Laughing or crying at inappropriate moments, or out of context to one’s circumstances — crying in the middle of a lecture, for example, or laughing at a funeral — is something most of us experience at least once. Involuntary emotional expression disorder turns out to be something of a misnomer. In fact, true laughter and most crying are never voluntary, according to Professor of Psychology Robert Provine. “All laughter is unconscious,” he said. “You do not chose to laugh the way you chose to speak.”
The article, “Uncontrollable Laughter is No Joke,” ran Wednesday, April 14, on msnbc.com.
A similar article ran in the New York Daily News in which Provine added, “All laughter is uncontrollable in the sense that we don’t laugh, or cry, on command. Laughter is really unconsciously controlled.” He said, “We go through life making these uncontrollable utterances.”
The article, “Uncontrollable laughing isn’t always something to chuckle about,” ran Thursday, April 15.
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