The Psychology of Laughter in Revealing Secret Romances.

A study published in the Journal of Nonverbal Behavior found that laughter can give away a secret romance in a matter of seconds. Researchers found that laughter between friends sounded more natural, while laughter between romantic partners was more forced and tense. Romantic laughter was also found to be more feminine-sounding, baby-like, submissive, and less pleasant-sounding than laughter directed at friends. The study used previously recorded audio of people and found that outsiders could differentiate a platonic relationship from a romantic one based on just one or two seconds of laughter. The study's co-author plans to continue studying the patterns of laughter in relationships and plans on studying laughter in long-term relationships next.