Archive for December, 2009

Laughing – the new social wizz kid

December 7th, 2009

Laughing lowers levels of stress hormones and strengthens the immune system. Six-year-olds laugh an average of 300 times a day. Adults only laugh 15 to 100 times a day. The first laughter appears at about 3.5 to 4 months of age, long before we’re able to speak.  Laughter, like crying, is a way for an infant to interact with the caregivers.

Like smiling we don’t have to learn how to laugh, we just do. We’re born with the capacity to laugh.  But we cannot just decide to laugh, its very hard to laugh on command or to fake it.  A bit like a fake smile, a fake laugh can be detected quite easily by another person….and for anyone that has tried to stop laughing or hide an ‘inappropriate’ laugh in a meeting…you’ll know how difficult that can be!

Are you known for your laugh?  Whilst living in the Halls of Residence at University, I wondered why folk from the floor below always seemed to appear on our floor about 10 minutes after I arrived.  Mentioning their impeccable timing I asked how they knew when we all had arrived.  Their answer?  We know everyone is here because we can hear you laughing.  Mild embarrassment at how loudly I must have been laughing quickly moved aside at the marvellous thought that it was the sound of laughter that drew folk in….that encouraged others to join us.  And as aware as I am at how my voice travels…though now it’s in office buildings rather than Halls of Residence…I am rather pleased that it’s the sound of laughter that tells someone I am there.

Story continues below ↓
advertisement | your ad here

When we do laugh, it’s powerful, bubbling up from within us…yet very little is understood about why we laugh or what makes us laugh.  What I find amusing may not be what you find amusing…and laughter can be triggered by sensations, thoughts, or even just certain situations will give us the giggles. When we laugh, we alter our facial expressions and make sounds, some of which we wish we didn’t (says the occasional snorter!!).   In full flow our whole body gets involved, shoulders shake, arms & legs move….our breathing changes.

So why?  Why do we laugh?

Well, you may be surprised to learn that it is less about funny and humour and more about relationships with other people.  When was the last time you laughed?  Was it at a joke or was it at a statement or observation that if you described it now, wouldn’t seem funny to someone else?  People laugh at an incredibly wide selection of interactions, observations and statements.  And many times we laugh at ‘in’ jokes….jokes that are understood as amusing because you are a member of a particular group

These curious “ha ha ha’s” are bits of social glue that bond relationships.  And curiously we rarely laugh when we are alone (even less than we talk to ourselves) which seem to indicate that laughter is a message we send to other people.

Laughter is social and contagious. Hearing someone else laugh often causes us to laugh ourselves.  Many comedy programmes utilise this knowledge by adding laughter tracks.  Not sure if you’re favourite comedy has a laughter track?  That’s because you are laughing along to it.  Quite often if the laughter track is missing we don’t find the programme half as funny.

We laugh at the sound of laughter itself.  When one person starts laughing….suddenly everyone ‘catches’ it.  That’s why the Tickle Me Elmo doll is such a success — it makes us laugh and smile.

When we laugh, we’re often communicating playful intent. So laughter has a bonding function within individuals in a group. It’s often positive, but it can be negative too. There’s a difference between “laughing with” and “laughing at.” And I am positive that all of us has experienced both examples.  People who laugh at others may be trying to force them to conform or casting them out of the group.

This blog started with a statement saying that adults laugh less than children.  As adults, do you think we have less to laugh at…too many responsibilities…too many worries…  Adults play less and laugh less.  Think that’s healthy?  Playing less means we lose some of our creativity, but it also means we lose out on opportunities to bond with others. What effect do you think that’s having on our lives?  I’ve even experienced people trying to stop me laughing because they think I am drawing attention to myself or more importantly to them…when they prefer to be seen and not heard.  How sad is it that laughter is reigned in….muffled…constrained?  Surely it is better to nourish laughter, especially when times are tough.

Next time you are trying to hide that giggle…send it out there….let someone else enjoy the joke…release those feel-good endorphins in your brain…relieve a little of that stress you feel….let go….lose control….you’ll be surprised at how fantastic it feels!

2 comments »

Posted in Behaviour, Cause & Effect, Human Nature

Tags:

First up and Last to play

December 7th, 2009

Been watching the X factor? Have you noticed that X Factor contestants are more likely to get the boot if they sing near the start of the show.

Cambridge University academics compiled data from 150 editions of the X Factor and Pop Idol to prove the theory that a contestant’s fate does not boil down to whether they can sing.  This theory will more than likely not surprise any of you….but what did they find out?

In eight live X Factor shows this year, four singers were eliminated after being either the second or third act to perform, researchers said. When contestants sang later in the evening they were less likely to be eliminated.  He added that the first singer to perform in the X Factor is not at the greatest advantage, but less likely to be eliminated than those in second or third place.  Dr Lionel, who undertook the research with the University of London, said that none of the people who sang last on this year’s series of the X Factor had been eliminated.

What Dr Lionel is talking about is that fact that people tend to be biased when there is a sequence. You are influenced by the fact that you remember people depending on whether they were singing first or last.  And memory can have a huge effect on how we judge a performance.

So what can we take from this research?  Well, its the primacy and recency effect at work.  The psychologist Murdock completed research into these effects on memory, which he called the Serial Position Curve.  Or how well we remember items on a list is dependant on where they are placed on the list.

In the stage theory of memory, information goes through to our short term memory, if the information is not lost through decay or displacement then it goes into our long term memory.  The short term memory is widely regarded as havinga capacity of seven plus or minus two pieces of information.  The size of the pieces of information is not a factor, in fact, making these pieces of information larger (or ‘chunking’ as it is known in psychology) makes us able to remember much more information.  However, we are at this point talking about the positioning of information in a list. The theory behind the serial position curve is that people recall words better at the beginning or end of a wordlist. A better recall at the beginning is an example of the primacy effect whereas a better recall at the end is an example of the recency effect.

So what does this all mean to us I hear you cry??  Well, it can help us study and work better.  If we remember information better at the start and end of a list then we need to make the most of this knowledge.  When studying were you ever told to take regular breaks?  Did you do it?

Taking regular breaks is necessary so we are not overloaded with information but it also allows the primacy and recency effect to help our memory.  The more breaks, the more times the primacy and recency effect can help us remember.

Any other ways in which we can use these effects to our advantage?

No comments »

Posted in Behaviour, Cause & Effect

Tags:

Brain exercises

December 2nd, 2009

The more vigorous and diverse your mental life, the more you will stimulate the growth of new neurons and new connections between them.  Different cognitive challenges exercise different components of the brain.  Much in the same way as no single exercise machine will make you physically fit, instead you need a balanced and diverse workout.

So here are a few logic and creative puzzles for you today…. to keep your Brain ticking over….

1) Alternate Universe

Mr. Bee Zarro claims to come from a parallel universe where afternoon comes before noon, tomorrow comes before yesterday, and later comes before now.  But you don’t need to go to a parallel universe to see the same things happen.  Where can you see this here on Earth?

2) All Together Now

What letter completes this group of 4?     J, P, G, ?

3) Take 30

Alf was the 93rd caller to a radio-station and was told he would win a car if he could go into a room and come out exactly 30 minutes later.  The room had no clock, and Alf was not allowed to wear a watch or bring in anything else that tells time.  The only thing he could take into the room was a lighter and a candle in a candle holder (supplied by the radio station) that was guaranteed to burn completely in exactly one hour.  Alf was not allowed to use a ruler to measure exactly halfway down the candle.  Alf went into the room and emerged exactly 30 minutes later to win the car.  How did he do it?

Need a hint??  Think creatively, don’t get bogged down in assumptions, question them …  or if you’re really stuck… ask me!

5 comments »

Posted in Creativity

Tags: