Whether it’s shared together or directed at the other, laughter plays an important role in any romantic relationship. As one would imagine, couples who handle laughter in a similar manner tend to be more content in their relationships. People who have a tendency to be self-conscious when being laughed at are often less happy, relatively. The positive/negative dynamic with laughter affects the partner and their sexuality as well, according to a new study.
Carried out by psychologists from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU), the study was published in the Journal of Research in Personality.
The study states, that despite a desire for a partner with a sense of humour, the way people react to being laughed differs widely. “They tend to interpret the laughter as something negative or derogative,” said study author Proyer.
Proyer added that there are other types of people who enjoy making others laugh about them. For them, being laughed at is a form of appreciation. The third characteristic of people enjoys laughing about others.
The profiles were conducted by combining two individual characteristics - for example, someone who likes to laugh about others but does not like it when others laugh about them. The study found that happier couples were alike in terms of their individual characteristic and profile.
Despite the study, the researchers concluded that handling laughter in a similar way doesn’t prove that it’s a “good“ relationship. However, knowing whether one of the two partners in a relationship is afraid of being laughed at could be useful information for couples therapy or relationship counselling.
