The reasons we laugh extend beyond responses to humor — laughter is a social tool, one we use to interact with each other and also to take advantage of its benefits (like its therapeutic effects and advantages for improving memory).
But what causes our laughs to sound different from one another?
Besides anatomy — laughter is a team effort between your limbic system, larynx, lungs, respiratory muscles and more — what drives you to chuckle and me to snort? The answer lies in psychology and human behavior.
"We all have a range of different laughs that we use for different purposes and circumstances," says body language and behavior expert Judi James, author of The Body Language Bible. "Most are within the 'social masking' spectrum — that is, we do them to be polite or to create social bonds."
James gives an example of watching your favorite TV comedy — if you're alone, you'll probably laugh out loud very little, if at all. But when you watch it with friends, you'll laugh with them as a form of social bonding and shared experience.