PSIHOLOGIJA SMIJEHA
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF LAUGHTER

AN ETERNAL PUZZLE TO SCIENTISTS

Summary/Abstract: This paper presents the most important psychological insights concerning laughter.Laughter is a product of complicated cognitive, affective and motivational processes. Its function is manifold. Laughter reduces tension and arousal in the body, contributing to psychological well-being. In addition, laughter serves a defensive role in the face of stimuli perceived as threatening. It also makes interpersonal interaction meaningful and productive bringing people together in the most direct and natural way.The three dominant approaches which explain the occurrence of laughter – physiological, cognitive-developmental and psychoanalytic – are presented. With the goal of gaining full insight into the complex issues of laughter, the paper summarizes the most important findings of developmental psychologists on the on to genesis of laughter and presents the development of laughter, which begins as a smile and smiling. Actually,smile, smiling and laughter are manifest reactions to different stimuli (not necessarily humorous). Which of these technically called products are going to be activated depends on several factors surrounding a particular interaction: the type of stimulus, the capability of understanding the stimulus, situational factors, individual traits, state of being, mood and the actors involved.

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