Buzz
Sometimes laughter comes naturally because something is truly amusing; other times, it's just a social courtesy. But forced laughter carries a tone that’s distinct from real laughter, and most people can easily distinguish between the two.
Typically, people can quickly identify a fake laugh from a genuine one. This is because artificial laughter is controlled by a different part of the brain compared to authentic laughter.
Researchers at UCLA’s vocal communication lab explored how effectively people can distinguish a real laugh from a fake one, and found that 70% of the time, they could. Greg Bryant, a researcher, explains that this happens because a fake laugh is produced by different vocal muscles, which are governed by a separate area of the brain.
The result is that subtle features emerge in fake laughs that resemble speech, and new studies indicate that people are unconsciously quite attuned to these differences. For instance, if you slow down a "real" laugh by about two and a half times, it takes on an oddly animal-like sound. It resembles an ape, and while difficult to pinpoint, it is unmistakably nonhuman. However, slowing down human speech or a "fake" laugh doesn’t produce an animal-like sound—it simply sounds like human speech that has been slowed down...
Authentic laughter is more spontaneous. According to Bryant, we start laughing even before we learn to speak. It’s a natural response. Real laughter arises from genuine emotions, whereas speech is more controlled, and so is laughter that doesn't have a true emotional spark.
Bryant notes that others can often notice this difference. The next time you hear a joke that falls flat, perhaps skip the forced laugh and just offer a polite smile instead. Most likely, you won’t be fooling anyone.
Photo by cheriejoyful.
