Gelotophobia: The Fear of Being Laughed At

Louis R. Franzini, PhD

$39.00

CE Credit Hours : 3

Target Audience : Counseling, Marriage & Family Therapy, Psychology, School Psychology, Social Work, Teaching

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Course Abstract

Gelotophobia: The Fear of Being Laughed At is a 3-hour online continuing education (CE) course that examines a relatively unknown phobia stemming from the behavior of laughter.

Human laughter is ubiquitous and has been found worldwide and in all cultures. The fear of being laughed at, gelotophobia, is also found everywhere, yet it is generally unrecognized in the United States. Thus, most therapists and clinicians in the U.S. are typically unaware of this syndrome, and they tend to misdiagnosis it as a form of social anxiety or generalized anxiety. Gelotophobia may, in fact, be a symptom of both social anxiety and avoidant personality disorders but is distinct from social phobia. Exact statistics of the prevalence of gelotophobia are not yet available, but it is quite frequent and can be seriously debilitating in both children and adults. Laughter can mock, ridicule, and demean. Not all smiles or laughter are friendly. Gelotophobes have difficulty distinguishing those differences and so they tend to regard all laughter as negative. When employed as a manipulative tool, laughter can be a source of anxiety, stress, avoidance behaviors, and fears for some individuals.

This course reviews the available research literature on gelotophobia and discusses its salient features, possible causes, methods of assessment, and offers an innovative treatment approach. The roles of shame, vulnerability, and guilt in gelotophobia will be discussed, as will symptom similarities between gelotophobia and borderline personality disorder, the degree of gelotophobia in adults with ASD, and the association of gelotophobic symptoms with major psychological syndromes.

Many case histories of gelotophobes trace the beginnings of their wariness to childhood, typically associated with being bullied. One major implication, therefore, is for school counselors to be vigilant in finding, evaluating, and reducing bullying incidents on their campus. The related phenomena of gelotophilia (the joy of being laughed at and ridiculed) and katagelasticism (feeling special pleasure in making fun of other people) will also be reviewed.

Course #31-59 | 2025 | 51 pages | 20 posttest questions | Mobile-Friendly

Learning Objectives

Compare and contrast the descriptive characteristics of gelotophobia, gelotophilia, and katagelasticism
Describe the role of shame in the gelotophobia phenomenon
Identify three major problems that typically occur in gelotophobia research protocols
Describe five assessment instruments used in gelotophobia research
List three conditions with which gelotophobia shares symptom similarities
Discuss probable causes of gelotophobia and the treatment approach of “humordrama”

Course Directions

This online course provides instant access to the course materials (PDF download) and CE test. The course is text-based (reading) and the CE test is open-book (you can print the test to mark your answers on it while reading the course document).

Successful completion of this course involves passing an online test (80% required, 3 chances to take) and we ask that you also complete a brief course evaluation.

About the Author(s)

Louis R. Franzini, PhD : Find out More

Louis R. Franzini, PhD, received his B.S. degree in Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh, his M.A. degree in Clinical Psychology at the University of Toledo, and his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh. He then completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Behavior Modification at the State University of New York at Stony Brook (now Stony Brook University). Following the postdoctoral program Dr. Franzini joined the Psychology Department at San Diego State University, where he spent his entire academic career. He retired as Emeritus Professor of Psychology. His international academic experience included appointments as Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the Universite Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-le-Neuve, Belgium and Senior Fellow in the School of Accountancy and Business, Human Resource and Quality Management Division at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Dr. Franzini is licensed as a psychologist in Florida and in California.

Financial: Dr. Franzini receives royalties on his books from John Wiley & Sons, Rowman and Littlefield, Square One Publishers, Sage Publications and from Professional Development Resources on sales of his courses.
Nonfinancial: No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.

CE Information

Counseling

National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) Approved Continuing Education Provider

Professional Development Resources (PDR) has been approved by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 5590. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. PDR is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

Professional Development Resources is CE Broker compliant (#50-1635 - all courses are reported within two business days of completion). Professional Development Resources, Inc. is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors (#MHC-0135 - Note: New York counselors will receive 3 continuing education credits for completing this self-study course).

Marriage and Family Therapy

American Psychological Association Approved Sponsor

Psychology

School Psychology

Social Work

Professional Development Resources, #1046, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 6/12/2025 - 6/12/2028. Social workers completing this course receive 3 clinical continuing education credits. ACE format: Reading-based asynchronous distance learning.

Professional Development Resources is CE Broker compliant (#50-1635 - all courses are reported within two business days of completion). Professional Development Resources, Inc. is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers (#SW-0664 - Note: New York social workers will receive 3 continuing education credit(s) for completing this self-study course). Professional Development Resources is also approved by the Texas State Board of Social Worker Examiners (#5678).

Teaching

Professional Development Resources is approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Professional Development Resources maintains responsibility for all programs and content. Professional Development Resources is also approved by the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC ACEP #5590); the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB Provider #1046, ACE Program); the Continuing Education Board of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA Provider #AAUM); the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA Provider #3159); the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR Prior Approval Program); the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists (#PSY-0145), State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors (#MHC-0135) and marriage and family therapists (#MFT-0100), and the State Board for Social Workers as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers (#SW-0664); the Texas Board of Examiners of Marriage and Family Therapists (#114) and State Board of Social Worker Examiners (#5678); and is CE Broker compliant (#50-1635 - all courses are reported within two business days of completion).