Universalidad y variabilidad cultural de la risa y el humor

Laughter is an apparently universal phenomenon, but the humor that causes it seems almostinfinitely varied. This article attempts to distinguish between universal aspects of laughter andthose which are subject to the observable cultural variability. It defines laughter as a basichuman emotion, caused by a cognitive stimulus influenced by social definitions, whichexplains at least in part its apparent heterogeneity. Other variable aspects include the normsand customs associated with the display of laughter and humor, the various humor genres andformats, humorous institutions and the cultural definitions of laughter itself.