Eric Bressler, a graduate student at McMaster University who is studying the role of humour in personal attraction, discovered in a survey of 150 students that to a woman, "sense of humour" means someone who makes her laugh; to a man, a sense of humour means someone who appreciates his jokes.

"There's a difference between producers (those who make you laugh) and receptors (those who laugh when someone cracks a joke)," said Bressler. "Women choose men who produce humour 62 per cent of the time; conversely, men choose women who appreciate their humour 65 per cent of the time."

Bressler also found a marked difference when he looked at different relationships: "When it comes to friendships, men like to be around women who produce humour; when it comes to sexual relationships, they only dig women who laugh at their jokes."

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Contact: Jane Christmas
chrisja@mcmaster.ca
905-525-9140 x27988
McMaster University
9-Feb-2005