Has anyone ever done a study on tickling?

[charman18]

I don't mean "why does tickling make you laugh" or "why are certain body parts ticklish and others aren't." I mean answering the questions once and for all, scientifically, "Do nylons make you more ticklish?", "What tickling instruments tickle more?", "Do nylons affect the effectiveness of these instruments?", "Does being blindfolded make a difference?" I know a lot of people have their own personal experiences and their own opinions, but I think an actual scientific study would be awesome. But I'm an engineer, so I guess I am just a dork like that. I actually wouldn't mind starting one myself. I do have some experience with statistics. If anyone wants to contribute to science, even if it is just to bounce some ideas off of me, let me know.

 

[Bugman]

I remember that some years ago some university in California did a study on tickling.I recall seeing a report on CNN.There is also a book,i think the title is Laughter,A Scientific Inquiry,that had a chapter or two about tickling.

 

[reflexology414]

...

Dr. Catherine Harris did the most famous study (the one that aired on CNN) but there have been others.

 

[Chaneda]

Eureka!

I don't mean "why does tickling make you laugh" or "why are certain body parts ticklish and others aren't." I mean answering the questions once and for all, scientifically, "Do nylons make you more ticklish?", "What tickling instruments tickle more?", "Do nylons affect the effectiveness of these instruments?", "Does being blindfolded make a difference?" I know a lot of people have their own personal experiences and their own opinions, but I think an actual scientific study would be awesome. But I'm an engineer, so I guess I am just a dork like that. I actually wouldn't mind starting one myself. I do have some experience with statistics. If anyone wants to contribute to science, even if it is just to bounce some ideas off of me, let me know.

Actually, I have been conducting a study on tickling for the past few years, both back in high school and now in college. I am STILL in the process of writing up a report on my findings but you can read some of my experiences here :

http://www.tickletheater.com/showthread.php?t=20818

In any case, to spare you the scientific technicalities, I have been trying to answer questions that relate tickling to physical chemical reactions in the brain and the psychological aspects behind the act of tickling and being tickled. I have found that being tickled for a long period of time results in a stabilizing of the rate at which the heart beats, indicative of two things. First, the body is getting used to the tickling sensations, and secondly the body is being relaxed by the release of excessive endorphins induced by the ticklish laughter racking the 'lee's body. In other words, being tickled for a long period of time is equivalent to having an orgasm, but prolonged over a much longer period of time.

There are a ton of reasons for why people cannot stand to be tickled in the mainstream world and for why it causes laughter...I am attempting to explore these reasons, creating postulates, hypothesis, and producing evidence and analysis to back them up and to explain these questions.

If you have any questions just hit me up with a PM or reply in here and I'll be happy to try my best to explain as much as I can without going deep into the technical stuff...that I am saving for my finished report anyway.

- Chaneda