If you’re looking for a mate with a good sense of humor, their ability to tell a joke may be less important than you think.

    Scientists say that whether we laugh or not depends more on how much we like a person than if they really are funny.

    Sophie Scott, a professor of neuroscience at University College London, said, “You hear women say, I really fancy him, he really makes me laugh.

    “What she means is, he’s really attractive and I laugh because I fancy him.

    “It’s to do with how much they like him.”

    She told the British Science Festival in Bradford that laughter seems to have its roots deep in evolution, and remains “extremely socially important.”

    Laughter can also diffuse tension in established relationships, with couples who laugh together, staying together.

    The professor’s own research found that laughter is cross-cultural, with people with remote parts of Africa recognizing when a Westerner is amused and vice versa.

    Laughter, it seems, helps us in all sorts of situations.

    Professor Scott said: “It seems to be a socially extremely important emotion.

    “It is an emotion you primarily find in social settings — you are 30 times more likely to laugh if you are with somebody else than if you are on your own.

    “And you will laugh more if you know them and you will laugh more if you like them.

    “If you ask human beings when do you laugh, they talk about jokes and they talk about comedy and humor.

    “If you look at when they laugh, it’s in the interactions that you find the most laughter, which means that in practice that you laugh most during conversations with other people.

    “Interestingly, you are still very rarely laughing at jokes.”

    Words to Learn 相关词汇

    【跨文化的】

    kuàwénhuà de cross-cultural involving two or more different cultures.

    【互动】

    hùdòng interaction two or more people or things communicate with or react to each other.

    颜值高的人讲笑话“笑”果更好

    如果你想找一位幽默的伴侣，他们讲笑话的能力或许并没有你想象得那么重要。

    因为科学家称，我们笑还是不笑更多地取决于我们对这个人的喜欢程度，而不是他是否真的风趣。

    英国伦敦大学学院的神经科学教授索菲·斯科特（Sophie Scott）表示：“你经常会听到女人们说我真地很喜欢他，他总让我开怀大笑。

    “其实她真正想说的是：他太有魅力了，我会笑是因为我喜欢他。这其实和她们喜欢那个人的程度有关。”

    她在布拉德福德举行的英国科学节上说，笑容似乎是起源于进化，并且现在仍然有着“极其重要的社会意义”。

    在已经建立起来的关系中，笑容还可以缓解紧张感，一起欢笑的夫妻感情维系得更好。

    斯科特教授的个人研究发现笑容是跨文化的，来自非洲偏远地区的人们能够辨认出西方人是否感到开心，反之亦然。

    笑声似乎能帮助我们融入各种场合。

    斯科特教授说：“这似乎是一种极具社会意义的情感。

    “在各种社交场合，笑这种情绪是最容易发现的——和别人在一起时你笑的可能性比你一个人待着时高30倍。

    “如果你认识他们，你笑的次数会更多，如果你喜欢他们，你笑的次数也会更多。

    “如果你问别人他们什么时候会笑，他们会谈笑话、喜剧和幽默。

    “如果你们观察他们笑的时机，你会发现人们在互动的时候笑得最多，也就是说实际上在与他人进行对话的时候人们最可能笑。

    “有趣的是，你其实很少因为笑话而笑。”