“I can still make you laugh,” my husband of 40+ years observed happily the other day.
So I started thinking about laughter’s role in love. According to reliable research, women say they want a man who makes them laugh. That is undoubtedly the only explanation for many couples whose connection seems baffling. The nerdy character Woody Allen plays in his early films is always romantically involved with fabulous women. What could they possibly see in him? He makes them laugh. Women’s laughter brings up those endorphins and feel-good hormones that do to men what candlelight does to everyone – softly makes them look their best.
When considering someone for the long haul, a woman is wise to value laughter. Among its many other virtues, laughter is social glue. It creates connections. Laughter creates bonds. And it helps you get through the tough times, too.
This may not be equally true for all kinds of laughter, though; our brains can discriminate. Brains are smart; they can tell the difference between mocking laughter and joyful laughter. A man on the move should aim at provoking the latter. Laughing with someone brings her closer. Laughing at them? Not so much.
Beyond concerns with dating and mating, laughter is simply the leaven in the dough of everyday living. We can use a bit more of it in many parts of life. Take schools, for example. If news items are any indication, schools these days are pretty grim places. Popular articles about education always seem to feature bullying, or pedophilic staff, or depressing standardized test scores. No laughing matter, those.
Nevertheless, it turns out that laughter does have a place in the classroom. The best educators – and that include speakers and preachers as well as classroom teachers – have always known it. Start off with a joke, fledgling public speakers are advised, laughter will relax the audience, reducing their anxiety (and yours!), and leave them more open and receptive to your message.
Laughter attracts in the classroom just as it does on a date. Humor gets students interested. It refreshes their minds and piques their curiosity. Students taking an introductory psychology course online logged on more often when the professors included relevant jokes, cartoons, and top ten lists. Laughter may even enhance memory. One psychology professor reported his students were more likely to recall a statistics lecture when it included jokes, including (relevant) puns.
Anything that can both make men more attractive and make statistics more memorable is something to be cherished. Laughter is magic, indeed.