Going Forward
摘要
Our final chapter presents a few remaining arguments supporting a new interpretation of laughter and humor. The mutual vulnerability theory of laughter, like all new conceptual models, will require careful examination and comprehensive testing by the broader scientific community. To help the process along, we first present brief answers to each of the questions introduced in Chap. 2 ; these will help establish the breadth of MVT’s explanatory scope and provide points of comparison with established alternatives. We then provide a source for, and a few examples of, predictions and retrodictions that can form the basis of any number of experimental studies. We continue by reporting the results of an independent research project conducted by the first author, one that can be easily replicated, confirmed, or refuted. Finally, we end the book with a few parting thoughts.