He is the only species who laughs at the same kind

The evolution process allows humans to ridicule and humiliate their peers with laughter, while other primates do not.

Dr. Marina Davila Ross, a primitive psychologist and psychologist of the University of Portsmouth, England, has studied how people learn to laugh from primates that are our ancestors. Daily Mail said, in a new study, she found that since laughing, primates have used laughter for many purposes.

Picture 1 of He is the only species who laughs at the same kind

Humans use laughter in many situations, even when mocking, ridiculing or humiliating at the same time.Photo: callaghanstudios.co.uk.


According to Ross, large primates in Asia (orangutans) only laugh when they feel happy or excited, and large primates in Africa (gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobo monkeys) use laughter to impact on others. Humans use laughter in many situations, including mocking, ridicule or humiliation.

"The laughter of people and African primates evolved farther than Asian primates , " Ross commented.

At first our ancestors only used laughter to influence others. But in the past 5 million years, people have used laughter for more purposes.

"Laughter can appear in all forms of human interaction, even ridicule," Ross said.

Picture 2 of He is the only species who laughs at the same kind

Ross found that orangutans tend to emit more sounds than laughter.Photo: Daily Mail.


Ross's research shows that, although all descendants of large primates are laughing, the sound of laughter changes gradually during evolution. Sound changes occur simultaneously with changes in species behavior. For example, large primates in Asia tend to emit more cries than laughter. Meanwhile, large humans and primates in Africa laugh more.

Ross conducted research with Michael Owren - a University of Georgia, US scientist - and Elke Zimmermann - an expert at the Veterinary University in Hannover, Germany. Their work is published in the journal Communicative and Integrative Biology.