Not only people are afraid of tickling, but also rats and monkeys. Scientists still cannot understand why the effect on the integument of the skin in some places causes a person to arousal, screech and laughter, as well as why these reflex sensations did not disappear during evolution. Today, as a rule, people tickle each other as a joke and just to make a person laugh. But it turns out, everything is not so joyful.
Tickling the legs - subtle torture
A psychologist from the United States, Christina Harris, once conducted a study. She photographed people at the time of tickling and found on their faces an expression of not happiness, but suffering. Based on this, we can conclude that the person who is tickled, although laughing, does not experience pleasure, but torment. This is confirmed by some historical facts. So, among the Romans in ancient times, tickling the legs was a way of torture. The limbs of the victim were fixed in a fixed position, and each person passing by could scratch his bare feet. Tickling the legs was also done using more sophisticated methods, for example, the feet were sprinkled with salt, which was subsequently licked by the sheep.
Why is she laughing?
Charles Darwin once suggested that tickling the legs or other areas of the body strengthens social bonds. But modern psychologists are inclined to the version that the sensations generated by it are a kind of reflex designed to protect vulnerable areas of the body. The most sensitive places for tickling are the feet, armpits, and the waist. Such an action is perceived by the body as external irritation, which must be avoided. That's why we reflexively try to dodge when we are touched for the most sensitive places.
Many guys believe that tickling the legs of girls with a light feather causes a very pleasant feeling, and therefore often practice it. Perhaps the truth can be a pleasure in this way. But when a person is subjected to severe tickling, which gives rise to a squeal and laughter, he is unlikely to feel pleasant emotions. Psychologists believe that laughter that occurs when tickling is a pure reflex. Another point of view defines it as a kind of discharge of the body: at first the person feels a fright, but realizing that there is no danger, he begins to laugh. Darwin, on the other hand, associated such a reaction with a sense of humor.
But why does not tickling oneself produce laughter? Aristotle thought about this question. He came to the conclusion that any action emanating from the person himself is not dangerous for him, so the body simply ignores him. Aristotle’s conjecture is also confirmed by modern scholars. One experiment performed using a magnetic resonance imaging scanner showed that the brains of people who were tickled by someone else was much more active than those who tickled themselves. Much depends on who specifically affects you. So, for example, tickling the feet of children with their parents causes a funny laugh in the kids. But the body begins to resist and reject the impact of the same manipulations of unfamiliar or unpleasant children.