Sure, laughter is the best medicine — except for when you’re trying to keep a budding romance on the down low.
In fact, researchers found obvious differences in tone could have your secret love — or covert office booty call — exposed in a matter of seconds.
“Laughter is not about humor; it’s an honest signal of affiliation,” study co-author Dr. Sally Farley, a psychology professor at the University of Baltimore, explained in a statement. “Laughter as a sign is more important than people have given it credit for.”
Farley based the study off a “vulnerable love” theory, hypothesizing that the laughter between friends sounded less forced and more natural, due to feeling more comfortable around them and requiring, “less intense maintenance and effort.”
However, in a romantic flirtation, people tend to feel more vulnerable, resulting in a more forced laughter or giggle fit.
“Due to its tenuous, rollercoaster nature, would leak out through laughter,” Farley said. “Making laughter with romantic partners sound more submissive and tense … We’re still basically engaging in speech modulation even with regard to how our laugh sounds in early-stage romantic love.”
Farley and her co-author, Deborah Carson, found the laughter between friends was typically “louder, more relaxed, and more natural-sounding” in comparison to prototypical romantic laughter.
The study findings also revealed that romantic laughter is more “feminine-sounding, more baby-like, more submissive, and less pleasant-sounding than laughter directed at friends,” supporting her hypothesis.
Researchers used previously recorded audio of people to conduct the study, which involved men and women calling a friend and romantic partner on the phone.
In the first case study group, listeners were asked what they thought the relationships were between the people having the conversation.
In the second, they were asked how they could tell the nature of their relationship
In both studies, listeners were able to tell the difference between who was chatting as friends and romantic partners — where they identified the friendship laughter as more natural.
To confirm their findings, a final study took place using 252 participants from five countries: India, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, and the United States, finding the relationships could be differentiated based on one or two seconds of laughter.
“This research is important because it underscores that laughter is more nuanced, variable, complex, and socially important than most people believe,” Farley explained. “Laughter can be used to make others feel better, reinforce in group status, convey romantic interest, or show affection, but it can also be used to project status or castigate others.”
Farley wants to continue studying the patterns of laugher in relationships, and plans on studying laughter in long-term relationships next.
“Do people’s laughs when they’ve been together for 20 years sound similar to what they would for friends?” she mused. “That would be our prediction, because we think basically, this has to do with the underlying anxiety associated with not knowing whether a relationship is going to continue. So, I want to look more into this shared versus solitary laughter.”
