Laughter is sometimes contagious or adorable, like a baby’s laughter. However, some laughs are quite sinister and can even be scary. For example, the macabre laugh of a clown in a horror movie or the laugh of a diabolical doll (as has also been reflected in the cinema). Why can a few laughs make us shiver?
According to Margee Kerr, a sociologist at the University of Pittsburgh (USA), part of this fear stems from the dissonance of our expectations. Or, put another way, we get scared when someone acts contrary to what we expect. For this reason, it can be disturbing that children who normally act cheerful, behave strangely as if they are possessed (as in the movie ‘The Exorcist’).
Similarly, laughter in an unusual environment elicits an alert response. In the words of the sociologist Kerr, whenever we use a resource that is related to a positive emotion (such as joy or innocence) and we change it in some way, either by emitting a sinister laugh or laughing out of context, it provokes a signal. alert or confused in the other person, as people should not be happy to do scary or bad things. And, if they do, it is a sign that they cannot be trusted.
Laughter and fear, very similar
Both laughter and fear reflect high states of arousal, or moments in which we feel very intense emotions. For this reason, it is not unusual for a person who is scared to scream first and then laugh. In fact, that pent-up energy is there, and once the person realizes that they are not in danger, they could quickly turn that scream into a laugh, as Kerr argues.
On the other hand, culture also plays a fundamental role. In the West, for example, we associate laughter with positive moments or feelings. However, according to the sociologist, this is not the case around the world and, if you delve into cultures that have not had much contact with the media, the sound of any laughter can cause concern or be quite strange in general.
