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Why Do People Laugh When Something Surprises Them?

People laugh when something surprises them because it feels good. Imagine you're playing a game, and your friend suddenly says, 'I won!', even if you didn't expect it, you might find yourself laughing. Your brain gets excited when things are unexpected, and that excitement makes you smile or laugh.

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Examples

  1. Your friend jumps out of the closet, and you laugh because it was completely unexpected.
  2. You hear someone say, 'I love you!' when you least expected it, that surprise makes you smile or laugh.
  3. A funny joke catches you off guard, making you burst into laughter.

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Categories: Psychology · laughter· surprise· humor· neuroscience · Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.