laughter

n. vocal expression of amusement, enjoyment, or derision, characterized by inspiratory and expiratory movements occurring in rapid succession. Laughter is pleasurable because it serves to release tension built up when people listen to an amusing story or watch an amusing event (see release theory of humor). Laughter may also result when states of threat occur in a safe context (see arousal jag) or from an abrupt resolution of a cognitive incongruity. In psychoanalytic theory, laughter may be viewed as a defense against crying or embarrassment. Unrestrained or paroxysmal laughing spells have been found to precipitate cataplectic attacks, to be a common manifestation in manias, and to be an occasional symptom of psychomotor seizures among children. Spasmodic laughter, or gelasmus, is also found in schizophrenia, hysteria, and organic (especially bulbar and pseudobulbar) diseases of the brain, as well as in choreomania. See also humor. —laugh vb.

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Psychology term of the day

February 25th 2025

single-case design

an approach to the empirical study of a process that tracks a single unit (e.g., person, family, class, school, company) in depth over time. Specific types include the alternating treatments design, the multiple baseline design, the reversal design, and the withdrawal design. In other words, it is a within-subjects design with just one unit of analysis. For example, a researcher may use a single-case design for a small group of patients with a tic. After observing the patients and establishing the number of tics per hour, the researcher would then conduct an intervention and watch what happens over time, thus revealing the richness of any change. Such studies are useful for generating ideas for broader studies and for focusing on the microlevel concerns associated with a particular unit. However, data from these studies need to be evaluated carefully given the many potential threats to internal validity; there are also issues relating to the sampling of both the one unit and the process it undergoes. Also called N-of-1 design; N=1 design; single-participant design; single-subject (case) design.