Laughter encourages people to open up and this is the secret to how to make friends, a new study finds.
People in the study were more likely to disclose something personal about themselves after laughing together, although they didn’t realise it.
Self-disclosure is usually critical to how to make friends, as the study’s authors explain:
“Self-disclosure has long been regarded as critical to relationship development and is typically considered as an exchange, where intimacies are traded as a means of deepening and developing relationships.
Indeed, people tend to like those to whom they disclose as well as those who disclose to them, and disclosure intimacy typically increases as relationships develop.”
Laughter releases the ‘happy hormones’ endorphins, which are what may encourage people to share intimate details of their lives.
The authors write:
“Given laughter’s ability to trigger endorphin activation and the role of endorphins in the formation of social bonds, laughter may increase willingness to disclose intimate information because the opioid effect of endorphins makes individuals more relaxed about what they communicate.”
Category(s):Friendships
Source material from Psyblog
