When Sharing a Laugh Means Sharing More: Testing the Role of Shared Laughter on Short-Term Interpersonal Consequences

Abstract

Laughter is a common social behavior. Yet when, why, and how laughter may cause positive relationship change is largely unexamined, empirically. The current studies focus on shared laughter (i.e., when), drawing from theory in relationship science to emphasize the importance of conceptualizing laughter as situated within the dyadic context (i.e., why). Specifically, these studies target untested possible short-term outcomes from social interactions involving shared laughter: positive emotions, negative emotions, and perceived similarity. In turn, each are tested as possible mechanisms through which shared laughter promotes more global relationship well-being (i.e., how). A series of online and laboratory studies provide correlational and causal support for the hypothesis that shared laughter promotes relationship well-being, with increased perceptions of similarity most consistently driving this effect. Discussion focuses on the importance of considering the behavior of laughter itself, as situated within the social context, when making predictions about laughter’s relevance for social life.

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ORIGINAL PAPER
When Sharing a Laugh Means Sharing More: Testing
the Role of Shared Laughter on Short-Term
Interpersonal Consequences
Laura E. Kurtz
1
•Sara B. Algoe
1
Published online: 1 December 2016
ÓSpringer Science+Business Media New York 2016
Abstract Laughter is a common social behavior. Yet when, why, and how laughter may
cause positive relationship change is largely unexamined, empirically. The current studies
focus on shared laughter (i.e., when), drawing from theory in relationship science to
emphasize the importance of conceptualizing laughter as situated within the dyadic context
(i.e., why). Specifically, these studies target untested possible short-term outcomes from
social interactions involving shared laughter: positive emotions, negative emotions, and
perceived similarity. In turn, each are tested as possible mechanisms through which shared
laughter promotes more global relationship well-being (i.e., how). A series of online and
laboratory studies provide correlational and causal support for the hypothesis that shared
laughter promotes relationship well-being, with increased perceptions of similarity most
consistently driving this effect. Discussion focuses on the importance of considering the
behavior of laughter itself, as situated within the social context, when making predictions
about laughter’s relevance for social life.
Keywords Interpersonal processes Interpersonal relationships Emotion in
relationships Nonverbal behavior/communication
Introduction
Laughter is a common feature of everyday life; throughout the course of a day, the average
person will laugh approximately 18 times—the majority of which will occur in the pres-
ence of another person (Martin and Kuiper 1999; Provine and Fischer 1989). Moreover,
laughter is inherently contagious; one individual’s laughter is catalyst to spark a laugh in
&Laura E. Kurtz
LauraEKurtz@gmail.com
1
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
(UNC-CH), 325 Davie Hall, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3270, USA
123
J Nonverbal Behav (2017) 41:45–65
DOI 10.1007/s10919-016-0245-9
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