The experience of laughing at oneself in older couples.

An exploratory study was undertaken to investigate the experience of laughing at oneself as described by older couples. The descriptions generated were viewed through the perspective of Rogers' science of unitary human beings. Laughing at oneself, described in the literature as a liberating, transcendent experience, was proposed as a form of knowing participation in the process of health patterning. Using guide questions developed from the study's objectives, the researcher interviewed twenty English-speaking couples, ages 52-82 who were living in their own homes. Transcribed interviews were searched for themes following the analysis-synthesis procedure outlined by Parse, Coyne, and Smith (1985). Themes were identified in the language of the participants then synthesized into the language of the researcher. The hypothesis that flowed from the data reflected evolving mutual field patterning, awareness of the harmonious mutual process, and descriptions of integrality and well-being. Implications for practice and research are presented.