Are We Programmed to Laugh When Tickled ?

Do we learn to laugh when tickled or is it an innate response? That is the question psychologist Professor
Clarence Leuba set himself to examine using his own children, no less, as experimental subjects.

In 1933 he decided that he would not laugh in the presence of his first child while tickling him (Leuba, 1941).
Everyday life in the Leuba household, therefore, was devoid of tickling except for one special experimental
period. During this period he would cover his own face with a mask while tickling his son so his facial
expression was hidden.

Even the tickling was experimentally controlled. First he would tickle lightly, then more vigorously. First under
the armpit, then the ribs, followed by chin, neck, knees and feet.

Mrs Leuba slips up

Reportedly all went well until late April 1933 when his wife suddenly forgot all the protocols. After her son's
bath she accidentally administered a short bout of bouncing up and down on her knee with laughter while using
the words: "Bouncy, bouncy"!

Was the experiment ruined? Leuba wasn't sure. But after seven months, with only one bout of laughter
associated with tickling the results were in. His son happily laughed away when tickled. It appeared that
laughing when tickled is an innate response.

Leuba wasn't satisfied with this, though, and set about carrying out the same test on his next child, a girl. This
time the same experimental procedure was administered and Mrs Leuba's "Bouncy, bouncy" tendencies were
apparently kept at bay for seven months. At the end Leuba got the same results - his daughter began to
spontaneously laugh when tickled despite never having been shown how.

Tickling tips

But it wasn't all experimental procedures and faces hidden behind masks in the Leuba household, indeed
Professor Leuba must have become an expert tickler.

He found the best way to make his children laugh was to tickle them along the ribs and under the arms. The
element of surprise was also important in producing maximum giggling response. He observed that his children
would control the level of tickling by holding his finger, but would then demand more tickling.

Who says science isn't a laugh?

Reference

Leuba, C. (1941) Tickling and laughter: two genetic studies. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 58, 201-9.
Empathy Causes Facial Similarity Between
Couples to Increase Over Time
July 25, 2007

Would you believe that people who live with each other for 25 years actually develop similar facial features? I
don't just mean that people tend to choose partners who resemble them, rather that over time together couple's
features actually converge. It's weird, but there's evidence for it from a singular study carried out by the noted
psychologist Robert Zajonc and colleagues.

Here's what they did.

110 participants were shown photographs of men and women in their first year of marriage and of the same
couples after 25 years of marriage. Then they were asked to judge their resemblance along with the chance that
any man and woman were married to each other. The researchers went to a lot of effort to remove extraneous
info and crop photos so that only faces could be seen.

The types of choices the participants made indicated the perception was that couples became more facially
similar after 25 years together. The results could not be explained by people simply all looking the same as they
got older. Also, data from a control group indicated participants were indeed making judgements on the basis of
facial features rather than any other criteria.

So this means if you stick around with your partner, you'll end up looking more like them after a couple of
decades. Which naturally raises the question: why?

Here are the possible explanations the authors suggest:

1. Diet. If you share your diet with another person it's possible this is the cause. For example if both partners eat
a high fat diet, both their faces will tend to look chubby. The authors, however, ruled this out using an
additional small study.

2. Environment. It could be that it's because couples live together in the same area. This means that
environmental factors such as sunshine and so on affect the skin in similar ways. The authors rule this one out
as well because all their married couples came from the same part of the US Midwest and were matched on a
number of other socioeconomic variables.

3. Predisposition. This is the idea that people are more likely to choose partners who will grow to look like
them. E.g. depressed people are attracted to each other, so end up looking depressed. The authors give this one a
maybe, although it is not their favourite option.

4. Empathy. This is the theory the authors like - and so do I. People grow to look similar because they are
empathising with each other and so copying each other's facial expressions. Over time because of all the
empathising they are doing, their faces come to look more similar. For example, if one partner often smiles in a
particular way, the other is likely to copy it - so creating similar patterns of wrinkles and furrows on the face.

Because they liked theory number 4 the authors had another thought. Why not see if those who grow to look
most like each other are the happiest couples? Presumably, then, those who get on better, empathise with each
other to a greater degree and therefore go on to look more similar. Unfortunately, this test failed to reach
statistical significance, so this study doesn't give us enough evidence to say whether or not it is true.
A glimpse of the future?
A straw poll of people I've talked to about this research reveals a polarised reaction. Some think that growing to
look more like your partner is an horrific idea. Others, though, think there's something very sweet and romantic
about it. I think I'm in the latter camp.

There is one worrying possibility this study suggests. It is said if you want to find out what your partner will
look like when they're older, you should look at your partner's parents. Perhaps a glance at your partner's
parents might also reveal what you will look like in a couple of decades. Truly scary stuff!

» Related: find out whether dogs really resemble their owners.

References

Zajonc, R.B., Adelmann, P.K., Murphy, S.T., & Niedenthal, P.M. (1987). Convergence in the physical
appearance of spouses. Motivation and Emotion, 11(4), 335-346.