The basis for laughter may have existed in one of the primate ancestors common to humans and great apes
For the first time, researchers were able to show with certainty that empathy is not just a human concept. The basis for laughter may have existed in one of the primate ancestors common to humans and great apes. This is according to a new study in which scientists found that orangutans have a sense of empathy and imitation, two essential factors for producing laughter.
Facial expressions such as an open and gaping mouth (meaning there is also a gap between the lower and upper teeth) reminiscent of laughter were copied by the orangutans who saw them in humans. The speed with which the imitation was carried out led the scientists to the conclusion that these facial expressions were involuntary. In other words, laughter was contagious.
Dr. Marina Davila Ross, from the University of Portsmouth and Prof. Elka Zimmerman from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Hannover, Germany, studied the play behavior of 25 orangutans aged 2-12 in four primate centers around the world. When one of the orangutans displayed an open mouth with gaping teeth, the others copied them and burst into laughter about half a second later.
According to Ross, in humans, imitative behavior can be voluntary or involuntary. Until this discovery there was no evidence that animals also react in this way. "It is now clear that the first building blocks of contagion with positive emotions, expressed in infectious laughter in humans, developed before the human race. She added that the findings shed light on empathy and its importance for animals living in groups such as the orangutans as a factor that improves social relationships.
For information on the University of Portsmouth website
Previous news on the subject:
Did humans learn from monkeys to use medicinal plants?
Man of the Forest - about the extinct orangutans in Indonesia
4 תגובות
Polish women also laugh, but then they suffer. When they suffer... then they are really happy. They are the descendants of the primate
Ancient Poland.
Come on! My dog keeps coming to me with a huge smile on her face when I go to take her for a walk.
On one of the channels that still remain on television, a program was broadcast not long ago that showed, among other things, that rats also laugh.
Although it was not about facial expressions or "sticking" out of empathy, they laughed out loud when they were tickled and found a prize in the tickling that they were ready to look for in the maze no less than food.
You shouldn't dismiss it as "just an instinctive reaction" because the vocal expression indicates that this laughter is nevertheless intended for communication and the transmission of information.
Laughs the one who laughs last