Science University Research Symposium (SURS)
The Social Contagion of Laughter: A Psychophysiological Response to AI-Manipulated Dialogue in a Naturalistic Scene
Publication Date
2025
College
College of Sciences & Mathematics
Department
Psychological Science, Department of
SURS Faculty Advisor
Dr. Lingfei Luan
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Abstract
Laughter is a fundamental social signal that facilitates bonding and communication, with research demonstrating that laughter is contagious - meaning that hearing others laugh influences our own perception of humor. Therefore, television producers have long used laugh tracks in sitcoms based on this principle of social contagion. However, it remains unclear how external laugh tracks interact with the actual funniness of content itself. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate how AI-manipulated dialogue content (funny versus neutral) and the presence of laugh tracks independently and jointly affect viewers' physiological responses to humor, as measured by facial electromyography (EMG) of the smile muscle (zygomaticus major). With the innovation of AI- manipulated videos and dialogue sweeping the internet and being unable to detect AI from real life it becomes innovative to see how different types of laughter and dialogue can appear to be processed differently by the brain for various social purposes.This study employs a 2x2 within-subjects factorial experimental design examining the relationship between dialogue type (funny vs. neutral) and laugh track presence (present vs. absent) on facial muscle activity during video viewing.There is a total of three expected outcomes. First, funny dialogue will produce greater EMG activity and humor ratings than neutral dialogue. Second, the presence of laugh tracks will enhance EMG activity and humor ratings compared to their absence. Lastly, there will be an interaction effect where laugh tracks enhance funny dialogue more than neutral dialogue.
Recommended Citation
Romero, Cristal and Telles, Daniel, "The Social Contagion of Laughter: A Psychophysiological Response to AI-Manipulated Dialogue in a Naturalistic Scene" (2025). Science University Research Symposium (SURS). 310.
https://repository.belmont.edu/surs/310
