Why love’s no laughing matter: guffaws across the table may not mean your intended finds you attractive

Making someone laugh can help us feel like a first date is going well – but that may not mean your intended will find you attractive.

Researchers have found that while it is important to be funny, the act of laughing does not affect attractiveness.

The study from Queensland University in Australia involved 554 people who had a three-minute speed date with someone of the opposite sex.

Audio from these interactions was unobtrusively recorded, allowing the researchers to analyze laughter.

Prior to each speed date, participants answered questions about their romantic preferences, while at the end of the interaction they rated their partner on various characteristics, including fun, sense of humor, and overall attractiveness.

The funnier someone was, the more attractive they were perceived to be—but that appeal was not increased by the total amount of laughter generated.
The researchers wrote in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior: ‘There were no main effects of laughter, both given and received, and these did not differ by gender.

“Specifically, there was no significant relationship between how much participants laughed at their partner and their ratings of their partner’s overall attractiveness, and participants who received more laughter from their partner did not rate them as more attractive overall.”

Lead author Henry Wainwright said: ‘We speculate that fun can be attractive, but that laughter by one’s partner may be the result of awkwardness or nervousness as much as genuine fun.

‘Therefore, any positive effect of fun on attraction may be undermined by instances of nervous or awkward laughter.’

Asked if he had any advice for singles looking for a partner, he said: ‘Trying too hard to be funny when dating can hurt you more than it helps – just be yourself!’