Previous studies have investigated a linguistic aspect of humour that requires high level cognitive functions, such as theory of mind. However, scarce knowledge is available about another source of humor that comes from a particular kind of comedy, called slapstick, characterized by a type of broad, physical comedy involving misfortune situations. The goal of the present study was to shed some light on this matter by measuring brain bioelectrical activity during the perception of funny vs. non funny misfortune circumstances. According to our hypothesis the element mostly providing a comic element during a misfortune situation is the facial expression of the victims: if they show a funny bewilderment face, the observer's reaction will usually be laughing, while if they express pain or anger, we won't laugh, but we could empathized with them instead. In this study 210 coloured photos depicting men and women involved in misfortune situations were presented to 29 Italian healthy volunteers, while their EEG was recorded. Three different misfortune situations were considered: people showing a painful or an angry expression (affective); people showing a bewilderment expression and, so, a comic look, provoking amusement in the observer (comic); people engaged in similar misfortune situations but with no face visible (control condition). The ERP results showed that the mean amplitude of both the posterior N1 and anterior N220 components were much larger in amplitude to comic pictures, than other stimulus types. This early response could be considered the first identification of a comic element and the evidence of the compelling response that usually characterizes people amused reaction during the observation of comic misfortune situation. In addition, we observed a larger P300 amplitude in response to comic than affective pictures. This might be interpreted as sign of an increased arousal associated with the processing of positively-valenced affective information involved in humour appreciation, and possibly linked to a pleasure response. Finally, no face pictures elicited an anteriorly distributed N400 which might reflect the extra-effort needed to comprehend the nature of the situation displayed without affective facial information. This piece of data support the hypothesis that the facial expression of the victim of a misfortune act as a specific trigger for the amusement feeling that observers usually experience when someone falls down. Overall, the data indicate the existence of a power and primitive neural response that is associated with the recognition and appreciation of the comic element in a misfortune situation.
Why do we laugh at misfortune? An electrophysiological exploration of comic situation processing
Zani A;
2013
Abstract
Previous studies have investigated a linguistic aspect of humour that requires high level cognitive functions, such as theory of mind. However, scarce knowledge is available about another source of humor that comes from a particular kind of comedy, called slapstick, characterized by a type of broad, physical comedy involving misfortune situations. The goal of the present study was to shed some light on this matter by measuring brain bioelectrical activity during the perception of funny vs. non funny misfortune circumstances. According to our hypothesis the element mostly providing a comic element during a misfortune situation is the facial expression of the victims: if they show a funny bewilderment face, the observer's reaction will usually be laughing, while if they express pain or anger, we won't laugh, but we could empathized with them instead. In this study 210 coloured photos depicting men and women involved in misfortune situations were presented to 29 Italian healthy volunteers, while their EEG was recorded. Three different misfortune situations were considered: people showing a painful or an angry expression (affective); people showing a bewilderment expression and, so, a comic look, provoking amusement in the observer (comic); people engaged in similar misfortune situations but with no face visible (control condition). The ERP results showed that the mean amplitude of both the posterior N1 and anterior N220 components were much larger in amplitude to comic pictures, than other stimulus types. This early response could be considered the first identification of a comic element and the evidence of the compelling response that usually characterizes people amused reaction during the observation of comic misfortune situation. In addition, we observed a larger P300 amplitude in response to comic than affective pictures. This might be interpreted as sign of an increased arousal associated with the processing of positively-valenced affective information involved in humour appreciation, and possibly linked to a pleasure response. Finally, no face pictures elicited an anteriorly distributed N400 which might reflect the extra-effort needed to comprehend the nature of the situation displayed without affective facial information. This piece of data support the hypothesis that the facial expression of the victim of a misfortune act as a specific trigger for the amusement feeling that observers usually experience when someone falls down. Overall, the data indicate the existence of a power and primitive neural response that is associated with the recognition and appreciation of the comic element in a misfortune situation.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
