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 e
Why We Laugh We start finding things laughable — or not laughable — early in life. An infant first smiles at approximately e
admin
2013-05-19
26
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.
The cues that trigger laughter have been studied by scientists.
选项
A、Y
B、N
C、NG
答案
B
解析
相关信息定位在第四段,本陈述错误
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/lRg7777K
0
大学英语四级
相关试题推荐
Duringthe1992presidentialcampaign,HillaryRodhamClintonobserved,"Ourlivesareamixtureofdifferentroles.Mostofus
Cryingishardlyanactivityencouragedbysociety.Tears,betheyofsorrow,anger,orjoy,typicallymakeAmericansfeeluncom
Americansareproudoftheirvarietyandindividuality,yettheyloveandrespectfewthingsmorethanauniform,whetheritis
Together,theUnitedStatesandBrazilproducemorethan70%oftheworld’salcohol.IntheUnitedStates,alcoholisproducedm
A、Hemakesmoremoneythanthewoman.B、He’ssatisfiedwithhisjob.C、Hehadtroublefindingajob.D、Hedoesn’tlikeworkingo
It’sharmfultoone’shealthto______smokinganddrinking.
A、Keepingwarmanddry.B、Drinkingalotofliquid.C、Livingclosetothehospital.D、Kissingthenoseofananimal.D题目问为了治疗感冒,
A、Findinghouses;trainingforjobs;medicaltreatment.B、Treatmentforthosewhousedrugsor’alcohol;findingplacestolive;
Manycorporations______extensiveemployeeeducationprogramstoensuretheirsurvivalinthemarket.
Noseshavetheiradvantages.They’recute,they’reversatile,andthey’resmallenoughtobecarriedaround.Whichmaybewhyth
随机试题
足月新生儿生后第3天出现黄染,6天达高峰,12天黄染褪尽,一般情况良好,应首先考虑的诊断是:()
以下哪种病是通过虫媒传播
关于股份有限公司的注册资本,下来表述正确的是:
沥青混合料用粗细骨料分界筛孔尺寸为(),水泥混凝土粗、细骨料分界筛孔尺寸为()。
生息资产是贷款及投资资产、存放央行款项和存放、拆放同业款项等指标的总称。()
2013年8月8日,甲、乙、丙、丁共同出资设立了一家有限责任公司(下称公司)。公司未设董事会,仅设丙为执行董事。2014年6月8日,甲与戊订立合同,约定将其所持有的全部股权以20万元的价格转让给戊。甲于同日分别向乙、丙、丁发出拟转让股权给戊的通知书。乙、丙
下列成语中划横线的字解释不完全正确的是()。
用演化式原型开发管理信息系统时()。
______isnotadominantfigureoftheRealisticPeriod?
渤海是中国唯一的内海,占地面积7.7284万平方千米。辽东半岛(Peninsula)的老铁山与山东半岛的蓬莱角(Cape)间的连线为黄渤海分界线。渤海沿岸分布着天然渔场,盛产虾蟹。渤海的石油和天然气也十分丰富。正是由于其优越的地理条件和丰富的资源,渤海才成
最新回复
(
0
)