Editing Laughter (section)

== Causes ==
[[File:Laughter by David Shankbone.jpg|thumb|upright|Laughter is a common response to [[tickling]].]]
{{See also|Theories of humor}}
Common causes for laughter are sensations of [[joy]] and [[humor]]; however, other situations may cause laughter as well.

A general theory that explains laughter is called the '''relief theory'''. [[Sigmund Freud]] summarized it in his theory that laughter releases tension and "psychic energy". This theory is one of the justifications of the beliefs that laughter is beneficial for one's health.<ref name=mn2002>M.P. Mulder, A. Nijholt (2002) [https://web.archive.org/web/20041116165933/http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/580062.html "Humor Research: State of the Art"], citeseer.ist.psu.edu</ref> This theory explains why laughter can be used as a [[coping mechanism]] when one is upset, [[angry]] or [[sadness|sad]].

[[Philosopher]] [[John Morreall]] theorizes that human laughter may have its biological origins as a kind of shared expression of relief at the passing of danger. [[Friedrich Nietzsche]], by contrast, suggested laughter to be a reaction to the sense of [[Existentialism|existential]] loneliness and mortality that only humans feel.

For example: a [[joke]] creates an [[inconsistency]] and the audience automatically tries to understand what the inconsistency means; if they are successful in solving this 'cognitive [[riddle]]' and they realize that the [[Surprise factor|surprise]] was not dangerous, they [[Comic relief|laugh with relief]]. Otherwise, if the inconsistency is not resolved, there is no laugh, as [[Mack Sennett]] pointed out: "when the audience is confused, it doesn't laugh." This is one of the basic [[Joke#Rules|laws of a comedian]], referred to as "exactness". It is important to note that sometimes the inconsistency may be resolved and there may still be no laugh.{{citation needed|date=January 2013}} Because laughter is a social mechanism, an audience may not feel as if they are in danger, and the laugh may not occur. In addition, the extent of the inconsistency (and aspects of its timing and rhythm) has to do with the amount of danger the audience feels, and how hard or long they laugh.

Laughter can also be brought on by [[tickling]]. Although most people find it unpleasant, being tickled often causes heavy laughter, thought to be an (often uncontrollable) reflex of the body.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tomveatch.com/else/humor/paper/node33.html |title=Physiology of laughter and tickling |publisher=www.tomveatch.com |access-date=2010-08-03 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Robert R. Provine |url=http://cogweb.ucla.edu/Abstracts/Provine_96.html |title=Provine, Laughter |publisher=Cogweb.ucla.edu |date=1950-09-09 |access-date=2011-12-26}}</ref>

[[File:Hans von Aachen - Two Laughing Men (Self-portrait).jpg|thumb|upright|''Two laughing men'' by [[Hans von Aachen]], circa 1574]]