Heart rate and galvanic skin response measures were recorded from 23 participants (10 men and 13 women) while mirth was elicited through use of imagination (Imagined Mirth), through recollection (Recollected Mirth), or through an experimental manipulation (Actual Mirth). An analysis of variance indicated significant differences for heart rate, F(2, 22) = 4.716, p = .0210, and for galvanic skin response, F(2, 22) = 4.779, p = .0201 among the three methods. Consistent with the hypotheses forwarded, both Imagined and Recollected Mirth generated significantly greater changes in psychophysiology than Actual Mirth. However, there were no significant differences found between Imagined and Recollected Mirth. The implications of these findings on current and future research are discussed.
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