A silly comment made 25 years ago led to my marriage. We were both new professors, taking part in a campus tour of the arts complex when a particularly inquisitive member of our group asked one too many questions about a room’s acoustics. Bemused, my future husband jokingly whispered to me, “Excuse me, how much does this room weigh?” I couldn’t help but laugh. It is no surprise that laugher brings people together. A sense of humor almost always tops the list of traits we desire in friends and partners. Lyt til podcast eller læs artiklen her
But it may also have serious, and largely unacknowledged, implications for youth mentoring relationships. Indeed, a growing number of studies — including one highlighted in this issue — show that, when people share a laugh and have fun together, they end up feeling closer and being more open with each other.
In one study, researchers found that, compared to audiences that watched serious movies together, those who were randomly assigned to watch funny movies together were more disclosing and felt closer to fellow audience members. In another study, pairs of students were assigned to throw a ball back and forth or to play charades. Some pairs were instructed to do these activities unimpeded, while in other cases, one member wore a blindfold while the other issued instructions with a spoon her mouth. You guessed it, those in the silly condition laughed more and, by the end of the study, felt a stronger connection with each other
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Kilde: Laughter: A neglected but vital element of mentoring : The Chronicle of Evidence-Based Mentoring
