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We all laugh when we see someone else fall Relief theory says we laugh to release tension,. Freud and Herbert Spencer theorized that energy built up from nervous tension, and needs to be released. This generated laugher. It does explain why, when we are scared, we laugh to see the killer s shadow was only that noisy neighbor, or that the spider was just a piece of fuzz.

Fear can generate many emotions, and laughter is not usually mentioned as a starter. And yet, the relief theory says that is where humor comes from. This is not a popular theory, as many people laugh when not under stress.

In "The Physiology of Laughter," Spencer develops the theory that is the "hydraulic" theory of nervous energy, severe emotion produces energy that just has to come out..He argued that the fear would expel itself in laughter.

Although, have you seen that web joke were the screen displays a warning that the FBI are headed your way, you just accidentally broke into a secure site? You were supposed to laugh at it, if it wasn't so lame. Oh well.

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