Making someone grin may help us feel a first date’s going well – but guffaws across the table may not mean your intended finds you attractive.
Researchers have found that while being funny is important, the act of laughter does not affect attractiveness levels.
The study by Queensland University in involved 554 people having a three-minute speed date with someone of the opposite sex.
Audio from these interactions was inconspicuously recorded which allowed the scientists to analyse laughter.
Audio from these interactions was inconspicuously recorded which allowed the scientists to analyse laughter. (Stock Image.)
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 funniness, humour receptivity and overall attractiveness.
The funnier someone was, the more attractive they were thought to be – but that appeal was not increased by the total amount of laughter generated.
Writing in the journal Evolution and Human Behaviour the researchers said: ‘There were no main effects of laughter, both given and received, and these did not differ by sex.
‘Specifically, there was no significant association 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 funniness may be attractive, but that laughter at one’s partner may be the result of awkwardness or nervousness as much as it is from genuine funniness.
‘Therefore, any positive effect of funniness on attraction may be undermined by instances of nervous or awkward laughter.’
When asked whether he had any advice for single people who are looking for a partner, he said: ‘Trying too hard to be funny when dating might hurt you more than it helps – just be yourself!’