny." However, when we resort to this, the person in charge of the "funny" moment is disappointed in that we weren't able to find the funny time to laugh. Timing our laughter is both voluntary and involuntary. In these moments I talk about above, the timing of our laughter works hand in hand with the build up that comes with it. We think we are timing our laughter voluntarily, for when the funny moment comes, however are let down in realizing that there is no funny moment. Our involuntary laughter occurs when we least expect things to be funny. These are the purely true moments that we find funny, resulting in us to laugh whether we planned on it or not. A shift can also occur from voluntary laughter to involuntary laughter. When we think something is going to be funny and we are planning out our laughter for the exact moment it should occur, something else might happen that we burst out laughing because we weren't expecting it, resulting in our involuntary laughter.

ICE Cold Laughter

The other day I was walking behind a group of students who were having any normal conversation that we all would have on the way to class. We are all obviously aware of the huge mounds of snow covering the entire campus here, so seeing someone slip has become the usual. As I continued to walk behind this group, we all witnessed someone attempting to cross the street. The key word here is attempt. Mid way through, they slipped on a very hidden piece of ice that probably any student crossing would've slipped on. The laughter that which erupted from the group ahead of me (and myself) lasted for probably 2 minutes, which is a lot considering the cause of this laughter was less than 5 seconds long. This amazed me. The ability for people to laugh about something that lasted for nearly 5 seconds was not the dumbfounding part. It was that the laughter ceased after the original 2 minutes right after the fall, however began again ten minutes later. The laughter that then followed was purely reminiscent, however produced the same hearty laugh that occurred when the person crossing actually slipped. This happening allowed me to conclude that shorter instances result in longer laughter due in part because of the fact that what happened is no longer available for the people to continue to laugh at. Therefore, this is when the laughter is purely based on memory of the actual incident. Our shift from actual laughter in the moment to reminiscent laughter can be separated by however many minutes. What remains constant is the ability to laugh the same way.

Obligatory Laughter

The amount of time between when a joke is told or something funny happens and when someone actually laughs is a very little amount of time (no more than 3 seconds give or take); that is if whatever it was was truly funny. However, in these unfortunate instances when someone expects you to laugh and you did not find their comment funny, time begins to play a major role. It is as if time it self has stopped and you are wondering, "do I laugh to satisfy right now or am I actually supposed to reveal my true feelings about this...?" As time ticks by, each of these thoughts runs through your head, prolonging the eventual obligated laughter even further. Finally, you realize that laughing at whatever was "funny" seems most appropriate and fold under the pressure of being obligated to laugh. If you have ever witnessed the reaction of the person receiving such obligatory laughter, though, you would be able to observe something quite different. It took so long to sort out whether or not to laugh, that the joke that was once considered funny (at least by the one person), is no longer. Clearly, the aspect of time in relation to laughter, especially obligatory laughter, affects the outcome of what is expected. The further something is prolonged, the less funny it gets. So why is it that this occurs? Things that occur in quick instances do not allow us to analyze what has happened, only react. It is the reaction of laughter, therefore, that we resort to. This reaction is, for the most part, involuntary, contrary to what some might believe, and is a true depiction of our reactions to things that occur right before our eyes. In reference to a psychological shift, it is that of the conceptual shift which occurs. This is based on our expectations of certain aspects in our life. These expectations are usually assigned to certain objects, however in the case of obligatory laughter, our expectation of laughing due to an instant feeling is kept in mind quite readily. Because we expect to laugh at things that occur quickly and that are funny, when neither of these instances occur, a false laugh is forced to come out. This false laugh, obligatory laughter, is due to the crushing of our normal expectation of laughter.