首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Why We Laugh We start finding things laughable — or not laughable — early in life. An infant first smiles at approximately ei
Why We Laugh We start finding things laughable — or not laughable — early in life. An infant first smiles at approximately ei
admin
2009-09-12
77
问题
Why We Laugh
We start finding things laughable — or not laughable — early in life. An infant first smiles at approximately eight days of age. Many psychologists assume this is his first sign of simple pleasure— food, warmth and comfort. At six months or less, the infant laughs to express complex pleasures—such as the light of Mother’s smiling face.
Between the ages of six months and one year, the baby learns to laugh for essentially the same reasons he will laugh throughout his life, says Dr. Jacob Levine, associate professor of psychology at Yale University. Dr. Levine says that people laugh to express mastery over an anxiety. Picture what happens when a father throws his child into the air. The child will probably laugh—but not the first time. In spite of his enjoyment of "flying", he is too anxious to laugh. How does he know Daddy will catch him? Once the child realizes he will be caught, he is free to enjoy the game. But more importantly, says Dr. Levine, the child laughs because he has mastered an anxiety.
Adult laughter is more subtle, but we also laugh at what we used to fear. The feeling of achievement, or lack of it, remains a crucial factor. Giving a first dinner party is an anxious event for a new bride. Will the food be good? Will the guests get along? Will she be a good hostess? Will the knives and forks, cups and saucers be all right? All goes well; the party is over. Now she laughs freely. Her pleasure from having proved her success is the foundation for her pleasure in recalling the evening activities. She couldn’t enjoy the second pleasure without the first, more important one—her mastery of anxiety.
Laughter is a social response triggered by cues. Scientists have not determined a brain center for laughter, and they are perplexed by patients with certain types of brain damage who go into laughing fits for no apparent reason. The rest of us require company, and a reason to laugh.
When we find ourselves alone in a humorous situation, our usual response is to smile. Isn’t it hue that our highest compliment to a humorous book is to say that "it made me laugh out of loud"? Of course, we do occasionally laugh alone; but when we do, we are, in a sense, socializing with ourselves. We laugh at a memory, or at a part of ourselves.
Of course, we don’t always need a joke to make us laugh. People who survive frightening situations, such as a fire or an emergency plane landing, frequently relate their story of the crisis with laughter. Part of the laughter express relief that everything is now all right. During a crisis, definitely, everyone mobilizes energy to deal with the potential problem. If the danger is avoided, we need to release that energy. Some people cry; others laugh.
When we are made the target of a joke, either on a personal or impersonal level, we are emotionally involved in it. Consequently, we won’t be able to laugh.
Knowing that laughter blunts emotion, we can better understand why we sometimes laugh when nothing is funny. We laugh during moments of anxiety because we feel no mastery over the situation, claims Dr. Levine. He explains, "very often compulsive laughter is a learned response. If we laugh, it expresses good feelings and the fact that we are able to cope. When we’re in a situation in which we can’t cope, we laugh to reassure ourselves that we can!"
How often have we laughed at a funeral or upon hearing bad news? We laugh to deny an unendurable reality until we are strong enough to accept it. Laughter also breaks our tension. However, we may also be laughing to express relief that the tragedy didn’t happen to us. We laugh before giving a big party, before delivering a speech, or while getting a traffic ticket, to say, "This isn’t bothering me. See? I am laughing."
But if we sometimes laugh in sorrow, more often we laugh with joy. Laughter creates and strengthens our social bonds. And the ability to share a laugh has guided many marriages through hard periods of adjustment.
How could we manage a life with the absence of laugh? According to Dr. Levine, we can measure our adjustment to the world by our capacity to laugh. When we are secure about our abilities, we can laugh at the defects of our own character. If we can laugh through our anxieties, we will not be overpowered by them.
The ability to laugh starts early, but it takes a lifetime to perfect. Says Dr. Grotjahn, "when social relationships are mastered, when the individual has mastered...a peaceful relationship with himself, then he has...the sense of humor." And then he can throw back his head and laugh.
Both infants and adults laugh for the same reasons.
选项
A、Y
B、N
C、NG
答案
A
解析
根据第三段可知本题正确。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/2e37777K
0
大学英语四级
相关试题推荐
A、Theyrelatetoeachotheronlyinkindergartenperiod.B、Theyhavenoinfluenceoneachother.C、Goodselfcregulationforetell
Ischildhomelessnessdeclining,orisitskyrocketing?Ifyouarelookingatfederalgovernmentfiguresfortheanswer,youcou
Politiciansbeware.Softwarecanexaminelegislativebills,workingoutthe【C1】________ofthetext.Itcouldallowvoterstosee
Scholarsareoftengreatlyexcitedby"naturalexperiments",eventsthatendupseparatingtwogroupsofpeople,allowingwonks
Man’sbestfriendisalsohisoldest.Thepartnershipbetweendogsandpeoplemaygobackasmuchas40000years—longpredating
A、Raisingchildren.B、Americanchildren.C、Childcare.D、Americanparents’goal.A
______(直到他完成使命)didherealizethathewasseriouslyill.
A1999reportbytheUniversityofMichiganshowedthatabout62percentofhighschoolstudentsreportedhavinggottendrunk.
A、Hemightgetlostinthecrowd.B、liedoesn’tliketogotothemeeting.C、Hewon’twanttospeakatthemeeting.D、Hehasto
Themadamspottedtheyoungman____________________(30年代第一次见过面)amongthecrowd.
随机试题
下列关于长期股权投资的确认,表述正确的有()。
甲公司于2017年6月1日签发了一张以乙公司为收款人、丙公司为付款人、金额为10万元、付款日期为2017年9月6日的商业汇票。乙公司在取得票据后,将该票据背书转让给丁公司,并将付款日期变更为2017年6月6日。乙公司的变更行为是()。
全野外调绘法,调绘工作一次性全部完成,精度高但用时较长且工作强度较大,适用于影像()和调查经验不足人员使用。
客车运行作业计划是将()在时间上和岗位上的具体落实。[2007年真题]
全面落实科学发展观,构建社会主义和谐社会迫切需要统筹解决人口()等问题。
据报载,江苏某少年成为上海心脏移植存活时间最长的“换心人”。假设该少年所患的心脏病由一对基因控制。下列遗传系谱图是其部分家庭成员的情况,其中Ⅲ11表示该少年。经查,他母亲家族史上无该病患者。设该病有关的一对等位基因,显性基因和隐性基因分别为A、a。请回答:
阅读下面的文章,完成下列问题。①周代,尽管关于食品安全事件的记载不多,但我们还是看到,由于食品安全关系重大,统治者对此非常重视并作出了特别规定。周代的食品交易是以直接收获采摘的初级农产品为主,所以对农产品的成熟度十分关注。据《礼记》记载,周代对食品交易的
世界上最早发明陶瓷器的国家是()。
一个各位不相同的8位数密码,任意相邻两个数字之和为质数,则最大的8位数各位数字之和为多少?
信息爆炸
最新回复
(
0
)