NPR host and blogger Robert Krulwich devoted the May 26 edition of his blog Krulwich Wonders to a post entitled “A Puzzle: Why Aren’t They Laughing?”.
The post discusses a popular internet video ostensibly involving a Belgian television interviewer laughing at the “strange” voices of an interviewee and an audience member. Krulwich wrote of how the stone-faced reaction of the general audience in the video contradicts the findings of Robert Provine, professor of psychology. “It seems unnatural and seems to contradict what neuroscientist Robert Provine says about laughing — that it’s contagious, that ‘we laugh when we hear other people laugh. This is an automatic kind of thing.’ I thought, could this be evidence that Provine’s theories need amending?” Krulwich writes.
The answer to the puzzle – which leaves Provine’s theories intact – can be found in the original post.
Tags: CAHSS, Psychology
