Laughter is a form of social bonding because it is contagious and allows us to show that we are non-threatening.
We laugh when we see or hear something funny. We laugh to show that we are being silly.

Laughter as a method of bonding

Many anthropologists believe that language existed and evolved in the past few thousand years, but there is evidence suggesting that laughter arose from millions of years ago because we share the same structure of laughter with the great apes.

Laughter came before language

From a historical perspective it is ironic that tickling in the modern era is considered to be a way to bond for parents and their children because a few centuries back tickling was a form of punishment.
Thanks to evolution laughter became a way for people to enjoy each other's company without any danger or injuries.

Why tickling makes us laugh

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Laughter is packed with information. We use laughter to show others that we’re being playful and non-threatening, and this serves to make and maintain social bonds. Much of the time laughter is involuntary and contagious, particularly between friends. The sound of laughter broadcasts loudly and widely, so that other people outside of the laughing group can get information about the relationship of the laughers. In fact, Dr Greg Bryant at University of California, Los Angeles, has found that we’re so adept at interpreting laughter that, in over 20 cultures, people can usually tell from just one second of laughter whether the laughers are friends or strangers.

Most anthropologists think that language originated within the last few hundred thousand years, but it looks like we’ve been laughing for much longer. In 2009, psychologist Dr Marina Davila-Ross at the University of Portsmouth recorded the vocalisations of baby ape species while they were being tickled. By analysing their sounds, she found that great ape laughs share the same structure as human laughs, and that these are most similar in the chimpanzees and bonobos, our closest animal relatives. Her work suggests that laughter arose from a common primate ancestor millions of years ago – long before language evolved.

Laughter is most often associated with pleasure, but, for many people, tickling brings with it a certain amount of pain. So laughing when being tickled is a rather odd response, especially when you consider that tickling has historically been used as a form of torture. Prof Sophie Scott, a neuroscientist and laughter expert at University College London, believes that the laughing response evolved in mammals as a form of social bonding. It’s a way for parents to bond with their children, and for children to play and compete without being hurt. As well as great apes, we also find social laughter in rats – they make high-pitched squeaking noises when being tickled, particularly the younger rats.

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What's the point of laughter? - BBC Science Focus Magazine

Laughter as a method of bonding

Laughter came before language

Why tickling makes us laugh

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