English Assignment

Read the following passage and answer the questions.

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Having a laugh
The findings of psychological scientists reveal the importance of humour

Humans start developing a sense of humour as early as six weeks old when
babies begin to laugh and smile in response to stimuli. Laughter is universal across all
human cultures and even exists in some form in rats, chimps, and bonobos. Like other
human emotions and expressions, laughter and humour provide psychological
scientists with rich resources for studying human psychology, ranging from language
development to the neuroscience of social perception.
Theories focusing on the evolution of laughter point to it as an important
adaptation for social communication. Take, for example, the recorded laughter in TV
comedy shows. Back in 1950, US sound engineer Charley Douglass hated dealing
with the unpredictable laughter of live audiences, so he started recording his own
'laugh tracks.’ These were intended to help people at home feel like they were in a
social situation, such as a crowded theatre. Douglass even recorded various types of
laughter and mixtures of laughter from men, women, and children. In doing so, he
picked up on a quality of laughter that is now interesting to researchers: a simple 'haha'
communicates a remarkable amount of socially relevant information.
In one study conducted in 2016, samples of laughter from pairs of English-
speaking students were recorded at the University of California, Santa Cruz. A team
made up of more than 30 psychological scientists, anthropologists, and biologists then
played these recordings to listeners from 24 diverse societies, from indigenous tribes
in New Guinea to city-dwellers in India and Europe. Participants were asked whether
they thought the people laughing were friends or strangers. On average, the results
were remarkably consistent: worldwide, people's guesses were correct approximately
60% of the time.
Researchers have also found that different types of laughter serve as codes to
complex human social hierarchies. A team led by Christopher Oveis from the
University of California, San Diego, found that high-status individuals had different
laughs from low-status individuals and that strangers' judgments of an individual's
social status were influenced by the dominant or submissive quality of their laughter.
In their study, 48 male college students were randomly assigned to groups of four,
with each group composed of two low-status members, who had just joined their
college fraternity group, and two high-status members, older students who had been
active in the fraternity for at least two years. Laughter was recorded as each student
took a tum at being teased by the others, involving the use of mildly insulting
nicknames. Analysis revealed that, as expected, high-status individuals produced
more dominant laughs and fewer submissive laughs relative to the low-status
individuals. Meanwhile, low-status individuals were more likely to change their laughter
based on their position of power; that is, the newcomers produced more dominant
laughs when they were in the 'powerful' role of teasers. Dominant laughter was higher
in pitch, louder, and more variable in tone than submissive laughter.
A random group of volunteers then listened to an equal number of dominant
and submissive laughs from both the high- and low-status individuals and were asked
to estimate the social status of the laugher. In line with predictions, laughers producing
dominant laughs were perceived to be significantly higher in status than laughers
producing submissive laughs. 'This was particularly true for low-status individuals, who
were rated as significantly higher in status when displaying a dominant versus
submissive laugh,' Oveis and colleagues note. 'Thus, by strategically displaying more
dominant laughter when the context allows, low-status individuals may achieve higher
status in the eyes of others.' However, high-status individuals were rated as high-
status whether they produced their dominant natural laugh or tried to do a submissive
one.
Another study, conducted by David Cheng and Lu Wang of Australian National
University, was based on the hypothesis that humour might provide a respite from
tedious situations in the workplace. This 'mental break' might facilitate the
replenishment of mental resources. To test this theory, the researchers recruited 7 4
business students, ostensibly for an experiment on perception. First, the students
performed a tedious task in which they had to cross out every instance of the letter 'e'
over two pages of text. The students then were randomly assigned to watch a video
clip eliciting either humour, contentment, or neutral feelings. Some watched a clip of
the BBC comedy Mr. Bean, others a relaxing scene with dolphins swimming in the
ocean, and others a factual video about the management profession.
The students then completed a task requiring persistence in which they were
asked to guess the potential performance of employees based on provided profiles,
and were told that making 10 correct assessments in a row would lead to a win.
However, the software was programmed such that it was nearly impossible to achieve
10 consecutive correct answers. Participants were allowed to quit the task at any point.
Students who had watched the Mr. Bean video ended up spending significantly more
time working on the task, making twice as many predictions as the other two groups.
Cheng and Wang then replicated these results in a second study, during which
they had participants complete long multiplication questions by hand. Again,
participants who watched the humorous video spent significantly more time working
on this tedious task and completed more questions correctly than did the students in
either of the other groups. 'Although humour has been found to help relieve stress
and facilitate social relationships, the traditional view of task performance implies that
individuals should avoid things such as humour that may distract them from the
accomplishment of task goals,' Cheng and Wang conclude. 'We suggest that humour
is not only enjoyable but more importantly, energising.'
Questions 1 – 5. Choose the correct answers, A, B, C, or D. Highlight or mark the
reference for your answers from the reading passage.

1 When referring to laughter in the first paragraph, the writer emphasises

A its impact on language.
B its function in human culture.
C its value to scientific research.
D its universality in animal societies.

2 What does the writer suggest about Charley Douglass?

A He understood the importance of enjoying humour in a group setting.
B He believed that TV viewers at home needed to be told when to laugh.
C He wanted his shows to appeal to audiences across the social spectrum.
D He preferred shows where audiences were present in the recording studio.

3 What makes the Santa Cruz study particularly significant?

A the various different types of laughter that were studied
B the similar results produced by a wide range of cultures
C the number of different academic disciplines involved
D the many kinds of people whose laughter was recorded

4 Which of the following happened in the San Diego study?

A Some participants became very upset
B Participants exchanged roles.
C Participants who had not met before became friends.
D Some participants were unable to laugh.

5 In the fifth paragraph, what did the results of the San Diego study suggest?
A It is clear whether a dominant laugh is produced by a high- or low-status
person.
B Low-status individuals in a position of power will still produce submissive
laughs.
C The submissive laughs of low- and high-status individuals are surprisingly
similar.
D High-status individuals can always be identified by their way of laughing.
Questions 6 – 10. Complete the summary using the list of words, A--H, below.
Highlight or mark the reference for your answers from the reading passage.

The Benefits of Humour

In one study at Australian National University, randomly chosen groups of

participants were shown one of three videos, each designed to generate a
different kind of 6 ___________________. When all participants were then
given a deliberately frustrating task to do, it was found that those who had
watched the 7 ___________________ video persisted with the task for longer
and tried harder to accomplish the task than either of the other two groups.

A second study in which participants were asked to perform a particularly

8 ___________________ task produced similar results. According to
researchers David Cheng and Lu Wang, these findings suggest that humour
not only reduces 9 ___________________ and helps build social connections
but it may also have a 10 ___________________ effect on the body and mind.

A laughter B relaxing C boring

D anxiety E stimulating F emotion
G enjoyment H amusing