When Ross makes a paleontology joke on Friends, some viewers might find it funnier when the quip—whether good or bad—is accompanied by audible laughter. Sitcoms traditionally achieve this either by recording a live audience or utilizing a pre-recorded laugh track. And they're definitely on to something.
In a new study published in the journal Current Biology, researchers at University College London corralled 72 adults, including 24 with autism, and played them dozens of so-called "dad jokes" (a.k.a. bad jokes) that were prerecorded by a comedian. Each joke was presented with either no laughter; fake or forced laughter; or spontaneous, real laughter. The participants were then asked to rate the jokes on a scale of one to seven, with seven being the funniest. Here’s a sampling of some of those knee-slappers:
“What’s the best day to cook? Friday. Get it? Fry-day.”
“What state has the smallest drinks? Mini-soda!”
“Who is the best kung-fu vegetable? Brocco-Lee!”
Lame, right?
“We wanted it to be possible for [the jokes] to be made funnier because if we went into this kind of study with absolutely fantastic jokes, there's the danger that they couldn't be improved upon,” Sophie Scott, a professor of cognitive neuroscience who led the research team, told NPR. Participants rated the no-laughter jokes on the low end, from 1.5 to 3.75. However, when scientists introduced the two types of laughter, the participants rated the jokes higher, with spontaneous laughter accruing a higher percentage than the canned laughter.
The study notes that “we are overwhelmingly more likely to laugh when we are with other people,” whether or not a joke is truly funny. In 2000, a neuroscientist writing in Psychology Today came to a similar conclusion: "that laughter is primarily a social vocalization that binds people together. It is a hidden language that we all speak."
"The laughter is influencing how funny the jokes seem and I think that’s because laughter is a very important signal for humans," Scott told The Guardian of her study's conclusions. "It always means something. You’re getting information not only that it’s funny but that it’s OK to laugh."
New Words and Phrases to Learn
Paleontology: The study of fossils
Quip: to say something clever and amusing
Accompany: to go somewhere with someone
Audible: a sound that is audible is loud enough for you to hear it (Opposite) Inaudible
Laughter: when people laugh, or the sound of people laughing
Sitcom: a funny television program in which the same characters appear in different situation each week
Audience: (1) a group of people who come to watch and listen to someone speaking or performing in public
(2) The people who watch or listen to a particular program, or who see or hear a particular artist’s, writer’s etc. work
Participant: someone who is taking part in an activity or event
Fantastic: wonderful, excellent
Cognitive: related to the process of knowing, understanding, and learning something
Accrue: (1) if disadvantages accrue you, you get those advantages over a period of time
(2) If money accrues or is accrued, it gradually increases over a period of time
Canned music/ laughter: music or laughter that has been recorded and is used on television or in radio programs
Vocalize: to make a sound or sounds with your voice
Bind: tie, fasten, unite, stick together
