GSOH: Humor, smiling, and long vs. short term relationships, with Matia Okubo 03 Nov 2015

Turn that frown upside down! We look at research on attraction and humor. Does a GSOH make you more desirable? And Matia Okubo reveals why a man who cracks a smile is good marriage material.

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Is a GSOH attractive?

Psychologists from Japan have found that men are more attractive when they smile, but only for long-term relationships. Luca [JP@G]/Flickr

The articles covered in the show:

Okubo, M., Ishikawa, K., Kobayashi, A., Laeng, B., & Tommasi, L. (2015). Cool guys and warm husbands: The effect of smiling on male facial attractiveness for short- and long-term relationships. Evolutionary Psychology, 13(3). Read paper

Tornquist, M., & Chiappe, D. (2015). Effects of humor production, humor receptivity, and physical attractiveness on partner desirability. Evolutionary Psychology, 13(4), 1474704915608744. Read paper

Is a GSOH attractive? Dec 2012

This month, why a good sense of humour is sometimes attractive and sometimes not so much, how fruit consumption affects appearance, and why high heels elevate attractiveness.

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Stephen Merchant's stand up act is based on his apparent inability to win over women. But new research by Mary Cowan suggests that people's ideas about what constitutes a GSOH are more flexible than we previously thought. So keep plugging away, Smerch!

The articles covered in the show:

Cowan, M. L., & Little, A. C. (2013). The effects of relationship context and modality on ratings of funniness. Personality and Individual Differences, 54(4), 496-500. Read summary

Morris, P. H., White, J., Morrison, E. R., & Fisher, K. (in press). High heels as supernormal stimuli: How wearing high heels affects judgements of female attractiveness. Evolution and Human Behavior. Read summary

Whitehead, R. D., Ozakinci, G., & Perrett, D. I. (2012). Attractive skin coloration: Harnessing sexual selection to improve diet and health. Evolutionary Psychology, 10(5), 842-854. Read summary