Laughing with Others

[Ayres91]

Do you find most things in life (comedic in general) are funnier when you experience it with somebody else?

Recently there was a family screening of a comedy movie that I've already seen before. For some reason, most of the jokes that didn't I find funny the first time I watched it (alone) became funny to me when the whole family laughs. This has happened many times in similiar situations, such as in movies, television, and jokes.

I suspect a few reason for this:

a.) You're laughing out of delight that someone else is enjoying the funny moment.

b.) You're laughing at the actual laughter of another individual.

c.) You find the person funny for laughing at the joke you thought was unfunny.

Just some of my guesses. Of course, most of the time I feel that "a" is the most plausible explanation, in that a certain joke is heightened because you're partially experiencing it through another person's eyes (the other person laughing). The other two cases have happened before.

But I no doubt believe that things you normally don't find funny alone, are not as funny as experiencing it with other people.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

For me, i usually fall under categories A and C. I really enjoy seeing other people enjoy what I enjoy.

[Warrior4Christ]

I've watching funny things for the first time and thought they weren't funny, then on subsequent viewing I found them more and more funny. It is possible that the funniness increased not because of who you were watching it with, but because you were watching it again and understood the jokes better.

Sometimes it's also because everyone is in a funny/silly mood. You know when people are so funny that everyone's cheeks and sides are sore from laughing hard, that even some lesser funny stuff seems funny? If the jokes was told in isolation in a room full of people in a serious mood, it certainly wouldn't have the same impact.

[TurkishMonky]

i think it is true that watching it with other people makes it funnier, and i would suspect reason A for me. It make a lot of movies mre ineresting when watching them with someone who hasen't seen it before, and it kind of feels like watching it for the first time again, to me.

[TallHobbit86]

yeah, being with people does add to amusement. the laugh box was invented to try to rectify this, but if you ask me, it's just annoying (especially since they overuse it) in sitcoms. all of your reasons are plausible, and i've experienced such several times. *two thumbs up*

[uc pseudonym]

You have definitely named a real phenomenon. For the most part, I am uncertain why I find some things funnier in groups or with specific persons. I do not believe it is any one of your three reasons, though those are probably very common. However, in separate circumstances, C is very true for me.

[Silvanis]

I have experienced this as well. I think I fall into all the categories.

[FarmGirl]

What's the point of laughing aloud if there's no one there to laugh with?
I will sometimes find random things extraordinarily funny (ex.: Those signs by some McDonalds drive thrus, "We have menus in braille. We also have picture menus.") but will inwardly chuckle, perhaps smile, as there is really no reason to express it outwardly unless someone is there to enjoy as well. But I'm odd.

[Ayres91]

yeah, being with people does add to amusement. the laugh box was invented to try to rectify this, but if you ask me, it's just annoying (especially since they overuse it) in sitcoms.

I think that if you took away the recorded studio audience, or the canned laughter of a sitcom, the jokes would only be half as funny. This adds another theory, in that once we know something is a joke (evidenced by a group laughing), we recognize it instantly and laugh with them. Whereas if you were watching something funny alone and without any audible hints of a joke being made, then it might be harder to translate something as humor.

Annoying or not, laugh boxes certainly do the job of getting a few surprising chuckles out of me.

Sometimes it's also because everyone is in a funny/silly mood.

That is another possible explanation. Most of my re-watched, group viewings have been with my family, of whom are often happily receptive to any kind of joke on TV and movies. So I would naturally share the same mood with them no matter how I felt when watching something in isolation.

The environment of where you watch a comedic event might also affect how much we laugh in public as well. Especially in movies, a packed theater of a hundred people would give different responses than with a small screening with 4-5 other people in the living room.

In a way, the more laughs you hear from others, the more you are motivated to laugh along with them.

[TurkishMonky]

another possibility that's rather likely for me: at four in the morning and after 2 liters of mountan dew, three cans of jolt, and eight hours of video games, people will laugh at anything, no matter how stupid it is or who else is with them...

[Ratrace]

When your having a good time, lets say with friends, your just in the mood to laugh. I also agree with Turkishmonky. Things are way too funny when your tired.

[TallHobbit86]

another possibility that's rather likely for me: at four in the morning and after 2 liters of mountan dew, three cans of jolt, and eight hours of video games, people will laugh at anything, no matter how stupid it is or who else is with them...

haha, was that a reference to our many LAN parties? yeah, i can vouch for turkishmonky's example since i both witnessed it and fell victim to such euphoria.

I may be wrong that laugh boxes are annoying all the time btw. I admit they can be effective when used properly.

[uc pseudonym]

While I wouldn't instantly dismiss recorded laughter, I must say that I have never seen it used effectively. That having been said, I watch relatively little comedy. The only time I have seen such used is in parody, in which case it is a wonderful tool. Even a completely humorless joke can be made funny with properly timed canned laughter.

[Ayres91]

Even a completely humorless joke can be made funny with properly timed canned laughter.

You wouldn't believe how much I've laughed at unfunny things because of canned laughter. Personally, I don't think I'll ever laugh at most British humor unless there is some kind of laughter in the background.

[freerock1]

I think things are funnier to me when there's someone to laugh with. Especially when it's at a time we aren't supposed to laugh. And I think it's worse when it's with a family member or close friend who has thought patterns similar to mine. In those cases, we often don't even have to say a word, and still both find it funny.

Case in point... When I was a teenager (probably about 14), my mom and I were in a doctor's office. This other kid, about my age, came in with his family, and he was carrying a clear plastic bag. In later discussion, we found out we were both wondering, "What's that bag for?" And I guess you know sometimes your eyes gravitate toward something that's insignificant, but your curiosity gets the best of you and you stare at it without even thinking... Well, I found myself staring at this guy's plastic bag. Shortly, I found out what it was for...

[spoiler]This kid starts puking into his bag. And we lose it. I had to go outside to get control of myself. We know someone being sick isn't funny, we both felt sorry for the kid, and we couldn't have blamed his parents if they'd have been really ticked off. But I guess the situation, wondering what in the world that bag was for and then finding out in the manner we did, in an environment where it wasn't appropriate to laugh, was too much.[/spoiler]

Some of y'all probably think I'm awful now. But it was one of those things.

And about the canned laughter... It's probably a good thing, even if it does seem silly. The experts do say that it's good for your health to laugh.