A Merry Heart Doeth Good Like a Medicine...

You know I couldn't read a serious article without wanting to inject some humor into it. So here goes ...

I finished reading an article titled "Is Laughter the Best Medicine or Any Medicine at All?" that was presented to the annual meeting of the Western Psychological Association. You can read it for yourself if you want at http://www.psichi.org/pubs/articles/article_81.asp

The author attempts to clarify the relationship between health and laughter, if there is one, particularly in response to a mythology that has evolved based on the 1960's experiences of Norman Cousins. Cousins had a serious illness and he found some relief in a wide range of positive emotions, including laughter. Apparently, some of what Cousin said about the therapeutic effect of humor, creativity, confidence, etc. has been distorted, giving some people the idea that Cousins laughed his way to a cure of a serious illness which was not the case.

What was most interesting to me in this article were the various attempts to operationally define terms such as humor trait vs. humor state, laughter, mirth, etc. Also, there was a mention in the article of several "humor tests" used to measure whatever it is that humor actually is. The tests included the Sense of Humor Questionnaire that includes subscales such as Habitual Sensitivity to Humorous Messages and Habitual Tendency to Permit or Suppress Emotional Impulses of Joy. Then, there is the Trait Cheerfulness Inventory and the Coping Humor Scale.

Amazingly ...

the author didn't find it necessary to define laughter as she felt that one either laughs or doesn't laugh. However, I disagree. So, of course, I decided to operationally define laughter for myself.

Disconcerting Lines of Development resulting in Lactose Expulsion via the Olfactory Orifice:

blowing milk out of your nose caused by an unanticipated burst of laughter.

Post-Learned-Autonomic-Response Spasms of the Diaphragm: hiccups after an intense bout of laughter.

Short-term Stoppage of Spasms due to Asphyxiation: laughing so hard you can't breathe.

Spastic Disposition Resulting in Descent of Fleshy Protuberance: laughing my ass off.

I will continue my own less-than-serious empirical investigations and hope to share a few more definitions. I'm also hopeful of designing a test or two to measure laughter. It should be the equivalent of a sobriety test except that you are forbidden to leave your house if you don't fail the test.

In the interest of furthering research, I hope you will share as well.