Who’s laughing now? The science behind the UN’s reaction to Trump | Sophie Scott

The sniggering response to the president’s boasts proves laughter is a powerful weapon

It was very hard not to wince when Donald Trump scored a solid laugh in his speech at the United Nations. Of course, this is partly because laughter isn’t commonly heard at the UN but is also because laughter is always meaningful to humans.

Part of the way humans respond to laughter is to work out whether we are included in it or excluded from it, and whether we are being laughed with or laughed at. I see people’s brains truly light up in the MRI scanner when they listen to laughter, as they’re trying to figure this all out.

Related: Donald Trump is unlikely to forgive the laughter of the UN

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