Naturalistic observations of smiling and laughter in human group interactions
Although smiling and laughter have received considerable attention from researchers, little is known about the way they are displayed in naturally occurring group interactions. This aspect could be crucial if we want to understand the function of affiliative behaviours in social relationships. Natur...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2008
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| _version_ | 1797087512310579200 |
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| author | Mehu, M Dunbar, R |
| author_facet | Mehu, M Dunbar, R |
| author_sort | Mehu, M |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | Although smiling and laughter have received considerable attention from researchers, little is known about the way they are displayed in naturally occurring group interactions. This aspect could be crucial if we want to understand the function of affiliative behaviours in social relationships. Naturalistic observations were conducted in areas where people could be watched interacting in small groups. Focal sampling of men and women allowed the recording of smiling and laughter frequencies, as well as group size and composition in terms of age and sex. Overall, smiling and laughter were influenced by group size and age of people involved. Smiling and laughter were also affected by other aspects of social context, depending on the type of behaviour concerned and the sex of individuals. By deriving predictions from three hypotheses - sexual advertisement, social competition, and cooperation - this study revealed that smiling and laughter are likely to be involved in the formation of cooperative relationships. © 2008 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T02:36:43Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:a9063e1b-25cd-44e8-ae40-a403e7dbea1f |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T02:36:43Z |
| publishDate | 2008 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:a9063e1b-25cd-44e8-ae40-a403e7dbea1f2022-03-27T03:05:37ZNaturalistic observations of smiling and laughter in human group interactionsJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:a9063e1b-25cd-44e8-ae40-a403e7dbea1fEnglishSymplectic Elements at Oxford2008Mehu, MDunbar, RAlthough smiling and laughter have received considerable attention from researchers, little is known about the way they are displayed in naturally occurring group interactions. This aspect could be crucial if we want to understand the function of affiliative behaviours in social relationships. Naturalistic observations were conducted in areas where people could be watched interacting in small groups. Focal sampling of men and women allowed the recording of smiling and laughter frequencies, as well as group size and composition in terms of age and sex. Overall, smiling and laughter were influenced by group size and age of people involved. Smiling and laughter were also affected by other aspects of social context, depending on the type of behaviour concerned and the sex of individuals. By deriving predictions from three hypotheses - sexual advertisement, social competition, and cooperation - this study revealed that smiling and laughter are likely to be involved in the formation of cooperative relationships. © 2008 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden. |
| spellingShingle | Mehu, M Dunbar, R Naturalistic observations of smiling and laughter in human group interactions |
| title | Naturalistic observations of smiling and laughter in human group interactions |
| title_full | Naturalistic observations of smiling and laughter in human group interactions |
| title_fullStr | Naturalistic observations of smiling and laughter in human group interactions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Naturalistic observations of smiling and laughter in human group interactions |
| title_short | Naturalistic observations of smiling and laughter in human group interactions |
| title_sort | naturalistic observations of smiling and laughter in human group interactions |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mehum naturalisticobservationsofsmilingandlaughterinhumangroupinteractions AT dunbarr naturalisticobservationsofsmilingandlaughterinhumangroupinteractions |