Applause, why do we do it?

• May 6, 2024

Whether in a play, concert or, in a simple school representation, the applause is a gesture, ancestral, showing approval or rejection by the action or object observed; However, do you always applaud for a reason?

According to a study conducted by the University of Uppsala in Sweden, the prolonged applause that we make after an interpretation can be more than a demonstration of taste, a reflection of seeing what others do.

Published by the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, and led by the expert Richard Mann, The research was attended by 107 volunteers, who were divided into six different groups, who were asked to listen to two presentations.

The result of this analysis was that when someone begins to applaud, in a matter of seconds the gesture spreads like an infection that spreads from person to person.

For Mann, it's all because you feel a social pressure to start applauding, and once you've started doing it, there's an equally strong pressure to not stop, until someone starts to stop.

Also, within this reflection is the number, according to the specialist, in one case, the public can applaud an average of 10 times per person. On another occasion, they can applaud three times more.

Scientists believe that applauding is a form of "social contagion" that reflects how ideas and actions win and lose their moment.