Social laughter is correlated with an elevated pain threshold

被引:151
作者
Dunbar, R. I. M. [1 ]
Baron, Rebecca [3 ]
Frangou, Anna [4 ]
Pearce, Eiluned [2 ]
van Leeuwen, Edwin J. C. [5 ]
Stow, Julie [6 ]
Partridge, Giselle [6 ]
MacDonald, Ian [7 ]
Barra, Vincent [6 ]
van Vugt, Mark [1 ,5 ]
机构
[1] Univ Oxford, British Acad Centenary Res Project, Oxford OX2 6PN, England
[2] Univ Oxford, Inst Cognit & Evolutionary Anthropol, Oxford OX2 6PN, England
[3] Univ Oxford Magdalen Coll, Oxford OX1 4AU, England
[4] Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford OX2 6QA, England
[5] Vrije Univ Amsterdam, Dept Social & Org Psychol, NL-1081 BT Amsterdam, Netherlands
[6] Univ Liverpool, Sch Biol Sci, Liverpool L69 3BX, Merseyside, England
[7] SUNY Binghamton, Dept Biol Sci, Binghamton, NY 13902 USA
关键词
laughter; positive affect; pain threshold; endorphins; social bonding; BETA-ENDORPHIN; EVOLUTIONARY SIGNIFICANCE; CEREBROSPINAL-FLUID; HUMOR; COMMUNICATION; SYNCHRONY; RESPONSES; PLASMA;
D O I
10.1098/rspb.2011.1373
中图分类号
Q [生物科学];
学科分类号
07 ; 0710 ; 09 ;
摘要
Although laughter forms an important part of human non-verbal communication, it has received rather less attention than it deserves in both the experimental and the observational literatures. Relaxed social (Duchenne) laughter is associated with feelings of wellbeing and heightened affect, a proximate explanation for which might be the release of endorphins. We tested this hypothesis in a series of six experimental studies in both the laboratory (watching videos) and naturalistic contexts (watching stage performances), using change in pain threshold as an assay for endorphin release. The results show that pain thresholds are significantly higher after laughter than in the control condition. This pain-tolerance effect is due to laughter itself and not simply due to a change in positive affect. We suggest that laughter, through an endorphin-mediated opiate effect, may play a crucial role in social bonding.
引用
收藏
页码:1161 / 1167
页数:7
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