# Why we should take laughter more seriously

- Institution: TED
- Department: TEDxExeter
- Speaker: Sophie Scott
- Year: 2018
- Level: For everyone
- Language: English
- Subjects: Psychology and the brain, Society and politics
- Source: [TED](https://www.ted.com/talks/sophie_scott_why_we_should_take_laughter_more_seriously)
- Licence: [CC BY-NC-ND 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) (Non-commercial use only, and no changed versions.)
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (sources give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the source's own words)

We think of laughter as merely a response to something funny. In this talk, cognitive neuroscientist Sophie Scott argues that it's a complex social behavior that signals a lot more than a successful joke. Using hilarious examples of laughter as used in foreign policy interactions, she demonstrates how the deployment of a well-placed guffaw is key to developing social bonds.

## Lectures

1. [Why we should take laughter more seriously](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/ted/sophie_scott_why_we_should_take_laughter_more_seriously/b44879a2ac26), 14 min (TED's player)