You playfully tap a friend on the far shoulder to watch that person spin around and find there's no one there. Most of us are familiar with this move, and psychologists say that's no surprise—they purport that this brand of light-hearted humor is a part of human nature and that well-intentioned antics among peers can even help us forge positive relationships (assuming your pal responds to your prank with a healthy blend of annoyance and amusement). But is monkeying around an exclusively human trait? Maybe not—a study led researchers to deduce that humor may be traced back to a distant ancestor of the great apes.

Question

Healthy Humor

Imagine a pair of friends or siblings in the back seat of a car on a road trip when, out of the blue, one person raises a stinky foot to the other person's nose. Later, the subject of that not-so-subtle prank retaliates by nabbing the book the co-passenger is reading. To be clear, these travel companions aren't bullying each other or trying to inflict emotional pain, which is never okay. Instead, whether they realize it or not, these goofballs are strengthening their bond through playfulness and humor.

Psychologists call this behavior "playful teasing," asserting that humans' propensity for ribbing each other is an innate form of socialization that emerges when we are very young. From an early age, we begin to recognize that humor can connect us. But where does our penchant for kidding around originate? This query led a team of researchers to take a closer look at members of our evolutionary lineage, the great apes.

Going Ape

Dr. Isabelle Laumer, a primatologist at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Germany, Dr. Erica Cartmill, an anthropology professor at Indiana University, and their colleagues conducted a behavioral study of primates. The research, which examined playful teasing behaviors in great apes, aimed to help scientists further connect the cognitive dots between humans and other primates, particularly when it comes to humor.

The team analyzed 75 hours of footage of five species of great apes: chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans, and two species of gorillas—all housed in zoos. The researchers documented the apes' spontaneous social interactions, body movements, and facial expressions—and then developed a coding system to differentiate the apes' precocious ways. "We looked for behaviors that appeared provocative, playful, but also had a bit of a naughty streak," Dr. Laumer quipped in an interview with NPR. In other words, the researchers watched for the apes to act like mischievous kids.

Playful Primates

You might wonder what it looks like when apes decide to have a bit of fun. Well, the researchers posited that apes joke around just like humans do. "It was common for teasers to repeatedly wave or swing [an] object in the middle of the target's field of vision, hit or poke them, stare closely at their face, disrupt their movements,…or perform other behaviors that were extremely difficult for the target to ignore," Dr. Cartmill stated in a press release.

Furthermore, all of the apes' impish behaviors followed a consistent pattern, much like a person going for a laugh. First, there was the element of surprise—a young ape might sneak up on a relaxed elder ape and administer a gentle poke, only to scram and watch for a reaction. Then, if the adult ape ignored the instigation, you guessed it…that cheeky monkey would repeat the behavior until the gag landed. Finally, for its part, the adult ape typically responded with a perfunctory rebuke, gently pushing the prankster aside or moving to a different location. Mission accomplished, all in good fun.

If this scenario reminds you of a person in your life, you're not alone. Researchers contend that the study's findings shed new light on the evolutionary ligature between humans and great apes…a hereditary link that may even extend to our funny bones.

Think about and discuss these questions:
What passage would you choose to show what playful teasing is?
Do the behaviors in the video look like playful teasing to you? Explain.

Video credit: I. B. Laumer, S. L. Winkler, F. Rossano and E. A. Cartmill, Proceedings of the Royal S

QUESTION 4


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Which of these is a statement of opinion?

Apes often tease other apes by waving objects in front of them.
People sometimes connect with others through humor.
Scientists draw conclusions based on their observations.
Apes enjoy playful teasing more than humans do.

Answer 1

The statement of opinion among the options provided is: "Apes enjoy playful teasing more than humans do."

This statement expresses a subjective view about the enjoyment levels of playful teasing, which cannot be measured or proven definitively. The other statements are based on observations or established facts.