Have you ever thought about why certain people are ticklish and how you even become ticklish? When reading an article about it from the Boston Globe I found out about how Robert R. Provine explains the ticklish sensations that are common in a lot of people. He says that it has a social component, that by being tickled by someone you know you somehow become extremely sensitive. Provine states that when tickling a stranger you probably wouldn’t get the same results compared to tickling someone close to you.
These sensations can also be useful in survival, for example when something is crawling on you. Tickling is most affective on sensitive skin and places that are more venerable to injury or pain.
Another article found called the physiology of laughing and tickling says that when being tickled it triggers both pain and touch sensors in your skin. For more information about both of these articles on tickling check out these sites:
http://www.boston.com/globe/search/stories/health/how_and_why/120197_2.htm
http://www.tomveatch.com/else/humor/paper/node33.html
Questions for you:
1. Why are some people more ticklish than others?
2. Why are people ticklish in different areas of their body, why not have everyone have the same ticklish spot?
1 Response to “Tickle, Tickle, Tickle”
This is an interesting post. I have never really considered why some people are more ticklish than others. I am not very ticklish, but i know many people that are very ticklish. One website I found states one theory of why some people are more ticklish than others. It says, “One theory sees ticklishness as a personality-based response to perceived attack. Antsy folks may laugh uncontrollably at the lightest touch, or even without being touched at all, while folks made of sterner stuff won’t budge during more aggressive tickle attacks.” (http://ask.yahoo.com/20010703.html) The same website says, ” Scientists suggest that being ticklish is our defense against creepy crawlies like spiders and bugs, a physiological response alerting us to a specific type of threat. That is why vulnerable parts of our bodies — feet, chest, and armpits, are among the most ticklish,” in response to the question of why we are ticklish. I could not find an answer to why people are ticklish in different spots.