Why do women laugh more than men?

Laughter is a tranquillizer with no side effects.

-Arnold Glasow, American humourist

This is the last segment on our discussion about laughter and how we use it to counterbalance life’s troubles. Laughter makes you emotionally and psychologically strong, makes you physically friendlier and sexually attractive. In this article we will discuss how men and women use laughter for flirtation and long-term commitment. And why women laugh more than men.

“Humour in all its form – sarcastic, witty, anecdotal, ironic, satirical – is as complicated and evolved as language. It can be a weapon used to alienate and a means to communicate interest and intelligence,” says Christie Nicholson, contributing editor of Scientific American in an article in Scientific American Mind (May/June 2010).

Nicholson, in her article The Humour Gap, says that men and women have different sense of humour and appreciation of humour. Men want someone who will appreciate their jokes, and women want someone who makes them laugh. Some researchers believe that this has been an evolutionary process as part of the laws of natural selection.

In 1859, Charles Darwin introduced the term “natural selection.” It is the observation that individual organisms with favorable characteristics are more likely to survive and reproduce than those lacking these traits. Do we use laughter as part of our survival instinct – men and women using laughter in their own way to smooth their relationships and ride over trouble times?

Women find funny men very sexy. Especially in their first meeting. Funny man shows creativity, intelligence, playfulness and openness to experience. Women, consciously or subconsciously, know that humour is a good indicator of intelligence which is a highly prized heritable trait, says Nicholson. Women want their men to make them laugh and have children who are intelligent and funny like their dad. During the time of ovulation, women prefer to be around creative funny men than rich dull guys.

Women are always known to laugh or giggle more than men. You can remember that from your school days. And experiments have confirmed that women laugh so much more when they are speaking to men – and they laugh more than men even when men are doing the talking –suggests that there is some instinct at play, says Nicholson. The instinct may be related to the female role of sexual selector. Nicholson says, “…whatever the roots may be of the female instinct to laugh around men, it works – men find women attractive when they laugh. Perhaps it is because laughter unconsciously signals interest and enjoyment.” It is an invitation to continue.

Studies have shown that laughter is a powerful measurement of the level of attraction between two people. In fact, experiments have shown that female laughter is an accurate predictor of the level of attraction between both partners. A woman laughs a lot when she is attracted to a man or when she senses a man’s interest. More she laughs, more attractive she becomes, indicating that she welcomes his attention.

Nicholson’s article concludes by saying that the deeper purpose of use of humour in our life is to help us connect and bond with one another. She continues, “A genuine laugh is one of the most honest ways to convey: I’m with you.”

So, my dear reader, do not forget to laugh today and every day and make somebody laugh. That means you care. Angry grumpy men should remember, women will like you more if you learn to relax and laugh and make others laugh. And you may produce children who are healthy, funny and intelligent.

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One Reply to “Why do women laugh more than men?”

  1. All of this maybe true but itdoesnt make you attractive when you laugh at evert thing you say whether it could’ve construed as funny or not.

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