Enigma of Ticklish Laughter
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As an avid babysitter and five-time aunt, I am, admittedly, an experienced tickler. I have witnessed and participated in hundreds of tickling encounters. The Mystery of Ticklish Laughter, by Christine Harris (1999) deals with the curious, simultaneous feeling of pleasure and pain that results from tickling, the difference between unexpected and expected tickling, as well as the relative effects of being tickled by a human and by a machine. I have often wondered why children are so eager to subject themselves to "tickle torture," or why some tickling is much more effective than others. However, I never pondered the aspects of tickling related to sensation and perception.
Harris states that as early as Socrates, philosophers and scientists were trying to grasp the underlying processes of ticklish laughter. Darwin, as well, added his own theories as to the motivation of tickling. G. Stanley Hall and Arthur Allin even coined terms for different types of ticklish laughter. So, you see, tickling is no laughing matter...