Laughter Helps In The Beginning Of New Relationships- Finds Study

A new study by the University College London in the UK has found that laughter can help people bond. The researchers found that when two people share a good laughter it makes them comfortable with each other and they open up to one another, sometimes without being aware that they are doing so.

The researchers state in the press release that for a relationship to begin and flourish, the most crucial factor is opening up to each other on a personal level. Lead researcher, Alan Gray of University College London in the UK conducted a study to see how laughter influences relationships. For the study he took 112 students and divided hem into groups of four. All the students belonged to the Oxford University in England.

The students were not familiar with each other. They were made to watch videos together. One group watched a stand-up comedy by Michael McIntyre. The second watched a golf instruction video and the third group watched the "Jungles" episode of the BBC's Planet Earth series. All the videos were pleasant and had an element of fun and laughter. After the participants watched the video their emotional state of mind was measured. They were also asked to provide a written message to another participant to help them get to know each other better.

It was observed that the group that had the most laugh together shared more personal feelings and information about themselves to their fellow participants when compared to those who did not laugh as much. It was also found that these participants were not aware that they were sharing personal information with a stranger. But the listener was aware that the person was sharing personal information with him.

The group that shared the most information was the one that watched the stand-up comedian’s video. Explaining the reasons behind this, Gray stated that laughter causes the release of the “happy hormone” endorphin. The study has found that laughter helps in the development of relationships, by promoting behaviours that help build trust and help relationships form and grow.

“Observer ratings of disclosure may be more important for relationship development than how much one feels one is disclosing," says Gray.

The study is published in Springer's journal Human Nature.

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