Colaughter Affiliation Signal

Colaughter Affiliation Signal

Reviewed by Faisal Zaidi

Shared laughter carries cues that listeners use to judge whether two people are friends.

What it is

Gregory Bryant and colleagues played short clips of two people laughing together to listeners in 24 societies, who judged whether the pair were friends or recent strangers. Accuracy was above chance in every society, which the authors take as a sign that shared laughter may be a widely understood signal of a close relationship.

In effect

In the article on why we laugh, it shows that laughing together tells outsiders something about the relationship.

What it does not say

It shows above-chance judgements from short clips. It does not say listeners are always right, or that laughter alone reveals a relationship.

Sources

  1. Bryant, G. A., Fessler, D. M. T., Fusaroli, R., Clint, E., Aarøe, L., Apicella, C. L., et al. (2016). Detecting affiliation in colaughter across 24 societies. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(17), 4682-4687.