"Humor as a form of play, even at higher levels of play with complex thoughts and ideas, is associated with positive emotions, and with positive feelings about individuals we are with when we experience that positive emotion," Robert said.
"As my colleague [Wilbanks] and I have noted elsewhere, humor, positive emotions, and stronger interpersonal bonds operate in mutually reinforcing spirals that stimulate the production of humor, and seeking out individuals with whom we can laugh and feel closer."
The interesting thing is that the highly abstract and symbolic nature of humor that we developed allows for many different forms of gags.
"Humor can build and destroy, strengthen and weaken, honor and besmirch, and perhaps all of these at the same time. This complexity is what makes it beautiful, and of interest to me, and I suspect to many other psychologists," Robert explained.
And as we can see from these pictures, they're not the only academics exploring the subject!
