False Laughter

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The other day at work, my boss made a joke. It wasn't funny so i didn't laugh but everybody else smiled and laughed. I don't think they thought it was funny either because their laugher sounded false. I think they only did that because he's the boss and they were crawling to him.

What do you do in those situations? Do you laugh even when you don't think it's funny?

false laughter scares me in a way. if someone pretends to laugh and you know it's fake, then what other aspects of their being can be called into question? all of them really.
i am instantly relieved of any interest i had in a person if i see them fake a laugh.

Usually no. I often keep my serious expression if a joke is not funny. I usually feel uncomfortable when people joke around me because I don't know how to respond appropriately. Some people don't say jokes to me because they know doing so would create an awkward situation.

Very true.

^ The idea of false laughter disturbs me in that way too. Also, when people say things 'because they were angry' or 'because they were drunk' etc. Slightly different, but it makes me wonder how something that apparently would never occur to them usually could come out of their mouth solely because they were angry or drunk...

If it was a boss, I would pretend to be amused. It's smart to stay on good terms with your boss or anyone who has power over you.

If it was a peer, then maybe not; it would depend on the situation, the joke and who they were. And some days I'm more willing to fake it and reach than other days.

What about nervous laughter that some people do because they are uncomfortable?

If it's real, not forced, or beneficial to the nervous laugher, then I'd say it's more of a coping mechanism and that's okay.

Every time I hear someone make a bad pun or stupid joke I say "Hardy har har. Very funny."

I think it's hard to differentiate between "false" and "earnest" laughter - someone might have found the joke funny and others started laughing in mimicry, more as a reflex than anything else.

I smile a lot and seem to be on the verge of laughing a lot, so find it easy to burst out in laughter. It might come off as fake but I even laugh when no one else is around, naturally. People can definitely make things funnier sometimes but people are not a requisite for my laughter.

I can's speak for drunk talking but I have been so angry I have said things I didn't mean. In that state you wanna get to them.
And sometimes it's only when people get so angry that they say what they really mean. I have done that too.
It can go either way.

I think I use false laughter more than NTs to the point where it's quirky in its own way. It makes me seem submissive because I'm always laughing even when I don't find something funny and people know it. It's like I can't just tell the truth and say it's not funny. Sometimes it might look like I'm intimidated or scared into laughing by the person making the joke but that's not actually what's happening.

I also laugh before I get the joke so that people don't realize I'm taking an extra second to get it. If I don't get it at all I still laugh on cue without thinking. It's awkward when I realize the cue I took to laugh was a very bad joke and I end up being the only one laughing.

Nope, I never laugh when I don't find something funny.
Similar thing happened with my boss at work before. He asked me "you didn't think that was funny?" I said "No"
I really don't like him though...

I do not only laugh when things are funny....if I had a quarter for every time I've awkwardly laughed not necessarily out of humor than I'd have a significant amount of money I think. There is that or sort of trailing off my sentences or I might randomly make somewhat odd noises(whenever I try to date someone I always feel self conscious about that like they'll notice and think its weird or childish).

I used to use false laughter when a joke wasn't funny, or went over my head. Back in my teens and early twenties. When I was horribly insecure and socially inept.

Nowadays, not so much. There really aren't a lot of original jokes, just variations on old ones, so I'm never in the position of not "getting it". I either find it funny, or not funny. Depending on who is telling the joke, or story, my reaction varies. If a joke or story is genuinely funny, I will genuinely laugh. No matter who tells it. If it's not, and the person is a friend, or a co-equal at work that I know well, I'll tell them something like, "don't quit your day job for a stand-up comedy gig". Kind of in a kidding around way. If it's my boss, someone in a position of authority like a pastor, or someone I don't know well enough to be blunt with, I have perfected the art of the smirky chuckle. Kind of a half smile and a "heh, heh, heh" sound.

There isn't much point in being rude to anyone needlessly.

Yes, I giggle and laugh when anxious and it happens quite spontaneously in inappropriate situations. It has got me into trouble many times. The giggling and some other similar odd behaviour have caused many to typecast me as homosexual. I am fully heterosexual, am a big person (1.92m tall and weigh approx 112kg) and so the giggling etc is a serious misfit with the rest of my persona. People often interpret me as having a weak personality which then leads to the opposite body language - an intense anger and fury which tends to scare the krap out of people.