• Question: what causes you to be tickelish and how come some people arnt

    Asked by maddmatty to Betul, Bridget, Ceri-Wyn, Laurel, Maria on 20 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Bridget Waller

      Bridget Waller answered on 17 Jun 2010:

      Great question! We have lots of sensitive nerve endings in our skin, so we can detect subtle touch very easily. But the point about tickling is that is is probably more psychological that touch alone – it is about expectation and surprise! So if people vary in how they respond to expectation and surprise then they might also vary in how ticklish they are. Great question, thanks!

    • Photo: Ceri-Wyn Thomas

      Ceri-Wyn Thomas answered on 20 Jun 2010:

      Tickling is interesting! Some scientists think that our skin’s ability to respond to light sensations, which can give you the sensation of being tickled, helped our early ancestors (and lots of other organisms) to recognise when insects were crawling over them ready to deliver a perhaps fatal or nasty bite. Other scientists believe that the stronger tickling (that makes you laugh and need the loo) creates a bond between parents and their children.. Charles Darwin thought this sort of tickling was to do with a psychological response. He thought that we laughed while being tickled because we were anticipating pleasure and he thought that knowing the point on your body upon which you were about to be tickled didn’t work, which is why you can’t tickle yourself. I think some people are just better at controlling their emotions when they get tickled so they seem less ticklish.

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