Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
7-2009
Abstract
Are people who are funny more attractive? Or does being attractive lead people to be seen as funnier? The answer may depend on the underlying evolutionary function of humor. While humor has been proposed to signal “good genes”, the authors propose that humor also functions to indicate interest in social relationships—in initiating new relationships and in monitoring existing ones. Consistent with this interest indicator model, across three studies both sexes were more likely to initiate humor and to respond more positively and consider the other person to be funny when initially attracted to that person. The findings support that humor dynamics—and not just humor displays—influence romantic chemistry for both men and women, suggesting that humor can ultimately function as a strategy to initiate and monitor social relationships.
Keywords
humor, physical attractiveness, social relationships, sexual selection
Discipline
Gender and Sexuality | Personality and Social Contexts | Social Psychology
Research Areas
Psychology
Publication
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
Volume
35
Issue
7
First Page
923
Last Page
936
ISSN
0146-1672
Identifier
10.1177/0146167209334786
Publisher
SAGE
Citation
LI, Norman P., GRISKEVICIUS, Vladas, DURANTE, Kristina M., JONASON, Peter K., PASISZ, Derek J., & AUMER, Katherine.(2009). An Evolutionary Perspective on Humor: Sexual Selection or Interest Indication?. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35(7), 923-936.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/725
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167209334786
Included in
Gender and Sexuality Commons, Personality and Social Contexts Commons, Social Psychology Commons