The laughter research of Robert Provine, professor of psychology, is featured in the article, “Ti faccio il sollectico,” in the April 2011 issue of Focus, a leading Italian magazine.
Provine has several links with Italy. One of his mentors is Rita Levi-Montalcini, who won the Nobel Prize for the discovery of the Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) and now resides in Rome as a Life Senator and oldest Nobel Laureate (age 102).
His book about laughter also has an Italian edition, “Ridere: Un’indagine Scientifica,” published by Baldini and Castoldi.
Provine was also mentioned in a discussion of laughter in the New Yorker’s “From the Desk of Bob Mankoff” blog.
In a discussion about comedians, Mankoff writes, “There is no doubt that there is a gender gap in humor—whether in Hollywood, standup, or cartooning… In his book ‘Laughter,’ the psychologist Robert Provine demonstrates that, in conversation, women are much more likely to laugh at what men say than the other way around.”
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