There is no proof that, globally, women laugh more than men, only studies that suggest that perhaps in certain circumstances and in certain parts of the world, this is so. Provin’s study, with which I have “issues!”, is one such example. Robert Provin’s “Laughter: A Scientific Investigation” has definite limitations for me. His controls were relatively small and seem to be less than representative of the whole population. Perhaps we should ask “why do women laugh more in certain situations than men?.” And Vice Versa.
In classroom situations, for example, I have often felt very sorry for boys who suffer reprimand for having a serious and genuine laughter control problem. It is almost as if these youngsters of nine or ten become giddy with laughter once they start and cannot stop when requested to do so. It becomes a vicious circle when their own consternation and the increasing vexation of the teacher makes the situation even more ludicrous. The girls, meanwhile, look on, perplexed and seeing nothing funny. So I have problems with generalisations such as the one where women laugh more, apparently, than men. The men and boys in my family also, are zanier and more hilarious than the more studious females!
Provin’s intial studies were undertaken, predictably unsuccessfully, in a laboratory. He then studied conversational laughter publically, and also noted responses to public speakers. Here, the women were said to laugh more than the men at the speakers’ jokes. Perhaps, I would retort, women are just kinder, or more polite in this situation and are not necessarily finding the speech funny? After all, in 1994 another study (SOCHA 1994) found that fourth grade girls were much less likely to use hurtful jokes that made fun of other people, than the boys.
Another limitation that I see with Provin’s idea, is that women laugh more than men in order to attract them! Well! sorry guys,(or guy in this case!) but I only laugh at something that’s funny! ie ….. when something acts as an automatic spontaneous trigger. I think it more likely that when whatever a man has to say is genuinely clever and funny, it appeals to the other mind in some way – in other words, the laughter between the two is spontaneous and shared. That occurrence may well be attractive to men, but that is a by-product – not the initial aim. When this happens, it is indeed a lovely thing. However, it would be a sad man who could not tell fake from genuine laughter in an admirer. Secondly, in order to “laugh to attract men” the women need to be in a situation where men are present, so in this situation, all-female shared humour is excluded and this is another limitation.
Robert Provine’s book is funny and well-written and a good read. But is he really being serious or tongue-in-cheek by calling it a scientific investigation? Or has he found a thought-provoking and admittedly humorous topic for a book? What really would be useful, humorous and interesting would be a global socio-anthropological study of gender and laughter in different situations including all-male and all-female ones.
Useful references
www.medscape.com
Book “Laughter: A Scientific Investigation by Robert R, Provine (Penguin)
